In response to Croft dropping the duathlon from their events calendar* I felt it was about time I had a go at a ‘proper’ duathlon. (* Croft duathletes didn’t come forward to organise one!- Ed)
So it was with some trepidation that I placed my trusty old road bike on the racking alongside bikes that probably had inner tubes worth more than the whole of my bike. Add to this the fact that I had completed a 34 mile run along the Herefordshire trail and Offas’ Dyke with Dave Lloyd and Phil Jones the day before in preparation for the Housman 100 I knew this was not going to be easy going!
There were two distances to choose from either 2.5mile run 17mile bike 2.5mile run or 5mile run 17mile bike 2.5mile run. 75 of the competitors, including myself opted for the longer course.
My first run took me 32mins 59secs placing me 26th, the ride took me 55mins 26secs placing me 39th and the final run of 2.5miles took me 15min 27secs placing me 7th for the run and 27th overall with a total time of 1hr 43mins 52secs.
The event was won by Iain Jennings of Worcester tri club in 1hr 31mins 4secs.
The fastest 1st run time was 28mins 24secs
The fastest ride time was 45mins 37secs
The fastest 2nd run time was 14mins 46secs.
For a first stab at a ‘proper’ duathlon it was ideal – cheap, few rules and very friendly. The only downside being that it clashed with the Shobdon Wood run.
But on the plus side due to the duathlon starting at 9am it did allow me time to call by at Shobdon for a doughnut on my way to work. As a true athlete the importance of refuelling is always at the forefront of my mind!