I had to enter this as it's my local triathlon and takes place in my usual training location (Sutton Park). I did the sprint distance but the event offers a range of options from Olympic to fun, kids and relay. 

Registration and transition was well signposted and efficient. The event was well marshalled with a marshalls on the swim and along the bike route, along with a few medics. The event felt safe and well supervised. 

Swim takes place in Powell's pool. Although I've lived here for ages it was my first time swimming in one of the park's open water lakes as swimming is generally prohibited. The water temperature wasn't bad and the water was cleaner than I'd imagined! The 750m circuit was clear with large buoys to guide competitors. 

Back to transition and on to the bike. The circuit is 5k so depending on the distance you could be doing up to 8 laps. It's not the flattest course I've ever cycled with some tight right hand turns, but there are some downhill stretches where you can reach a decent speed. The only downside is that the road surfaces in the park aren't great as the roads are permanently closed to traffic. The organisers had addressed this as much as possible by marking the uneven surfaces but it's not the smoothest course I've ever cycled (generally I use a MTB in the park rather than a road bike). The park's resident cattle also made an appearance although they didn't block the path! 

Finally onto the run, most of which is off road. Although I run in the park frequently, it's usually on the roads and paths so I wasn't as well prepared for this as I could have been. Nevertheless the route was clearly marked and was made up of a gentle climb, flat section then downhill. It's a 2.5k circuit so you'll do up to 4 laps depending on race distance. 

We received a goody bag at registration and a medal at the end. Local support was good although most seemed to be supporting competitors. Would I do this again? Yes: it's my local triathlon and well organised.