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WINTER SERIES - EVENT 5 - HIGH SHINCLIFFE 21 MARCH 2010
This was the final event in our Winter Series of training duathlons, and we had a great day for it. It was crisp and dry, and quite warm - about 11°C. There was a noticeable wind on the exposed road from Sherburn to Coxhoe, but of course it works 2 ways! There were 35 starters in the event which is run as a handicap: the early starters get under way at about 09.50 with the last man, Daniel Jenkin going at 10.30. Looking down the result sheet a lot of people achieved PBs, and the old course record [Ben Howard -DuTri, 54.11] took a hammering from Phil Hatzis [DuTri] who came home in 52.08. It will be interesting to see if Phil or others can take that down further in the Summer Series - but Well Done! to Phil for an excellent performance.
As these events have progressed the handicapping has become considerably tighter. Today the various groups started at 2m30s intervals, and the first 10 finishers - ranging from the very first off to the 32m30s man - were covered by a gap of just 3 minutes at the finish. First home was Lee Pattison [DTC, 15minute group] at 1.22.30 who had passed Les Parker [u/a, 10m] - in at 1.22.42, and just managed to stay ahead of Clive Hodgson [Heaton Harriers, 17m30s], in at 1.22.47. Seconds behind this trio was a remarkable Adam Khalil [DTC, 15m] who lopped 5min and 12min from his previous best performances - Fantastic!
Next home was the first lady, a newcomer here, Bev Blakeman [Sunderland Harriers, 17m30s]. She finished at 1.23.23, just seconds ahead of Ellen Ann Finnighan who was chasing the points that would get her on to the podium [Graham, do we have a podium?!] in the Ladies Points Classification. Vicky Mattless [DTC, 10m, new bike, very fast!] was next in at 1.24.22. She was almost engulfed by the whirlwind that was Phil Hatzis - off at 32m30s, home in 8th place at 1.24.22 in a new course record. And when he learns to get his feet into his bike shoes, he'll be really fast! Julia Quinonez [DTC, 0m] our first-off today wasn't far behind a 1.24.46 with Club Chairman Graham Bradshaw [DTC, 25m] completing the top 10 at 1.25.26, just outside the hour so he has a clear target for the Summer Series!
Further down the field there were many great performances marking huge ahievements for each person. A look across the individual times for each event [see League Totals - Time&Points, below] will show just how much some participants have improved over the Series, and all of them can expect to be performing well once the current season gets properly under way.
Looking now at the two Classifications in the League, the Points Classification clearly repays those who manage to get to all the events. So it was that Lee Pattison [DTC] romped home with 98 points from the 4 events [30+23+15+30] despite his handicap moving from zero to 15 minutes. Equally remarkable was the achievement of Adam Khalil [DTC]. He first appeared at the end of last season when the club duathlon was at Meadowfield - on his mountain bike he was chuffed to crack 2 hours. In this Series on a faster bike he has brought his times down from 1.20.40 in October to 1.07.59 today as his handicap also moved from zero to 15m. He missed one event, so his 75 points [18+30+27] is a terrific achievement and indicates just how serious he is. Andrew Stevenson [DuTri] was 3rd in the Points. He saw his times fall from 1.09.30 to 1.02.24, giving him a total of 64 points [21+28+15]. Excellent!
For the Ladies, Ellen Ann Finnighan came tops with 57 points [27+5+25] ahead of Julia Quinonez on 41 [19+22] and Hilary Ross on 39 [5+5+19+10]
In the Best-3 Classification which adds the best 3 scratch times over the Series, James Wildgoose [DuTri] and Neil Sleeman [DTC] were separated by just 13 seconds. Neither of them could take part today, but the competition behind them was intense between Nigel Jackson [u/a] on 2.13.28 and Andrew Stevenson [DuTri] on 2.14.24, from their first two events. On the day Andrew pulled enough out of the bag to turn the tables, grabbing 3rd place in this Classification by 30seconds with a total of 3.16.48. Neither of them will mind too much being overshadowed by Hilary Ross [DTC]. Her best-3 times totalled 3.13.36 - the first lady was good enough for 3rd place overall - with a stunning sequence of consistent rides. Second in this Classification was Kat Henderson [DuTri] with 3.24.41 with Ellen Ann Finnighan some distance back on 4.01.56.
So well done to all the leaders, and well done to all those further down the tables - have a good look at the improvements in your overall times, and look too at the individual event results to see which segments offer you scope for even more improvement.
The day was somewhat marred by an accident on the bike course. Dave King hit a pothole just after the traffic lights turn at the bottom of Shincliffe Bank, broke his collar bone and ended up in hospital. Our thanks to Tony McNeill who dropped out to stay with him, and to John, Ellen Ann, Phil and Carole who went to assist - as well as to the paramedic and ambulance staff who responded to the emergency call. We wish you a speedy return to action Dave.
Series stats - Over the 4 events of the Winter Series, 76 different participants took part, drawn from 10 different clubs. This last event attracted 11 new participants. 41 people took part in just 1 of the events, 17 got to 2 of them, 16 got to 3 events and just 3 got to all 4- so top marks to Lee Pattison, Colin Prested and Hilary Ross for that! IF YOU TOOK PART AND HAVE A COMMENT WE'D BE GLAD TO HAVE YOUR FEEDBACK.
There is no club duathlon in April - we'll all be at the City of Durham Duathlon, our flagship event at Meadowfield Sports Centre on April 18. The field is limited to just over 100 but there are still a few places left for anyone who relishes a challenge! Meadowfield timekeepers Owen and Sue were shadowing [and assisting] at today's event to sharpen up their skills for the Big One next month.
The Summer Series of club Duathlons will move now to Thursday evenings, starting in May. The dates are May 20, June 17, July 15, August 19. Check the website closer to the time for precise details, but the outline plan is for sign-on from 18:15 with starters going from 19:00.
Hope to see you there!
Ian and Allan.
Please see:
MARCH RESULTS
LEAGUE TOTALS - TIMES&POINTS
WINTER SERIES - Event 4 - 21 Feb 2010 High Shincliffe
Today's duathlon was officially the 4th in the Winter Series but because of last month's cancellation was actually the 3rd event. The weather was desperately cold, but it was dry. The light snow covering that had greeted us on Saturday morning, and which we thought likely for Sunday, didn't happen. A course inspection at 08:00 showed a clear course so Ian and Allan were happy to go ahead with the event. The temperature was only just above freezing and the snow did begin to fall shortly after 11:00, but by that time the bikes were almost finishing and there were no problems.
31 entrants signed on for the session, 12 of them first-timers here. Our total of starters over the 3 events so far now runs at 67 drawn from 8 different clubs with still others unattached - a very encouraging level of interest.
It was clear from the end of Run 1 that the handicapping is gradually taking effect. The faster, later starters were having to work much harder to make up ground on the front runners. Adam Khalil, starting in the 6-minute group - who in the last event of the Summer Series at Meadowfield had been pleased to crack 2 hours - showed what 6 months of steady improvement looks like by racing home first at 1h19.00, a scratch time of 1h 13m - Impressive or what?! And his 30 points today lifts him to 3rd in the points classification with a total of 48 points. Stuart Thew [6-min group] chased him home at 1h 19.08 to take 29 points, with Andrew Stevenson [15-min group] making up a lot of ground to finish at 1h 19.54 and take 28 points. George Harden [15-min group] of Sunderland Harriers was less than a minute further back, very impressive in his first duathlon. But behind him Gary Grounds [24-min group] from Bike Tracks Tri was scything through the field to finish 7th on the day at 1h 21.10 - a winning scratch time of 57.10. In the prevailing conditions this was an immense performance. It's still almost 3 minutes off the October course record of Ben Howard [54.11] but that didn't include the T1 time : with a bit of sunshine to warm him Gary could undoubtedly put pressure on the record. The other 24-min starters, James Wildgoose of DuTRI and Neil Sleeman of DTC were slugging it out a little distance behind to finish at 1h 24.30 and 1h 24.42 respectively. They didn't quite manage to catch the lone 21-min man Jordan Matthews of Hetton Hawkes who suffered a bit on the second Run, but held on to finish at 1h 22.58, a scratch time of 1h 01.58 - brilliant!
At this stage with just 1 event left in the Series, the Points and Best-3 Classifications are shaping up for a bit of a showdown.
In the Points Table, Lee Pattison of DTC is a clear leader - at the moment. He has 68 in total, made up of 30+23+15: as the handicapping gets tighter his points are coming down. On the other hand the chasing two - Andrew Stevenson on 49 [21+28] and Adam Khalil on 48 [18+30] are close enough to snatch it from him in the last event. Watch your back, Lee!
And in the Time Classification for the Best-3 events, the competition is even sharper. Comfortably ahead are James Wildgoose [3h 02.48] and Neil Sleeman [3h 03.01] : but only 13 seconds separates them with about an hour of duathlon left to go.... Pressure? what pressure?! And if you think that's going to be exciting, have a look at 3rd place in this classification. Hilary Ross looks very comfortable in 3h 19.58 while the others who have registered 3 times are quite a way back - Colin Prested on 3h 34.43 and Tony McNeill on 3h 34.47. And with only 4 seconds separating those two there are sure to be some fireworks. But dig a little deeper and you'll see that there are a number of competitors who have 2 times listed that put them in the frame to make Hilary work for her 3rd place. With 2 events completed Gary Robertson on 2h 09.40, John Kelly on 2h 12.27, Nigel Jackson on 2h 13.38, Andrew Stevenson on 2h 14.24 or Dave King on 2h 14.52 could do enough in the last event to push Hilary off the podium. But don't hold your breath guys, she won't make it easy for you!
The last event in the Winter Series of Durham Tri Duathlons is looking to be a cracker! High Noon at High Shincliffe? You'll have to be there between 09:00 and 12:00 on March 21 and wait for the smoke to clear.....
Please see;
RESULTS
LEAGUE TABLES
PICTURES
Apologies in advance to a few people who are missing an intermediate time - I shall have to speak to the Timekeepers!
Ian
NEXT EVENT: WINTER SERIES EVENT 5 is on SUNDAY 21 MARCH
WINTER SERIES - Event 3 - originally 17 Jan 2010, postponed to 31 Jan 2010. Cancelled.
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