CLUB DUATHLON - WINTER SERIES 2010-11: Event 5 - High Shincliffe, 20 March 2011

Sunday March 20 saw the last session in the Winter Series of club duathlons take place at High Shincliffe. The morning was dry and cool, with just a hint of impending rain - though thankfully that never materialised. There was no significant wind as Steve Hesler rolled up at 08:15 and stuck together the new bike racking system. This gave the session an air of reality: instead of the bikes being laid against the wall or ditch on either side of the road, they now hung by their saddles to the left and right of the bike rack in the centre of the road. This looked terrific, and allowed our athletes to practise racking and unracking as well as laying out their transition gear in a more realistic way.
Ian, Allan and Joe were joined by an enlarged timing crew - Ellen Ann, Liz, Alison, Carole and Martin were all preparing for timekeeper duties at next month's City of Durham Duathlon at Meadowfield - and mighty impressive they were too, we could get used to this kind of support! There were 32 starters in all: 14 DTC, 10 DUtri in spite of the end of term, and 8 others - setting off in 12 different groups.
First off were Rachel Wright [DTC] and new girl Caroline Taylor [u/a], accompanied unusually and very briefly by fast man Dan Jenkin who had to leave early. 10 minutes later the unattached Alan Springhall and DUtri's newbie Shiz Gerami set off, with DTC's first-timer Steve Lindsay going at 12 minutes. The 14-minute group was Andrew Hamilton [u/a] with Neil Petch [DTC] in his first duathlon. Also in his first duathlon was Tim Wiles [DUtri] going at 16 minutes, along with Peter Brooks [DTC] and ladies' leader Rhiannon Mehta [DUtri]. 18 minutes saw the departure of DTC's Roz Layton and Julia Quinonez, and then at 20 minutes a 5-man group - Mick Hannon, Steve Thomas, Geoff Watson and Richard Fearnside [all DTC] along with Rupert Simpson [DUtri].
By now of course Dan Jenkin was out on his bike, having finished his first run in 11:12 - some distance ahead of his co-starters Rachel and Caroline who were both doing well, finishing the run at 17:32 and 18:52. The 10-min group had begun to close down on the girls, Alan Springhall [u/a] going off on his bike at 25:37, not far ahead of Shiz Gerami [DUtri] at 26:01. Steve Lindsay [DTC,12m] had a good 14:21 for the first run, Andrew Henderson [u/a,14m] had a 14:40, Julia Quinonez [DTC,18m] did a 14:12, but Tim Wiles [DUtri,16m] was really cruising with a 12:52 run. Geoff Watson [DTC,20m] was first back of the 20-min group with a 13:15 run, just ahead of Roz Layton [DTC,18m] on a 15:26 and Richard Fearnside [DTC,20m] with a 14:47 run. Gradually the run times began to fall: Steve Hesler [DTC,22m] with 13:47, a trio of DUtri athletes Richard Richardson 13:00, Ryan Hart 13:04 and Fiona Hunter-Johnston 13:06, Jerry Lloyd [DTC,30m] 13:10, Dave Lawson [DTC,26m] 13:01, Will Aylward [DUtri,30m] 12:15, Philip Stephenson [DTC,32m] 12:28, and Dan Colegate [DUtri,32m] 11:53.
Having started so early, Dan Jenkin was by now back and through T2 with a great 31:37 for the bike which would keep him at the top spot for the bike section until near the end of the morning. For the rest, Rachel Wright [DTC,0m] was still comfortably ahead with a good 44 minute ride. Andrew Henderson [u/a,14m] came through at 1:07:22 having just caught Caroline Taylor [u/a,0m], but only just ahead of Tim Wiles [DUtri,16m] who'd had a great first run [12:52] and a steady bike ride. We had to wait another 2 mnutes for Steve Lindsay [DTC,12m] and then another minute before Shiz Gerami [DUtri,10m] came through at the head of a steady trickle. Ryan Hart and Richard Richardson [both DUtri,24m] were locked in combat with good 35 minute rides having caught and passed Steve Hesler [DTC,22m] and Peter Brooks [DTC,16m]. Geoff Watson [DTC,20m] had caught Roz Layton on the first run, but she'd managed to hold him on the bike. Then Dan Colegate [DUtri,32m] came back with a terrific 31:15 for the bike having just caught 3 of the 20-min group - Richard Fearnside, Stephen Thomas and Mick Hannon [all DTC,20m]. Ed Garrett [DUCC,32m] was also very fast on the bike [31:35] though he'd already lost some time on the first run.
By now Dan Jenkin was home and dry, literally, gliding in with a deceptivey relaxed-looking 10:36 for his second run. The next fastest Run 2 times were over a minute slower - Phil Stephenson [DTC,32m] on 11:42 and Will Aylward [DUtri,30m] on 11:46, with four others squeezing into the 12-minute bracket: Richard Richardson and Ryan Hart [both DUtri,24m] continuing their battle all the way to the finish, Dan Colegate [DUtri,32m] and Jerry Lloyd [DTC,30m] using the runners in front of them as carrots in their run to the finish.
In the search for points though it's the actual finishing order on the day that counts [we discounted Dan of course as he's really a scratch runner]. First home to take the 30 points was Rachel Wright [DTC,0m] who knocked 10 minutes off her PB to finish in 1:19:08. Tim Wiles [DUtri, 16m] in his first duathlon was very happy with 29 points, his actual time of 1:04:43 giving an indication that a sub-60 performance is on the cards during the summer. Andrew Henderson [u/a,14m] took 28 points, ahead of Steve Lindsay [DTC,12m] and Richard Richardson [DUtri,24m]
For the full results follow the link below.

As this was the last session of the Winter Series, the final standings in the League were also decided. Top of the Points Classification was Rhiannon Mehta with a terrific 69 points from 4 sessions, putting her well clear of Kate Mapstone [DUtri] on 38 and Vicky Mattless [DTC] on 37. For the guys things were a lot closer. Daniel Bruce [u/a] topped the list with 66 points just ahead of Philip Stephenson [DTC] on 65 and Andy O'Hare [u/a] on 64.
In the Best-3 Classification where we add up the best 3 times [excluding the handicap allowances] Rhiannon was again top for the Ladies, actually the only one to complete 3 duathlons. Her total time was 3:50:45 with a best time of 1:13:24 - well done Rhiannon, we're looking forward to your first sub-70 in the summer! In the men's Best-3 Classification, University athletes had a clean sweep. Third place went to Ed Garrett [DUCC] with a super 2:57:03 - getting under 3 hours for 3 events is a real achievement. One spot better in second place was DUtri's Dan Colegate with a super 2:52:59. But out in front - by 12 minutes! - was Dan Jenkin [DUtri]. His sequence of duathlon sessions - 53:35 /54:07 /52:25 /53:25 - is outstanding. Well done, Dan!

Full results are below:
March duathlon, event 5 results .pdf   HERE
March duathlon, event 5 results .xls   HERE
Final League positions .pdf   HERE
Final League positions .xls   HERE

There is no club duathlon in April as we'll all be involved in the City of Durham Duathlon at Meadowfield on April 10.
The next set of club duathlons, the Summer Series, runs on Thursday evenings from May until August. The dates are May 19, June 16, July 21, August 18. Full details are on the Club Duathlon page HERE.
NEXT EVENT - Thursday May 19. Sign-on from 18:00 - 18:30 prompt.

CLUB DUATHLON - WINTER SERIES 2010-11: Event 4 - High Shincliffe, 20 Feb 2011

The fourth event in the Winter Series of duathlon sessions boasted the biggest field so far, with 45 athletes gathering for the session briefing. The day was cool and overcast with a very light wind - good for a serious workout. Allan, Joe and Ian were officiating as usual but were very glad of assistance offered as the numbers mounted - we really are at the stage numbers-wise when a regular team of helpers is becoming urgent. If you, or any of your family, could commit fairly regularly then do get in touch with us - it's an excellent way to support the club and, weather permitting, it's a great way to be involved in the athletic side of things without breaking a sweat! But I digress - back to the duathlon.
First out of the starting blocks were Sarah Burnham [DUtri], DTC members Steve Matthews and Mick Traynor, along with Nick Wildgoose [Banstead] whose son James would be in the scratch group 36 minutes later. John Sweeney [DUtri] went at 2 minutes; Rhiannon Mehta [DUtri] and Kevin Jackson [u/a] at 6 minutes. There was a starting gap then until the 12-minute group: Alan Smith [DTC] along with Daniel Bruce, Peter McDermott and Scott Russell [all u/a]. From then on there were runners starting every 2 minutes until Harry Walker [u/a] lined up with Dan Jenkin and James Wildgoose [both DUtri] at 36 minutes. All three in this scratch group are notable athletes. Harry is a past and current national record holder in cycling with a 52-minute time to his credit on this course, Dan has been the Series winner in the past 2 Series with a consistent string of sub-60minute performances, and James is a huge emerging talent who has Dan in his sights but hasn't yet found the edge to beat him on this circuit.
First of the early runners into Transition was John Sweeney [DUtri, 2m] with an excellent 14 minute run. Nick Wildgoose [Banstead, 0m] had opened a gap on the rest of his group coming in just under 18 minutes, followed at short intervals by Sarah Burnham [DUtri, 0m], Steve Matthews and Mick Traynor [DTC, 0m]. Rhiannon Mehta [DUtri, 6m] was running well to exit transition with a 15-minute run time, a little faster than Daniel Bruce [u/a, 12m] who recorded 15.22. Kate Mapstone [DUtri, 14m] had a 15.03, and Gail Brown [DUtri, 16m] showed a big improvement with a 14.32. Then the times began to tumble: Ryan Hart [DUtri, 24m] with 13.50, Philip Stephenson [DTC, 26m] on 12.29, Will Aylward [DUtri, 28m] with 12.30, Jerry Lloyd [DTC, 28m] 13.30, Ed Brett [DUtri, 32m] 12.31.  Neil Sleeman [DTC, 34m]13.04 led in the final flurry of fast runners, chased by Dan Jenkin [DUtri, 36m] with an 11.10 run, James Wildgoose [DUtri, 36m] with 11.30 and Harry Walker [u/a, 36m] on 12.27. The dynamics in this last group were interesting. Both James and Harry are faster on the bike than Dan - they now needed to catch him and take enough time from him on the bike to hold on for victory in the final run. But could they....?
It would take a bit of time to answer that question but it wasn't long before the early starters were returning to transition for their second run. Kevin Jackson [u/a, 6m] and Rhiannon Mehta [DUtri, 6m] had overhauled John Sweeney [DUtri, 2m] with Kevin in a clear 3-minute lead after a great 39.26 on the bike. Rhiannon's 43.37 put her just over 30 seconds in front of John who was about to begin the fight back. Gail Brown [DUtri, 16m] put in an excellent 36.45 on the bike to move up to 5th place at this stage. Also going well on the bike was David Cole [u/a, 18m] whose 35.56 moved him up to 10th place alongside Gareth Richardson [Darlington Tri, 18m]. David had had a slower first run than Gareth but a quicker bike time.... now, had he just got the engine properly warm, or had he burned too much fuel...?  Not far behind came Sam Hatfield [DUtri, 30m] who'd had the second-fastest Run 1 [11.25], and had now produced the third-fastest bike time [30.16]: but Sam had pushed too hard and had to withdraw due to cramp - though his times gave a clear indication that he will be a force to reckon with. Phil Stephenson [DTC, 26m] and Jerry Lloyd [DTC, 28m] had comfortable 34-minute bike times. Neil Sleeman [DTC, 34m] was a bit under par with 35.34, but the young guns of DUtri and DUCC were all firing well. Ed Brett [DUtri, 32m] had 31.45, Alex Clayton [DUCC, 32m] was flying with 30.08. The battle amongst the scratch athletes was sharpening up too. Dan Jenkin, the first of them out on the bike, came back with 31.03. But he'd been overhauled by James Wildgoose whose 30.23 now put him 20 seconds ahead with 3000m of running to go. The other danger man, Harry Walker hadn't quite managed to close the 77-second gap at the start of the bike, though his 30.03 - fastest bike time of the day -  took him within 17 seconds of Dan as they left transition again.
By now the early finishers were back. Kevin Johnson [u/a, 6m] held on comfortably to take the 30 points. John Sweeney [DUtri, 2m] had chased and caught Rhiannon Mehta [DUtri, 6m] to take 29 points, with Rhiannon claiming the 3rd place and 28 points. Gail Brown [DUtri, 16m] had moved up into 4th place and 27 points , ahead of Nick Wildgoose [Banstead, 0m]. Philip Stephenson [DTC, 26m] put in a great 11.49 for the second run to take 6th spot, overtaking Kate Mapstone [DUtri, 14m], Rupert Simpson [DUtri, 16m] and Gareth Richardson [Darlington Tri, 18m] in the closing stages. A minute behind them Will Aylward [DUtri, 28m] had chased down Andy and Davy O'Hare [u/a, 20m] with his 12.00 run, just passing David Cole [u/a, 18m] in the finishing straight, but not quite getting Sarah Burnham [DUtri, 0m]. Jonathan Yeates [DUtri, 30m] and Ed Brett [DUtri, 32m] both went under 12 minutes for the second run; 11.58 for Ed and 11.23 for Jonathan. James Wildgoose was faster still, but even his 11.00 for the second run wasn't enough to hold off Dan Jenkin who scorched around in 10.12.
In all there were 9 sub-60 performances; and the 10-minute target for Run 2 along with the 30-minute target for the bike circuit are just waiting to be taken...
For the ladies Kat Henderson [DUtri, 28m] was fastest with a scratch time of 1.03.20, nearly 2 minutes ahead of an impressive Fiona Hunter Johnston DUtri, 26m] whom she almost caught on the line. If Fiona could find an extra 7% on the bike - or 5% with smarter transitions - Kat would have to work very hard....!
Next month's duathlon, the final one in the Winter Series, is on March 20. It's likely to be a great session as a look at the League standings shows. In the Points classification Daniel Bruce on 66 and Rhiannon Mehta on 64 are clear leaders. But the group of 5 or 6 behind them could upset their applecart if they don't score points next time. In the Best-3-Times classification there is a lot at stake too. Dan Jenkin and James Wildgoose are only 50 seconds apart at the top of the leaderboard. The advantage lies with Dan, but it could be..... interesting...! Ed Brett is probably safe in 3rd place, but just 64 seconds separates the next four - Dan Colgate, Ed Garrett, Jonathan Yeates and Andrew Sedgwick; while for the following three, there is still the possibility of getting a 3-event total under 3 hours.
For the girls, Kat Henderson leads comfortably at this stage form Michelle Scott, with Hilary Ross a little distance behind.
So the scene is set for an exciting finish - come along for the last event in the Winter Series on March 20 to see how the chips finally fall, and if you're interested in helping with the organisation - get in touch.

WS Event 4 Results.pdf HERE
WS Event 4 Results.xls HERE

Current LEAGUE positions.pdf HERE

CLUB DUATHLON  -  WINTER SERIES 2010-11: Event 2 - High Shincliffe. 21 November.

It was just a little bit dismal at Shincliffe as we rolled towards 09:00 and set up for the Duathlon session. Briefly the rain seemed to fade and a false hope that the weather could turn out quite nice fluttered for a moment in the air, only to be washed away with the return of the rain. It was cold too - not freezing, but a miserable kind of cold that would seep into the bones of those who took the English weather too lightly. We had thought that the numbers involved would be lower than in recent sessions with a large contingent of the University students away down south at the BUCS event, but 35 starters signing up on a cold wet day was terrific. As usual with this session which is run on a handicap basis, participcants were grouped into 2-minute start groups spaced over more than 30 mnutes. The usual suspects - Ian, Allan and Joe - held the stopwatches, and were grateful for the asistance of Lee Pattison.
Steve Matthews [DTC] was first off, chased at 2 minutes by John Sweeney and Will O'Nions of DUtri along with Stevie Kyle of Crook AC in his first duathlon. There were groups at 6, 8 and 10 minutes; then from 14 minutes to 28 minutes, with the scratch man Dan Jenkin setting off at 32 minutes. First of the early starters back was Stevie Kyle with a 13.33 for the first run that suggested he might be hard to catch, though he was concerned that he might struggle on the bike. There were a lot of good runs from the early starters with Will O'Nions, John Sweeney, Tom Chia and Daniel Bruce all under 15 minutes. As we approached the half-hour mark with the last starters mustering, the transition area got very busy. Gareth Richardson [14m, Darlington Tri] came in with a 15.28; Ed Brett and Chris Elson [both 18m, DUtri] were together with 12.32 runs, a little ahead of Luke Morson [18m, DUtri], Adam Warren [18m, DTC] and Stuart Thew [16m, u/a]. Then the 20 minute start group appeared: Michelle Scott [Darlington Tri] on 13.32 leading in Jake Shackleford and Will Alyward [both DUtri] with 13.48 runs. Konstantin Visegradi [18m, DTC] was clearly feeling the cold with a 16.03 run, but some really quick times began to show with the return of the 22-minute group. Jonathan Yeates, Henry Eaton [bouth DUtri] and Phil Stephenson [u/a] all had great 12-minute runs. Jerry Lloyd and Hilary Ross [24m, both DTC] were a litte slower [13.30 and 14.22] though George Harden [24m, DTC] was firing well with a great 12.53 run. Dan Colgate [DUtri] was quickest of the 28-minute group with the best time so far, 12.16 - his co-starters Ed Garrett [DUCC] and Dave Lawson [DTC] returning high 13s for the run. That left just Dan Jenkin [32m, DUtri] out running still, but it wasn't long until his seemingly unhurried figure was exiting transition. The stopwatch told another story though: 11.30.
Out on the bike, Tom Chia [6m, DUtri] with a 38-minute ride had eaten into the 5½ minutes lead that Stephen Kyle [2m, Crook AC] started with, and was now just a minute behind as they left on Run 2, with Will O'Nions slipping back to 3rd place. But Gareth Richardson [14m, Darlington Tri] had carved a path through the field with a brilliant 32.18 for the bike to move up from 11th to 4th place. Behind them there were a lot of high-30s times for the bike as the cold seeped into bones and sapped energy, with only 5 other riders getting into 35-minutes or below. Fastest of these was Ed Garrett [28m, DUCC] with a 31.40, while Dan Jenkin wasn't far behind with 31.56.
On the second Run, Tom Chia [6m, DUtri] wasn't able to match Steve Kyle's running speed  - Stevie pulled away to cross the line first and claim the 30 points. Andrew O'Hare [10m, u/a] just managed to pass Will O'Nions [2m, DUtri]. Ed Brett [18m, DUtri] produced a great final run of 12.33 to claim 5th spot. Rupert Simpson [8m, DUtri], Peter McDermott [8m, u/a] and Daniel Bruce [8m, u/a] took the next 3 places, but Gareth Richardson [14m, Darlington Tri] faded after his terrific bike ride, his 20 minutes for Run 2 telling its own story. Of the late starters, Andrew Sedgwick [26m, Darlington Tri] was in the sights of a flying Dan Jenkin [32m, DUtri] whose 10.41 for the second run was the fastest of the day. Dan's first run was 11.30, but George Harden [24m, DTC] was the only othe runner to go under 12 minutes with  11.55 for his second run. Jerry Lloyd [24m, DTC] and Phil Stephenson [22m, u/a] were next quickest on run 2, both of them recording 12.24.
In the Scratch Classification with all the handicap allowances stripped out, Dan Jenkin was a comfortable winner with a stunning 54.07 - his 7th sub-60 on this course, out of 7 starts! Ed Brett [18m, DUtri] on 59.30, Andrew Sedgwick [26m, Darlington Tri] on 59.33, and Ed Garrett [28m, DUCC] on 59.35 were all under the hour as well, while Dan Colgate [28m, DUtri] and Jonathan Yeates [22m, DUtri] were just over the hour with 1.0.26 and 1.0.50 respectively - all of them terrific performances on an unforgiving day.
There were a couple of revisions to the originally published Results sheet.

Revised Results.pdf  HERE
Revised Results.xls  HERE

There is no duathlon in December.
The January duathlon has had to be changed from its regular date and will now take place on JAN 9, 2011.
The online pre-registration system worked well, and will continue. Pre-registration will make the morning's admin smoother and quicker [26 out of the 36 starters on Sunday could have preregistered, rather than 12...] This pre-registration is only for members of DTC and DUtri who should get an Invitation from the Eventbrite website on Wednesday 5 January; preregistration will be open until Saturday 8th at 18:00.
See you there, Ian.

WINTER SERIES 2010-11:  Event 1 - High Shincliffe 17 October 2010

The first event of the winter series was run in crisp, clear conditions with very little wind – pretty ideal. 40 athletes racked their bikes in the Transition area: the University Club had a terrific 17 starters. With a few other events on this weekend DurhamTri numbered 11 starters, and they were bolstered by one each from Hetton Hawks and Quakers RC, two from Darlington Triathlon, and 8 unattached athletes. There was a special mention at the briefing for two Agegroup Champions taking part: Hilary Ross [DTC] added the World Duathlon title in September to the European gold she'd won in France, and Kat Henderson [DuTri] was making her first appearance back up north after her gold in the European Triathlon Championships in July.

The handicapping system for these duathlon sessions puts the starters into 2-minute groups based on previous times for this course, or an estimate of total time from other training sessions. So Ken Haswell set off first followed by a group of four at 8 minutes, then Steve Matthews at 12 minutes. These early runners, many of them first-timers, were wisely conserving their energies, so initial run times were in the 16-18 minute bracket. First to break 16 minutes with 15.45 for Run 1 was Daniel Bruce [8min group, unattached]. It was nearly 10 minutes later that Konstantin Visegradi [20m, DTC] broke 15 minutes with a 14.52, and then the times began to get steadily quicker. Kat Henderson [24m, DuTri] produced a 13.48, and Andrew Sedgwick [28m, Darlington Tri] shortened it to 13.11. The 30 minute group were around the same kind of times – Jordan Matthews [Hetton Hawks] and Henry Eaton on 13.18, Hilary Ross and Jerry Lloyd [DTC] on 13.48 and 14.01 respectively. There had been a big starting gap after the 30 minute group, until the 3-man 38-minute scratch group set off. As they came into transition, it was clear why they so heavily handicapped. All 3 of them – Dan Jenkin, James Wildgoose, and course record-holder Phil Hatzis [all DuTri] – crashed through 12 minutes. Dan was the first of them in, 5 or 6 seconds ahead of Phil with James just 30 seconds behind. But Phil's Transition was a little masterclass... at the mount-line timing point the clock read 11.22 when Dan mounted his bike. Phil was only a second behind now, and with a bound he was on the bike and riding hard.... there was instantly a gap of yards which he would steadily continue to open up.

There had been a moment of TPS a little earlier as various runners ran into and out of Transition. This is a rare medical condition whose full title is Timekeepers' Panic Syndrome. It was triggered on this occasion by athlete number 26: as they come to the start line all the runners are given their start number which they call out every time they enter and exit transition. So there was just a hint of confusion when a second runner called out '26!'. As we scanned through the raft of figures in front of us trying to remember what the previous 26 had looked like, we were shocked to hear a third '26!' called out! In total five runners seemed to think they were number 26 - there are times when a TV remote with a PAUSE button could be very useful!

As the bikes returned and the final run started, the picture began to clear. Handicap advantages began to melt under the heat being applied by the later-starting groups. Daniel Bruce [8m, u/a] was now 2 minutes ahead of first starter Ken Haswell, who was just 10 seconds ahead of Esther Dingley [14m, DuTri]. She'd put in a very good bike time of 37 minutes. A minute later Vicky Mattless [16m, DTC] came through, followed by Rhiannon Metha [8m, DuTri] and then Kat Henderson [24m, DuTri] with a storming 34 minute ride. Moving up through the field were Andrew Sedgwick [28m, Darlington Triathlon] with 32 minutes for the bike, and Daniel Colgate [30m, DuTri] with a 33 minute ride. Also turning in great bike times, and taking back great chunks of time were Jordan Matthews [30m, Hetton Hawks] with a 33.42 for the bike, and Jerry Lloyd [30m, DTC] with 34.30. Further back Phil Hatzis [38m, DuTri] was on fire, his 29.18 for the bike taking 90 seconds more out of Dan Jenkin [31.44 for the bike] and over a minute faster than James Wildgoose [bike-30.29] who was now ahead of Dan.

But it wasn't all over yet.... Out on the second run, Kat Henderson was eating into Daniel Bruce's remaining advantage – he'd started the event 16 minutes in front of her, he'd started the final run with over 4 minutes in hand...... He hung on for 1^st place on the day -and the 30 points- but Kat's great second run cut that down to 42 seconds at the end, overtaking Rhiannon [also in the 8min group] in the closing stages. Andrew Sedgwick [28m, Darlington Triathlon] took 4^th place, just managing by 3 seconds to stay ahead of Daniel Colgate [30m, DuTri]. After that there was a steady stream of finishers as we waited to see if Phil could keep his 38minute rivals at bay. His second run was a little slower than his first – 11.44 to 11.23 – but good enough to see him easily safe from the attacking run of Dan Jenkin. Dan's second run was almost a minute faster than the first – a blistering 10.29. But in total time, it still left him over a minute slower than Phil's 52.25. James Wildgoose did 11.37 for his second run - overhauled on the back of the run circuit by a flying Dan - to take 3^rd place in the Scratch classification.

A total of 6 athletes broke the 60 minute barrier, so they will be added to the Sub-60 spreadsheet – the youngest of them at 17, Jordan Matthews of Hetton Hawks, with a 59.25 . The fast and the ultra fast are important of course, but there were lots of PBs there to applaud too. Commiserations to Gail who was doing so well until an unfortunate argument with a road sign stopped her in her tracks – our best wishes!

The full spreadsheet.xls of results is HERE

The spreadsheet.pdf version is HERE

The new Sub60 spreadsheet is HERE

The November duathlon takes place on Sunday Nov 21

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

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