Snowman wins Triathlon of the year!
We are over the moon to announce that our 2021 Snowman Triathlon has won Event of the year in the Welsh Triathlon Awards!
The Snowman was our first event back after the pandemic and we worked tirelessly to make sure the event took place during a very difficult time. We were also proud to have been able to implement some of our new environmental initiatives at this event.
The Always Aim High Events Snowman Triathlon is known as one of the UK’s toughest Triathlons, taking place in the stunning location of Capel Curig with Plas y Brenin National Outdoor Centre used as a venue to host the event. Following an extremely difficult 15 months for the events industry, the Snowman Triathlon was the first event back post-pandemic for Always Aim High Events. With the Snowman Triathlon being the first event back, there was a real focus on keeping competitors safe, Always Aim High Events had to work incredibly hard to adjust to the new regulations that came along with running an event post lockdown.
The Snowman encompasses all that is the adventure playground of North Wales offers. The setting of this event is what makes it so unique, with a freshwater swim in Llyn Mymbyr, a bike route that takes in an exceptionally stunning route, and a run route up Moel Siabod which at 872 metres, is the highest peak in the Moelwynion mountain range. New for 2021, competitors finished their race in a new location, with the iconic Snowdon Horseshoe mountain range being the backdrop for that epic finish line shot. The new finish line also provided a great location for the limited number of spectators to gather safely, whilst also having the amenities of Plas Y Brenin very close by.
Always Aim High Director Tim Lloyd had this to say about winning the award " We are over the moon to have won the Welsh Triathlon of the year award for our Snowman event, we had to work extremely hard to put this event on post lockdown and the team here did an amazing job of achieving this. We were also able to break new boundaries in terms of our environmental credentials at the event which we will now continue to review and improve upon. Thank you to all of our participants who have supported us during a very difficult time for the events industry"
During 15 months of the pandemic when they were unable to run events, the team at Always Aim High Events has spent a lot of time reviewing how they could improve and enhance their environmental initiatives. Before the pandemic hit, they took the order of finisher medals for all 2020 events, as this had been common practice. With them just running the one event in 2020 pre-pandemic, they were left with stocks of these medals. To maintain their high environmental standards and in line with customer feedback they reused these 2020 medals at the 2021 events, including the Snowman Triathlon. Meaning the medals did not go to waste. As a thank you to participants they planted one tree per race entry through their partnership with the Size of Wales Charity. They have also taken the decision to no longer buy medals from abroad, all finishers will receive a locally sourced slate memento of their fabulous achievement, which in itself can be reused for example as a coaster. The Snowman was also a first major step toward a cupless event, with participants encouraged to come with their own hydration. At feed stations, they were offered a refill of their own reusable bottles/packs. Where cups had to be used at the finish line for their swim only participants a paper cup option was used. Always Aim High Events Director Nigel 'Kenny' Kendrick has also recently joined the new British Triathlon Sustainability Commission. The key aim of the Commission is to see the sport and physical activity sector built upon sustainable foundations.
Entries are now open for the Snowman Triathlon 2022 which also includes a Duathlon and an Open Water Swim Event. You can find out more and buy your tickets here.