2026 Race Report

It was a day of two halves at this year’s Superfeet Sandman.

The day began with a strengthening breeze that soon developed into choppy sea conditions. Following a full assessment by our water safety team, the decision was made that conditions were unsafe for the swim to go ahead, and the race was therefore transformed into a duathlon: run, bike, run.

As the morning progressed, the weather took another turn, with heavy rain and strong gusts of wind making for extremely challenging conditions for athletes on both the bike and run sections. The exposed course provided little respite, with competitors battling the elements as they pushed their way through the race.

Then, from around 2pm, everything changed. The clouds parted, the wind dropped away, and blue skies and sunshine arrived. For those still out on course, it was a welcome relief and a dramatic end to a day that had thrown almost everything at them.

LEGEND

The Open race was led from the outset by Sam Johnson, who established the fastest opening run of the field in 21:42 before continuing to build his advantage on the bike. His 2:49:42 bike split was the fastest of the leading group and, combined with solid transitions and a 1:23:35 final run, saw him cross the line in 4:37:06. Sam Proctor was never far behind, producing the fastest bike split of the top five in 2:44:46, but a slightly slower final run of 1:29:50 left him 2:19 behind Johnson at the finish. Grant Little completed the podium in 4:43:13, with a consistent performance across all three disciplines, while Tony Partington and Justin Phillips rounded out the top five in 5:01:26 and 5:13:22 respectively.

The Female race was won by Amy Critchlow, who produced a strong and consistent performance across the three disciplines to finish in 5:42:48. Critchlow completed the opening run in 27:11 and then posted the fastest bike split among the leading women, clocking 3:21:27, before finishing with a 1:50:29 run. Sarah Silk took second in 6:11:29, 28:41 behind the winner, with a 3:49:22 bike split followed by a 1:51:20 final run. Emily Bookless and Lise Soerensen were separated by just 15 seconds, with Bookless taking third in 6:13:55 and Soerensen fourth in 6:14:10.

STANDARD

The Standard Wave followed at 10am, with athletes taking on a challenging 5km opening run before heading out onto the bike course and finishing with a final run.

The Open race was dominated by Andrew Weaver, who took control of the race with a strong performance across all three disciplines. Weaver was second fastest over the opening run in 22:52, but it was on the bike where he really made the difference, producing the fastest bike split of the leading group in 1:12:37. A 42:43 final run was enough to secure the win in 2:21:02, more than seven minutes clear of James Coleman. Coleman moved through the field with a solid 1:18:21 bike split and finished in 2:28:16, while Ben Greene claimed third in 2:29:02 after recording the fastest opening run of the top five in 21:58. Matt Swiss was just five seconds further back in fourth, finishing in 2:29:07 after the fastest final run of the leading group in 41:04.

Matthew Pilkington completed the top five in 2:30:18, putting together a particularly strong bike leg of 1:15:11 to move himself into contention, although his 47:46 final run saw him lose some ground to those around him. With only 46 seconds separating second through fifth, the battle behind Weaver was extremely close, with Coleman, Greene, Swiss and Pilkington all fighting for the remaining podium positions. Ultimately, Weaver’s dominant bike split created the decisive gap at the front, allowing him to come home comfortably clear and take the Standard Open victory.

The Female race saw Katie Beecher take a clear victory, finishing in 2:46:58 after a well-rounded performance across the course. Beecher was among the quickest women in the opening run with 24:55 before producing a 1:33:09 bike split and a strong 46:19 final run. Amy Feeley followed in second, finishing 3:51 behind in 2:50:49. Feeley’s 1:30:08 bike split was quicker than Beecher’s, but she was unable to close the gap on the final run, where she recorded 50:07. Ellie Powell completed the podium in 2:51:13, just 24 seconds behind Feeley, after combining a 25:32 opening run with a 1:30:29 bike and 51:51 final run.

Ellie Griffin and Ali Champion completed the top five, with Griffin finishing fourth in 2:54:23 and Champion just 55 seconds further back in 2:55:18. The pair were closely matched, with identical 29:10 opening runs, before Griffin gained a slight advantage on the bike and Champion responded with a faster final run of 54:36. Behind them, the gaps remained relatively tight, but at the front Beecher had done enough across the opening run and final run to hold off Feeley despite Feeley’s quicker bike split. Beecher crossed the line first to claim the Female Standard title, with Feeley and Powell completing the top three.

SPRINT

The final wave to set off was the Sprint Triathlon at 11am. This wave was also joined by athletes who had originally entered the Sprint Duathlon, with the duathletes taking on a 2.5km opening run before heading out onto the bike course and finishing with their run.

The Open race was a closely fought contest at the front, with Huw Jack Brassington edging out Mark Daniels by just four seconds to take the Sprint title in 1:17:04. Brassington produced the fastest opening run of the leading group in 8:57 before posting a 43:36 bike split and 22:26 final run. Daniels stayed firmly in contention with a quicker 40:11 bike split, the fastest of the top five, but could not quite make up the difference on the final run, finishing in 1:17:08. Joe Symonds completed the podium in 1:25:33, while just 15 years old, Harrison Leonard put in an impressive performance to finish fourth in 1:26:59, after a 9:07 opening run and 23:31 final run.

Denis Egan rounded out the top five in 1:29:00, recovering from a 50:04 bike split with a 28:20 final run. Behind the leading pair, the gaps opened up considerably, with Symonds more than eight minutes behind the winner and Leonard a further 1:26 back. At the front, however, it came down to the smallest of margins, with Brassington's advantage from the opening run ultimately proving enough to withstand Daniels' faster bike leg and secure victory by just four seconds.

The Female race was led by Claire Donnelly, who produced a strong all-round performance to take victory in 1:28:52. Donnelly recorded a 10:45 opening run before completing the bike in 48:41 and finishing with a 27:23 final run. Eleanor Davies followed in second in 1:32:43, just under four minutes back, with a quicker 48:37 bike split but a 29:50 final run. Claire Holliman completed the podium in 1:38:22 after a 12:08 opening run, 51:49 bike and 31:25 final run.

Katie May Williams finished fourth in 1:40:42, with Mia Gaines completing the top five in 1:41:06. Williams produced an 11:52 opening run and 30:56 final run, while Gaines was quicker on the final run in 29:25 but gave up time on the bike with a 55:38 split. With the gaps increasing through the top five, Donnelly's consistency across all three sections gave her a clear advantage at the front, while Davies' faster bike was not quite enough to close the gap before the finish.

As the original Sprint Duathlon entries were kept as a separate set of results, the following is how the race unfolded.

The overall race was won by Matthew Waterfield, who produced the fastest time of the day in 1:19:43. He completed the opening run in 8:51, followed by a 45:10 bike split and a final run of 23:45. His transitions were also among the quickest in the field, helping him finish just 14 seconds ahead of second-placed Gari Fon, who recorded 1:19:57.

Fon was particularly strong on the bike, posting the fastest bike split of the race at 42:56. Despite being slightly behind Waterfield after the first run and transitions, his strong cycling performance kept him within striking distance, and he finished only 14 seconds behind the winner.

Ryan Evans completed the overall podium in 1:23:39, with a final run of 23:19, the fastest second-run split recorded in the race. Mark Jones followed in fourth in 1:24:15, while Gwydion Churchill rounded out the top five with 1:26:39.

The women's race was won by Brooklyn Wright, who finished seventh overall in 1:27:22. Wright produced a well-balanced performance across all three disciplines, completing the opening run in 9:29, the bike in 49:43, and the final run in 25:14.

Sophie Hunt finished second among the women and eighth overall in 1:28:31, just over a minute behind Wright. Evie Bayman completed the women's podium, finishing ninth overall in 1:30:41.

Event Manager Sian Williams had this to say about the event:

"The athletes faced some really tough conditions out on the course today, and it was amazing to see everyone battle through them. A huge thank you to everyone who joined us yesterday at the event and took on the challenge.

As always, the Welsh weather certainly gave us quite a day! It was fantastic to finish with blue skies and sunshine after all the rain and wind we experienced throughout the morning.

A big thank you also goes to our headline partner, Superfeet, for their continued support, as well as all of the marshals who were out on the course in those challenging conditions. These races simply couldn’t happen without them."

Selected 2026 Superfeet Sandman Triathlon & Duathlon results:

Legend (70.3) Triathlon

Open Category
1. Sam Johnson 4:37:06
2. Sam Proctor 4:39:25
3. Grant Little 4:43:13

Female Category
1. Amy Critchlow 5:42:48
2. Sarah Silk 6:11:29
3. Emily Bookless 6:13:55

Standard Triathlon

Open Category
1. Andrew Weaver 2:21:02
2. James Coleman 2:28:16
3. Ben Greene 2:29:02

Female Category
1. Katie Beecher 2:46:58
2. Amy Feeley 2:50:49
3. Ellie Powell 2:51:13

Sprint Triathlon

Open Category
1. Huw Jack Brassington 1:17:04
2. Mark Daniels 1:17:08
3. Joe Symonds 1:25:33

Female Category
1. Claire Donnelley 1:28:22
2. Eleanor Davies 1:32:43
3. Claire Holliman 1:38:22

Sprint Duathlon

Open Category
1. Matthew Waterfield 1:19:43
2. Gari Fon 1:19:57
3. Ryan Evans 1:23:39

Female Category
1. Brooklyn Wright 1:27:22
2. Sophie Hunt 1:28:31
3. Evie Bayman 1:30:41

Full results are availble by clicking below.