Duathlon Trial Run – Chapter 2

Yesterday we witnessed the second dry-run for the upcoming Duathlon, which will be held in October 11th. Why a ‘dry-run’, you may ask. Well, it is more to gauge our preparedness for the D-day, getting familiarized with the race track and above all, getting used to the concept of a Duathlon. And believe me, its a completely different paradigm when you have to run-cycle-run!

This trial run yesterday attracted a fair amount of 18 enthusiasts and a good set of volunteers. With no special-effects and few strategically placed route signs, everything was good to go. We saw many new faces in the run and that was encouraging.

With a not too sunny weather, the race was set for a near-ideal setup. With bikes placed in line in the transition area, it was quite a sight as the participants prepared themselves, placing their shoes, bottles, bikes and what not in the proper position. Remember, in a race like this, every second matters as the clock never stops, so one’s got to have things placed in order to make the transition from running to cycling and then again to running as smooth as possible.

There was a very strong set of runners in the from of Cliff, Kati, Sofi and Scott. Shay was as usual at his cycling best with his Edddy Merckx, quite a lightweight stunner that is! He pulled out after the second round of cycling as his knee hurt badly from the half-marathon he ran a few weeks back.

One of the worst thing happening was that even though we had the company of the IRON MAN Matt himself in this race, unfortunately he got a double-flat in the first 100m of the cycling stage and had to pull out!! Duh! In the morning, we were all so kicked up to compete with the Iron Man himself, but pity he couldn’t complete the race for absolutely ‘flat’ reasons. In his own words:

I double flatted in the first 100 meters of the bike.  I got a good workout in cursing myself…  I spotted myself out on the course and was the cutest cheerleader these guys ever saw :)…   Shay cycled by my cheering station so fast I got whip-lash.  He rode the Eddy and made all Belgian’s proud.

Of the total 18 riders, 5 were not able to complete the whole race. Here are the final results and they very much speak for themselves:

 
So, the final winners were:
1. Cliff
2. Katie
3. Sofi

Photos from Sunil’s camera (I think we can very well declare it the ‘official’ camera of HBC, as almost every HBC picture has been clicked through it and in the process, it has taken most of the beating, but still goes on and on!)

In the end, we had the unique christening ceremony for the new bike. Inspired by how a new yacht is christened with a bottle of Champagne, we had our own way to do it. Can’t help it, we are “drinkers with a cycling problem” :)

Hoping to see an even bigger crowd for the final event.

Just Ride!
Sandy