A group of people swam, cycled and ran all under one roof, as a triathlon fundraiser held at a Welshpool leisure centre raised over £1,000.

Dozens of people took on an indoor triathlon covering over 25km during the course of a morning at the Flash Leisure Centre on Sunday, August 25.

The fundraising challenge was put together to raise money for Parkinson’s UK and was pitched by Flash employee Aliyah Robins after her grandfather passed away from the disease in May 2024.

OTHER NEWS:

She said: “I first came up with the idea, more as a fun exercise idea a while ago. But not long after my granddad passed away I pitched the idea as a fundraiser for Parkinson’s UK and the centre was very up for it.

“I contacted Parkinson’s UK who were more than happy for us to organise it and also incredibly supportive, sending over banners and anything else we needed.

(Image: Phil Blagg)

(Image: Phil Blagg)

“I’m still quite shocked and overhwlemed by how well the day itself went, as well as how much money we were able to raise in the end.”

Those taking part were able to complete the swimming, cycling and running sections without ever leaving the leisure centre, swimming lengths of the Flash’s pool, cycling on exercise bikes moved to the centre’s sports hall, then running around its astroturf pitch and car park for the final leg.  

The triathlon was split into different lengths for different ages and abilities, with the longest distance of the challenge being a 800m swim, (32 lengths of the Flash pool), 20km on exercise bikes and a 5km run to finish.

(Image: Phil Blagg)

(Image: Phil Blagg)

Doing the triathlon was only rivalled by setting it all up, as staff at the Flash had to move 20 exercise bikes downstairs into the sports hall, using a lift that could only take one at a time.

Ms Robins added: “I’m just glad the running section was far easier to set up than the cycling.

“We had plenty of people who really pushed themselves out of their comfort zone, particularly with the swimming as some felt confident with running and cycling but nervous about that. But there was so much support and help on hand.

“I set a target of £500 and didn’t think we’d break that, but raised over £800 on the day itself. We also had a bake sale and bouncy castle, so it was more like a family fun day even for people not taking part.

“It went so well that I’m already considering making it an annual event.”