Triathlons come in many forms and distances, writes Dennis Elliott.

There are those that take part in towns and villages, those that take place in city centres and then there are some very special ‘others’.

The ‘Brutal Extreme Triathlon’ is set in the stunning North Wales countryside in Llanberis at the foot of Snowdon.

This race has been rated as the ‘toughest extreme triathlon’ of all! There are in fact a variety of choices of distance.

The ‘Half Iron’ distance race consists of a 1.2-mile swim, albeit in water that could be politely described as frigid, a 57.98km bike ride with 5,000 feet of climbing for good measure, and the ‘run course’ involves a detour up Snowdon and the total climb aggregates to no less than 3,500 feet!

Racers must carry supplies and essential gear in order to ensure their safety in the extreme conditions that can arise at this time of year in the mountains.

In an outstanding performance, Ellie Dominey won the women’s race outright in a time of seven hours and 13 minutes.

Her swim time was 42.19 mins and her bike time 3.35.40. Incredibly, Ellie beat the next best woman in the field by around half an hour.