XTRI24 UK, the iron-distance race formerly known as the Xman, has been cancelled for 2013.

Due to be held on the 12th of July and offering the unique point-to-point, overnight AND cross-country format, XTRI24 UK cited low entry numbers as the contributing reason for the event to be cancelled.

In a statement posted on their Facebook page, the organisers said:

Due to the low number of registrations for the event, we have made the difficult decision to cancel XTRI24 2013.

We are extremely sorry for any inconvenience caused and are aware of how disappointing this decision will be for everyone.

The inaugural event in summer 2012 was a massive success which sold out well in advance, so it is with great surprise and disappointment that as of January 2013 we only have 25 registered participants for the second edition. If this was a logistically smaller event then we would continue to deliver it to completion. However, the scale and scope of the organisation needed to deliver the XTRI24 is substantial and requires a considerably greater level of participation.

With the event now under 6 months away we have decided to make a call. We trust that this leaves you time to arrange and focus on another challenge for 2013 and we hope that you will respect our decision for calling this in good time.

Full refunds have been made to you today, back to the original payment card (please note these may take 24hrs to show in your bank). You do not need to do anything further.

We are hosting the Horseman Extreme Triathlon in September, which has significantly passed minimum fill levels. So, if you are looking for a 2013 challenge we warmly invite you to consider HXTRI as an option.

We have tried to contact you today by phone. If we have not been able to speak with you, we welcome you to call us on: +44(0)1548 853524

Xman gained a fierce reputation in its debut year of 2012, with not only the challenging and unsupported course proving difficult, but atrocious weather conditions meant that the race had an incredibly high attrition rate of 40%.

The news of the demise of XTRI24 UK takes the number of iron-distance races in the UK and Ireland from 23 to 22. Check out the full calendar here.