My first duathlon for 2 years, I was hoping that I had some running in me still! Arrived at the venue and found out that, unlike cycling, the race briefing was for everybody before the first race. Not only did this mean we had to get there early, I didn’t get a chance to test out my tri-bars on the track (luckily it was Stourport, which I know very well). After watching the kids racing, it was my turn, and I prepared for a 2400km run, and how much time the others would put into me.
Only about 6 seconds (on the first lap anyway). I had a slow start, though when a group of others came past, I sped up a bit. Funnily enough, I was running with Alex Thompson, who I used to race in duathlon’s as a 10 year old. I ended the run in 7th place, now it was time for the cycling. I expected to be faster, but I ended up putting 2 minutes into 2nd place Oliver Mason and entered the final run with an entire lap of the Athletics track on the chasers. I ran, just possibly not my quickest, to the finish, and everybody was amazed at how I could ride so quick. While the glory was great, it wasn’t the same as a bike race, so I won’t be swapping sports anytime soon!