A COGAN man has vowed to ‘tri’ his best after qualifying for the Long Distance Triathlon European Championships.

Lawrence Cronk, 27, qualified to represent Great Britain in the 25-29 age group category after taking part in Ironman Wales in September last year.

Lawrence, of Charlotte Street, finished the 2.4 mile swim, a 112 mile bike ride and a 26.2 mile run in 11 and a half hours, but is aiming to complete the European Championships in under 10 hours.

“I had done a lot of running races and cycling but had never done a triathlon before,” he said.

“I ended up 153 out of 1600 and 18th in my age group category.”

As he was in a certain percentage of his age category he was able to qualify to represent Great Britain to take part in the Long Distance Triathlon European Championships in Holland in September this year.

Lawrence, who works as a personal trainer at Penarth Leisure Centre, added that he was aiming to complete the swim in one hour, the bike in five hours and the run in three and a half hours, with half an hour spent in transition.

“I’m really excited about it and I can’t wait,” he said.

“I’m representing my age category and if I get in the top three I get an elite card.”

He said he would now be training six days a week in preparation for the triathlon. He will take part in short training sessions in the week, followed by longer runs and bike rides on weekends.

“The hardest part is just doing it day after day,” he said.

“I gave up drinking until December last year and won’t drink again now until after the European Championships.”

He added that he “fell in love” with the event after training for Ironman Wales

“I only wanted to do Ironman Wales, but since I started training for it I have fallen in love with it,” he said.

“Tenby was amazing and I couldn’t believe the atmosphere.

“All the way round the bike course there was support everywhere.

“The crowd were amazing and you didn’t feel your feet touch the floor.

“I definitely got the bug right there.”

Lawrence is also appealing for sponsorship to take part in the triathlon.

He can be contacted on Lawrence@enduraprep.co.uk