Glentress Duathlon …the long wan !

Sunday saw the final event in the Glentress Winter Duathlon series with the “best” (i.e. the longest) being kept for last ! The bike race was a two lap course (not sure of the length) and the 10km run went all the way up to the mast via the Buzzard’s Roost. The return route is exactly the same, back to the Red Squirrel.

I had my Cannondale in for a new air cartridge and was due to collect it on the Thursday but due to problems sourcing parts …I got a phone call to say it wouldn’t be ready. The good folks at Dales compensated me with a very tasty Specialized Epic Expert full susser – nice …very nice in fact. I picked it up on the Friday and rode down every set of stairs I could find on the way home !

To the race …

Decided to make a weekend of the affair and booked into a nice B&B at Innerleithen so the trip along to Glentress and registration was a 5 minute drive which made a nice change. Quick recee of the initial bike and run starts helped settle the nerves a little.

The mountain bike section started with a mass start (which was “interesting” as folks sorted positions ready for the first climb). By the top of the first bit of single track, things had evened out a little and I ended up in a bunch of about 6 riders who stayed pretty much together. Having the full suspension definitely allowed me to ride the bumpy bits quicker than my bike skills would normally allow (cheers Dales). On the climbs and fire roads, the stronger riders overtook and on the more technical sections …the better riders overtook but overall there wasn’t much in it as our wee bunch entered transition. Bike racked, it was into the Walshes and up the hill …via the very steep start. The calf muscles were as stiff as carbon but as heavy as lead. I was able to catch a few of the bikers who had finished quicker (but did not seem to be enjoying the run) on the ascent to the mast and continued to gain a few more places on the descent (I assume most of these were also bikers who were not enjoying the run). Funny bit was seeing the look on some walkers faces who had mistaken the race route marking for a marked walking route.

Big vote of thanks to Pete, Elsie + team for all the organizing !

Known Westies finishers were …

28th -Graham Kelly (SM) Bike(53:47)/Run(52:56) Total =1:46:43

29th-Gary Tompsett(V40M) Bike(49:20)/Run(58:05) Total =1:47:25

43rd-Keith Adams (V50M) Bike (57:46)/Run (59:02)Total =1:56:48