More fitness festivals are popping up each year, and online sports retailer Wiggle is getting in on the act with something a little different to the wellness weekend escape scene, or sport-specific events like RunFestRun. The Festival of Sport is a long weekend of open-water swimming, cycling and running events, centered around the Avon Tyrrell Activity Centre in Hampshire.
It takes place from 7th-9th August, and each sport spends a day in the spotlight with multiple distances available for each. The festival starts by laying on coach travel to the nearby New Forest Water Park for 500m, 1km, 1.2-mile [1.9km] and 2.4-mile [3.9km] open-water swims, although if you’re not getting your feet wet the main festival site will get going with various CrossFit, Zumba, yoga and Pilates sessions, mountain bike demos and rides, and live music. As the festival is based in an activity centre there are also adventurous diversions like zip lines, treetop courses and climbing walls to enjoy.
The main events on the Saturday are all in the saddle, with chip-timed and signposted 102-mile [164km], 82-mile [132km] and 38-mile [61km] sportives. The terrain is pretty flat so you should be able to speed along at a fair clip – just make sure you brake for ponies.
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Running events close the festival on the Sunday, although if an ultra takes your fancy there’s one that starts on the Saturday evening and goes through the night. There’s a range of distances to choose from, but all are run on loops within the festival site because of New Forest restrictions on mass running events. That’s why the organisers are selling only single-day tickets for Friday and Saturday, to keep the number of participants down on the final day and make sure the experience is enjoyable.
There are other advantages to getting a weekend ticket too. Chiefly, if you swim, cycle and run, no matter the distance, you get three interlocking medals.
The festival culminates with a family-friendly colour run (remember that? A paint-splattered fun run!), and there will be plenty of diversions for young kids throughout the weekend, with free entry for under-fives.
Buy tickets | One day £50, weekend ticket £130, accommodation options available
