Bedford Borough Council announces the return of The Bedford Junior Aquathlon which is taking place on the morning of Sunday 12th October 2025 at Robinson Pool and Bedford Park.
The Bedford Junior Aquathlon is a continuous Swim and Run event. Children swim and run different distances depending on their school year (see distance list below).
Participants start on poolside, swim their allocated distance, put running clothes on at poolside and leave via the fire exit and run around Bedford Park. The ‘clock’ is on the whole time.
The staggered start means that you will be allocated start time one week before the event. The whole event should be done by 12.30/1pm. (Years 11 start the event and Year 3 will be last in the pool). There will be competitions for each year groups – Year 3 to 11, however because the event has a staggered start (each child will go in 30 seconds after the one before) each participant is running their own race.
All you need is a swimsuit / swim shorts, goggles (if needed) a towel, t-shirt and trainers.
After the event awards will be presented to 1st 2nd and 3rd placed in each year group, everyone else’s results will be emailed the following day.
Everyone participating will be given a medal for taking part!
Swim
| School Year (SEPTEMBER 2025) | Distance | Lengths of Robinson Pool |
| Year 10 & 11 | 400 metres | 12 |
| Year 8 & 9 | 333 metres | 10 |
| Year 6 & 7 | 200 metres | 6 |
| Year 4 & 5 | 133 metres | 4 |
| Year 3 | 66 metres | 2 |
Run
| School Year (SEPTEMBER 2025) | Distance | Routes |
| Year 10 & 11 | 2.8 km | 3 x Red route |
| Year 8 & 9 | 2.8 km | 3 x Red route |
| Year 6 & 7 | 1.9 km | 2 x Red route |
| Year 4 & 5 | 1.2 km | 2 x Blue route |
| Year 3 | 600 metres | 1 x Blue route |
(All results will be published the following day. Presentation of the winning boys and girls of each age group will be announced at the finishing line after all the races have finished).
Please note:
Over the years the Bedford Junior Aquathlon has increased in numbers due to its popularity and high demand.
The safety and enjoyment of the children attending is our first priority so we have made the difficult decision to cap the maximum number of participants to 200. If we reach this number of bookings before the deadline of the 30 September 2025 we will close bookings.
There is lots of information on www.bedford.gov.uk/aquathlon
You will need to have timed your child swimming beforehand so I can order the participants from fastest to slowest so that we don’t get too much over taking – as this sometimes confuses participants and we want to make the event as ‘fun’ as possible.
Due to the organisation of the event we cannot accept bookings on the day – the deadline for all bookings will be Tuesday 30th September at 5pm.
I just wanted to thank you for yesterday’s Aquathon. It was my daughters first time and she thoroughly enjoyed it. The information you sent out prior to the event was extremely informative and helpful. We felt well prepared and the event was very well organised. It was lovely to see that anyone can do it no matter their level of running or swimming.
