THE summer edition of the West Lancashire Triathlon from Edge Hill University campus in Ormskirk saw seven Blue Suits among the 423 finishers in warm conditions.

Debutant Rhys Francis led the squad courtesy of a barnstorming run – sub-17 minutes for 5K.

Nick Howarth, still working his way back to fitness, demonstrated his mastery of the ‘fourth discipline’ – transitions, while being the filler in a Doyle sandwich, with Andrew just ahead following his sub-seven minutes for the 400m swim and Frazer just behind after clocking under 20 minutes for the run.

Steve Houghton’s prowess on the bike was evident over the 18.5K distance – quickest in the squad by more than two minutes, before the second father-son combo followed, with Alex Donnelly improving by more than four minutes in the run from his last outing at Pendle, and under-18 Cameron lowering his swim by more than a minute and run by nearly five.

BUH&AC times: 36th Rhys Francis 1:05:51 (8:37; 36:37; 16:58), 39th Andrew Doyle 1:06:11 (6:54; 36:10; 19:47), 61st Nick Howarth 1:08:50 (9:03; 36:09; 21:02), 67th Frazer Doyle 1:09:19 (7:33; 37:11; 19:54), 81st Steve Houghton 1:10:46 (8:21; 34:06; 24:41), 126th Alex Donnelly 1:14:59 (7:56; 38:02; 24:20), 131st Cameron Donnelly 1:15:32 (8:24; 41:32; 20:48).