Race Date: 23^rd March 2019

Clumber park Duathlon follows a standard duathlon format – run, bike, then run a little bit less. Two distances were on offer at this event – the standard distance (10k, 40k, 5k) and the sprint distance (5k, 20k, 2.5k). Unusually for me, I had chosen the lesser of the distances thinking that the weather might be poor, thus the bike ride miserable. As luck would have it, the sun came out and it was a glorious spring day and I regretted my choice – though I was reliably told by a Sheffield Tri Club member that his legs had often been blue in previous years during the cycle.

Another good thing about the race, is that it attracts some real pros with their fancy bikes and aero-helmets (we had an Olympian on the field!) making you feel competitive, but some novices too so you don’t feel out of your depth. Add to that the beauty of Clumber Park, the excellent organisation of the event, and the friendliness of the marshals means it is a really enjoyable event to welcome in the start of the summer season.

There were several Striders at the event. Kudos to Sophie Reale who seems to have a natural talent for cycling after the discovery of ‘pumped up tyres’ and managed to be 5th in her category, and to Richard Pegg, who, being Richard Pegg had a second duathlon the day after at Oulton Park – one is never enough.

The Standard distance was won by Will Clark (Olympian hopeful) of Cambridge Tri in 1:45:19, Ruth Purbrook won the womens’ race in 2:02:18.

Striders’ Results: