Oulton Park Duathlon - 25 March 2012 - by Anita Webb Jones

It was a beautiful Sunday morning with not a cloud in the sky as Alex, Jon Hyde, Colin and myself set off to Oulton Park Duathlon which was another event in the British Age Group Qualifiers . Excitement was in the air as this was no ordinary course, it was a true race circuit with many stories to be told and goals to be achieved.

The run/bike/run event consisted of circuits of the Oulton Park racecourse;
run 2 circuits (5.4 miles)

bike 9 circuits (24 miles)
run 1 circuit (2.7 miles)

On arriving the scenery that embraced the track was breathtaking making the spectating all that more enjoyable! First off, was to get numbers and chips - what a pallaver that was! The numbers were transfers which required wet sponges to aid the transfer from paper to skin. This seemed to present more of a challenge that the race itself!

Afterwards it was time to get the bikes sorted and into transition, where unfortunately for Jon he had a blow out! The support for Alex, Jon and Colin was out in force with partners, parents, sisters and cutest of all Ava and Xander (Alex's niece and nephew cheering from the trackside).

As we positioned ourselves near to the start, a sea of colour and hundreds of determined looking athletes headed towards us. The game was afoot and the pressure was on to get some crackin' shots of the A&T lads who do us proud on every level. The sun was relentless and took its toll on everyone. This however, didn't distract the lads from their mindset resulting in sterling performances from all three men.

Once Alex, Jon and Colin had completed the race and had some much needed refreshments and rest we all headed home with memories of a fantastic day to add to an already growing catalogue of superb achievements.

The results are (from 400 + entrants):

Alex - 1.54.51 pos 80

Colin - 1. 55. 44 pos 94

Jon - 2. 02. 13 pos 142