National championships attract over 500 participants to fifth edition of The Northumbrian
Hundreds of athletes headed to Northumberland last weekend to take part in a series of events that included national championships. The Northumbrian returned to Kielder for its fifth year, with a record number of over 500 participants tackling full and half Iron distance triathlons, an aquabike race, and trail runs. This year’s event included the British and English Middle Distance Triathlon Championships 2026, featuring over 360 triathletes from around the country. Based at Kielder Waterside in Northumberland National Parks, The Northumbrian was organised by Events of the North, in partnership with Northumbrian Water, and supported by SG Petch, Forestry England and Team Cycles.
This year’s edition of The Northumbrian event kicked off on Saturday with 28K and 50K trail runs, both UTMB Index races on trails created by Forestry England at Kielder. The 28K was won by Harry Smith in one hour, 49 minutes and 36 seconds, followed by Jack Harrison (1:56:42) and Chun Kit Tsang (1:58:12). The women’s race was won jointly by Ellie Reed and Charlotte Redhead who crossed the line holding hands, in 2:17:11. Ellie was celebrating her 40th birthday over the weekend and was staying at Kielder Waterside with a group of friends, including Charlotte. The same group included Louise Johnson and Anna McQueen, who also finished together in joint third (2:21:59).
Henry McGrady won the 50K trail run at The Northumbrian in 3:56:33, ahead of Francis Conway (4:06:42) and Charlie Theaker (4:09:28). Ailsa McCorduodale won the women’s race in 4:37:58, with Claire Boynton claiming second (5:02:44) and Antonia Johnson third (5:10:13).
On Sunday, the winners of the 2026 British and English Middle Distance Triathlon Championships were Jamie Philpott and Maisie Aubrey respectively. Jamie won the men’s race at the half Iron distance in 4:10:44. Alexander Jones claimed second in 4:13:21, ahead of Jack Rose (4:14:35), who secured his professional triathlete license with his performance. Maisie completed her race in 4:52:32, followed by Rachel Dumbrell (4:57:14) and Natalie Green (5:01:24), who also secured her professional license.
The full Iron distance triathlon at the 2026 edition of The Northumbrian was won by Alexander Slaughter in 10:06:02, followed by Stephen Down (11:36:10) and Sam Campbell (12:09:59). The women’s race was won by Hannah O’Brien in 13:29:50, who was followed by Ria Knox (15:39:10). Ria was running in memory of her friend’s husband who had signed up to take part in 2025, but had deferred due to ill health and subsequently passed away. Ria stepped in and completed the full Iron distance.
Race founder Steve Cram comments: “We were delighted to host the British and English Middle Distance Triathlon Championships at this year’s edition of The Northumbrian. It was great to welcome so many outstanding triathletes from around the country to Kielder and they served up some really competitive racing. We had more participants than ever at our fifth anniversary and enjoyed two excellent days of swimming, biking and running in a stunning location. We’re grateful to all of the organisations and individuals who made this possible, and look forward to building on this success when we stage The Northumbrian again in 2027.”
Entries are now open for the 2027 edition of The Northumbrian, which will take place on Saturday 26 and Sunday 27 June. Next year’s event will once again feature the trail runs, aquabike and half Iron distance triathlon. The full Iron distance event has been paused for now, as entry numbers are too low to justify the cost of the infrastructure and demands on the time of volunteers. Visit www.thenorthumbrian.com for more information about next year’s event and to book places.
