Olympian footsteps: Maxifuel F3 Duathlon, Dorney Lake

The Christmas decorations are back in the attic, and commuting in the dark and rain is back to its miserable and extortionate self, so it was time to open the new multisport year with the Maxifuel F3 Dorney Lake Duathlon. Three duathlon distances were available – super sprint, sprint and standard-- and I opted for the middle-sized one, which I thought just right for the time of year and the windy conditions. A quality field of nearly 300 flew off from the gun, with top international age-group duathlete Hugh Mackenzie and a lot of juniors from the national development squad. I was impressed by the pace of two women who were well up on the first run and, not being an avid follower of elite triathlon, only learned afterwards that these were Olympic hopefuls Vanessa Raw (who is also a very capable painter) and the South African, Gillian Sanders, the latter significantly ahead at T1.

Their competitiveness stood out and while I managed to get past them on the bike (though Raw was on a road bike!), on the second run I soon heard rapid footsteps, which woke me up. Raw’s commitment and springy forefoot style were inspirational. I didn’t get past again and finished three seconds behind, splitting the duel in 8^th overall, as first vet and about five minutes behind overall winner Mackenzie. Though the wind was exhilarating when on your tail down the long straight, with top speeds of 50 km/h, it was unforgiving.

This was a fresh and exciting debut to the season, probably one of the first duathlons on the calendar, and up to F3’s usual organizational standard. Results are here. These handy winter sharpeners take place monthly until April, although they’re filling fast.