Recently retired Canadian Ironman professional triathletes Mike Neill and Jasper Blake, assisted by ironman triathlete and physiotherapist Sandy Wilson, will again be in Bermuda in January to coach the third annual Bermuda Triathlon Association camps.After interest was generated in the previous two years, Neill and Blake will be flying in to take charge of three camps over 10 days.These will include both weekday evening and weekend sessions and in addition Wilson will be holding an evening seminar on injury prevention and treatment which will be open to anyone interested and not just those taking part in the camp.The Beginners camp will be for anyone who has never participated in a triathlon as an individual and local organiser Dave Morrison stressed that athletes “do not have to be super fit as the course is designed for anyone who can swim (or walk) in waist deep water, can ride a pedal bike of any description and run across the road.”Added Morrison: “In past years we have had swimmers, cyclists and runners wanting to get into triathlon but the typical participant has been fairly unfit with either no swimming ability, or very little ability, a beat-up bike (but in working order) and the ability to run or walk 200 metres.“It is amazing how quickly participants gain confidence and soon feel able to handle a very short triathlon or a sprint triathlon. As the riding is at Clearwater Beach area there is not a lot of traffic to worry participants and the swimming is from the beach.”A Refresher camp will also be held for triathletes with some experience of racing, especially over shorter distances, and an Advanced camp, which will have more sessions and focus on more intense training sessions for more experienced triathletes as they start their season training.Neill, who in addition to the January camps coached Beginner and Refresher courses in May this year, has been one of Canada’s leading professional triathletes, winning the prestigious Gulf Coast Triathlon each year from 2006 to 2010. He has completed in 30 Ironmans placing in the top 10 numerous times with a personal best of eight hours, 39 minutes.The Ironman consists of a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bike ride and a marathon 26.2-mile run, raced in that order and without a break.Neill is the head coach of Human Powered Racing, Canada, one of the largest triathlon teams on Vancouver Island.Blake has also been one of Canada’s top professional triathletes for several years and coaches numerous athletes.He won the Canadian Ironman Championships in 2006 with a time of 8:33 (with a run split of 2:48). Between 2001 and 2011 he had nine top five finishes at Ironman Canada. He is the founder and driving force behind B78 Endurance Coaching.In previous years, the Bermuda camps have seen some 100 athletes take part and Morrison is hopeful a similar number or more will register.“A good deal of the recent boom in interest in the sport and growing number of participants can be attributed to these camps with many beginners going on to race locally and a surprising number already racing in longer distance races,” said Morrison“The camps will culminate on February 3 in a fun mini-triathlon for all participants followed in the evening by a final casual dinner.”