Sefton Triathlon 2008 Race Report Liverpool legend Kenny Dalglish gave his seal of approval to the 1100 children and adults who took part in the 2008 Formby Cycles Sefton Triathlon

More than £40,000 was raised for the various charities by the event this year with participants flying in from afar afield as America and Australia to tackle the 150m swim, 5k bike ride and 2.5k run along the coastline near Crosby Leisure Centre. Kenny and his wife, Marina, whose breast cancer charity was one of the seven organisations set to benefit from the triathlon, including Alder Hey, British Heart Foundation, Macmillan Cancer Support, Motor Neurone Disease, Cystic Fibrosis Trust and Five A Child A Chance, started the children's race last Saturday afternoon. The Anfield ace said, "It's an absolutely fantastic occasion for the kids. Some of the youngsters have done incredibly well with great performances. I am particularly pleased to see so many kids with a disability being able to take part. It's not every event that has the facilities to cater for these youngsters. They are really enjoying themselves. I think a triathlon would have been too much for me when I was growing up - I couldn't swim"

Ian Roberts was the fastest adult to complete the course in 28mins 45secs closely followed by Steven Wilkinson (30:39), Beau Smith (31:06), Rob Ashworth (31:25), Peter Roome (31:32) while Hanna Tarver was first female finisher in 23rd place with a time of 35mins 11secs. In the Mini Tri which featured a 25m swim, 800m cycle and 500m run, Thomas James was fastest across the finish line in 7mins 32secs followed by David Price (07:48), Callum Preece(07:53) and Adam Moorcroft (08:01) Matthews Walls finished fastest in the Juniors category, which covered a 50m swim, 2k cycle and 1k run, in 13mins 32 secs followed by Erin Donagh (13:42), Samuel Hart (13:55), Mark Ray (13:57) and Francesca Connolly (14:19) Now in its seventh year, the Sefton Triathlon has built up an international reputation. Lena Warnke flew in from Boston, USA, to keep up her 100 per cent participation record having been in the previous six, while the Ashcroft family flew all the way from Melbourne.

Meanwhile the inclusive community nature of the occasion was highlighted by the disability race that welcomed 24 children, all with Downs Syndrome, from the Spartak Gymnastics Club. But the biggest grins were worn by the Bolan twins. Nine-year old James and Chris were each presented with specially adapted racing trikes, sourced by the main race sponsor, John Tasker, which allowed them to race alongside their sisters Sofia and Ava. They even got to keep the bikes afterwards. JohnTasker. Of Formby Cycles, said: "It was a fantastic day, brilliant and I really enjoyed it - especially finishing. It was a really good day and there was a great turn out, with over 1000 competitors. This was our second year as sponsors and the organisers did a fantastic job. It was great to see so many people taking part and especially having a section for children with disabilities. It is something that we are proud to be associated with".