ATHLETES braved the rain to take part in a gruelling duathlon yesterday.

Durham City Council and Durham Triathlon Club had hoped the race, at the council's Meadowfield Leisure Centre, would have attracted about 80 competitors.

But the weather blunted the appeal of the event for some athletes and the turnout was about 50.

The event featured two runs and a cycle race and attracted entrants from several of the region's athletics clubs and from further afield.

Geoff Ayers, of the Lakeland Triathlon Club, emerged as winner with a time of just under one hour, 17 minutes.

A spokesman for the leisure centre said: "It has been a canny day, even though the weather put a few runners off. It went well and people said they enjoyed it."