CLUB DUATHLON - SUMMER SERIES 2011: Session 3 - High Shincliffe, Thursday 21 July 2011

Another cool sunny evening, perfect for a good session. The group was a little smaller than usual - not surprising given that we're in the middle of the racing season and many athletes would be racing at the weekend. Ian and Allan were without Joe Applegarth on the night so were very glad of the assistance of Patsy Owens with stopwatch duties. As the start sheet firmed up, it was the scratch pairing of Dan Jenkin and Harry Walker that caught the eye. Both have come out on top here in the past. But only once before have they started in the same session, last month, when Harry set the current course record of 49:39, almost 2 minutes faster than Dan's time.
First off in this session was Helen Mason [DTC] followed at 8 minutes by Mike Probert [DTC] and the unattached pair of Alan Springhall and Matt Evans. Alan Smith [DTC] was next at 12 minutes then Christine Pope and geoff Watson [both DTC] at 14:00. 18:00 saw the departure of Phil Owen and Peter Brooks, then Wayne Owens [DTC] at 20 minutes, Gareth Richardson [Darlington Tri] at 22:00, Richard Fearn [ua] at 24:00, and Hilary Ross [DTC] at 26:00. There was a short gap in departures until Phil Stephenson [DTC] went at 30 minutes and Ed Garrett [DUCC] at 32:00; and another wait until Dan jenkin and Harry Walker lined up at 38:00.
From around the 19-minute mark the early starters had been returning to Transition to start the bike section. Helen Mason [DTC, 0m] was still in front at 19:20 but the 8-minute group had halved her lead with Mike Probert [DTC] and Alan Springhall [ua] going through at 23:04 and 23:16, and Matt Evans [ua] at 24:10. Geoff Watson [DTC, 14m] had a great 13 minute first run, going through at 27:35, nearly 3 minutes ahead of his co-starter Christine Pope [DTC, 14m] at 30:20, with both of them catching their 2-minute man Alan Smith. Peter Brooks and Phil Owen [both DTC, 18m] were next back around the 33-minute mark. Geoff's 13:35 run was lowered by Hilary Ross [DTC, 26m] with 13:27, Matthew Fearn [ua, 24m] with 12:30, Phil Stephenson [DTC, 30m] on 12:20, before Dan Jenkin came smokin' into Transition to exit in 10:45 just 15 seconds ahead of Harry Walker. Game ON!
The short time gap before the first bikes came back gave us a chance to draw the winning ticket in the evening's raffle for the bottle of wine [Ed Garrett went home happy!]. And of course we speculated about the outcome of the Jenkin/Walker duel. Could Harry take enough time from Dan on the bike to hold on to the finish? Could Dan stay in touch with Harry on the bike to leave him with a realistic chance of catching up on the second run? Time would tell.
First of the bikes back was Matt Evans [ua, 8m] at 1:01:20 with a solid 37:10 bike section. He was a minute ahead of his 8-minute co-starter Mike Probert [DTC], and another minute ahead of first starter Helen Mason who returned a great 44:13 on the bike in her first duathlon. Phil Owen [DTC, 18] brought the bike time down to 36:50; Hilary Ross [DTC, 26] took it down to 35:05, and Phil Stephenson [DTC, 30m] lowered it again to 34:35. The the shape of Harry Walker flashed into view, powering up the hill and into Transition, with the seconds slowly ticking past as we waited for Dan. Harry was running out at 1:17:38 - a 28:38 bike section - as Dan came back: he exited T2 just 26 seconds behind... Was that enough - for Harry to hold on to... for Dan to catch up...
By now the early finishers were beginning to trickle in. Matt Evans [ua, 8m] in his first duathlon held on to his lead to finish at 1:16:44 and take the 30 points, just a minute ahead of Mike Probert who picked up 29. Geoff Watson [DTC, 14m] had caught Helen Mason [DTC, 0m] to finish third and take 28 points.
At this stage the scratch men were passing the start-point after their small run loop: Dan had caught and passed Harry, but he was only just in front - there was still everything to play for.
Back at the finish line the runners were returning thick and fast. Wayne Owens [DTC, 20m] did a great 13:11; Matthew Fearn [ua, 24m] had a 12:51. Hilary Ross [DTC, 26m] was a little faster with 12:48 while Philip Stephenson [DTC, 30m] was almost a minute faster with 11:55. Then Dan zoomed into view, no sign of Harry. Dan manages to look as if he's not really doing much when he runs, until you look at the clock - 10:13 for the second run and a new PB of 50:17 for the session tell their own stories. Harry was 40 seconds behind at the finish, his 11:17 for the second run still extremely impressive.
Ed Garrett [DUCC, 32m] was third fastest over the whole sesssion with 57:40 while Phil Stephenson also went under the hour with 58:50.

Results, session 3.pdf HERE
Results, session 3.xls HERE
There's a newly updated Sub-60 list HERE
Current League Standings.pdf HERE
Current League Standings.xls HERE

Next Duathlon session is on August 18, see you there.

CLUB DUATHLON - SUMMER SERIES 2011: Event 2 - High Shincliffe, Thursday 16 June 2011
Warm evening sun greeted the group of 19 athletes who turned up for Thursday's duathlon session at High Shincliffe. Numbers were a little down as the racing season is now in full swing, and many of the normal student participants had headed south for their own big event. But a dozen DTC members were joined by a couple of DUtri members, singles from a few other clubs, along with 2 unattached sthletes. The starting gun was in Ellen Ann's hands - metaphorically, you'll be pleased - while Ian and Joe were joined by Patsy with the stopwatches.
Christine Pope [DTC] was first off. First steps in her first duathlon, a big moment - being counted down....
Geoff Watson was off 2 minutes later, with a group of 3 going at 4 minutes: Kevin Wright and Helen Tones [DTC] with unattached Derek Clough. 8 minutes saw the departure of Richard Fearnside [DTC] followed by Gareth Richardson [Darlington Tri, 10m] and Mick Hannon [DTC, 12m]. The 14-minute group of three was Hilary Ross [DTC], Peter Davison [DUAXC] and Luke Morson [DUtri]; Stewy McConnell [DTC] went at 16 minutes; then a trio from DTC - Phil Stephenson, George Harden and Andy Sedgwick - were joined by Durham City Harrier Andy Biggs in the 18-minute group. The final group had an 8-minute wait for their start at 26 minutes: new course record holder Harry Walker [unattached] and DUtri's Dan Jenkin who has a string of consistent 52 and 53 minute performances here. I think this was the first time they've faced each other here so it looked as if it might be interesting.... There was a slight glitch with the timing equipment so that the 26-minute group actually departed at 26:07.
The early starters by now of course were out on their bikes. Geoff Watson [DTC, 2m] was out first at 15:40, having overtaken Christine Pope. Helen Tones [DTC, 4m] was next at 18:28, a first-run time of 14:48. Run times were all in the 14-17 minute bracket until Mick Hannon [DTC, 12m] came back with a great 13:36. Peter Davison [DUAXC, 14m] took over with a 12:48 before George Harden [DTC, 18m] pulled that down to 11:53. But the scratch group were quicker, Dan Jenkin [DUtri, 26.07] exiting T1 at 36:50 - a run plus transition of 10:43. He wasn't as far ahead as he'd have liked of Harry Walker - exiting T1 at 37:11 with a run and transition of 11:04. The benefit of a high-pressure training session like this was underlined at this transition where Dan lost time with a fumbled mount, while Harry gained time by running quite a distance beyond the mount line on the still-climbing road.
With just 19 starters the timing team had a little interlude at this point during which the raffle ticket for the evening's prize was drawn, the bottle of expensive Italian Pinot Grigio won by Phil Stephenson.
When the bikes started to come back Geoff Watson had moved further ahead with a good 38 minute ride. Now he was being chased by Helen Tones [DTC, 4m] who had moved ahead of Christine Pope [DTC, 0m]. Wayne Owens [DTC, 8m] and Peter Davison [DUAXC, 14m] were moving up too. Peter's bike time of 33:07 was challenged by Luke Morson [DUtri, 14m] with a 34:22 and then surpassed by Andy Sedgwick [DTC, 18m] with an excellent 31:18. Also moving up were the scratch men Harry and Dan. Dan had gone out on the bike first 20 seconds ahead, but Harry absolutely blasted round on the bike getting back to post an eyewatering 27:28 for 18km - and that includes his transition of course - putting him 2:31 ahead of Dan whose own 30:20 for the bike wasn;t exactly slow!
Geoff Watson had by now just finished his second run, claiming the 30 points for this session. Helen Tones [DTC, 4m] held on to finish second and take 29 points, but only just - Wayne Owens had her in his sights on the finishing straight. Peter Davison [DUAXC, 14m] was next home while Christine Pope claimed 26 points as 5th finisher in her first duathlon session here.
When the smoke cleared and the finishing times were adjusted to account for the handicapping allowances, we had a new course record to savour - Harry Walker's 49:39. Harry is gearing up for the World Duathlon Championships in Spain, and on this evidence he looks pretty competitive! Dan Jenkin was second, his 51:37 a PB, and actually the 4th fastest time ever recorded here. Andrew Sedgwick [DTC] 3rd fastest on the day with 57:18 was almost 2 minutes faster than his previous best; Peter Davison [DUAXC] on 58:43 was almost 6 minutes faster than before, while Phil Stephenson and George Harden got in under the hour again.
Hilary Ross - also gearing up for the World Duathlon Championships in Spain - was fastest of the ladies with 1:01:26, while Helen Tones came home with a 1:07:46, another PB, and Christine Pope could hardly stop smiling as she finished her firat duathlon in 1:15:00!
Thanks to Joe Applegarth for his stopwatch skills, and to Ellen Ann and Patsy who assisted. We do need to build up a team of timekeepers, so if you'd like to play a part in this please get in touch with Ian or Allan. Four timekeepers works well at a basic level where we just go for exit and finish times, but a larger team would let us offer transition times separately. There would also be scope to help at the Pacing sessions - 1st Thursday of the month on the Coxhoe - Sherburn A688.

Next duathlon session is July 21 - hope to see you there.

Results.pdf HERE
Results.xls HERE

CLUB DUATHLON - SUMMER SERIES 2011: Event 1 - High Shincliffe, Thursday 19 May 2011

It looked like a normal Thursday evening duathlon session as the athletes assembled at High Shincliffe for the first session of the Summer Series. But appearances can be misleading...
The weather was good - dry, cool, very little wind. Actually, although it was pleasantly sunny it really was quite cool, and some of the later-starting athletes found themselves after a warm-up having to put on their top layer again. Not quite so many turned up for this session as we've become used to: 23 participants started, so there wasn't the steady stream of starting groups going that usually offers the carrot of someone ahead to catch and the stick of being caught by someone behind. But like I said - appearances...
Off first in his first duathlon was new member Wayne Owens, along with Lucy Gains - also a first-timer - and Lucinda Wahlers , both of DUtri. Shiz Gerami [DUtri] went at 10 minutes, Roz Layton [DTC] at 14 and Richard Fearnside [DTC] at 16. From 20 minutes the start groups were more continuous: Geoff Watson [DTC] with Nick Byrne and Ryan Hart [both DUtri] at 20 minutes, Tom Chia [DUtri] and Mick Hannon [DTC] at 22. A 5-strong group went at 24 minutes: George Harden [DTC], Harry Eaton and Harry Corker [DUtri] along with two fast ladies Kat Henderson and Fiona Hunter-Johnston [DUtri]. A little gap then before the big guns came out at 28 minutes: Gerry Lloyd, Phil Stephenson, Hilary Ross and Peter Mason [all DTC]. And then another gap before the artillery went at 34 minutes: Phil Hatzis [DUtri], Stewy Allison [Hartlepool Tri] and Harry Walker [u/a].
These last three groups all had high-performing competitive spirits within them, and the last group in particular was interesting. Phil Hatzis, a final year student at the University here, had the two fastest previous times recorded on the course - 52:08 in March 2010, and 52:25 in October 2010. Harry Walker [52:36 here in August 2010] has long been a big name in national cycling with some terrific record rides to his name - you can find him in the list of fastest 25-mile TT rides in the UK [49:12 in 1996, see HERE ], and he holds the current British 25 mile road record [Road Records Association] of 40 minutes 50 seconds on a low profile time trial frame built to his exclusive design by M Steel in South Gosforth. And Stewy Allison isn't exactly slow either as his 52:40 [August 2010] shows. So - no pressure then!
By now of course, most of the early starters were out on their bikes, with a succession of steady 15 and 16 minute first runs. As the 20-minute group came into T1 the run times began to drop noticably. Nick Byrne [DUtri, 20m] in his first duathlon was the fastest of these with an excellent 12:03 ahead of Ryan Hart on 12:41. George Harden [DTC, 24m] was running strongly with a great 11:34, ahead of Harry Eaton and Harry Corker [DUtri, 24m] on 12:01 and 12:51. The two university girls in that group were having their own private battle: at this stage Fiona Hunter-Johnston had the upper hand, leaving T1 with a time of 13:20, just 33 seconds ahead of Kat Henderson. As the 28-minute group returned it was clear that Gerry Lloyd was on a mission, leading first timer Peter Mason out of T1 in 12:29 and 12:30, with Phil Stephenson just a few seconds back. We had a few minutes to wait before the 34-minute scratch group finished their first run. They were all close together, just 5 seconds covering the three of them as they exited T1. Phil was out first with a very smooth mount, followed by Stewy , then Harry. Yes, the session was shaping up nicely! Harry has such a huge cycling background and had done brilliantly to keep that close in the first run .... what would happen out on the road?
As the early starters left T2, Wayne Owens had established a clear lead with a solid 40-minute ride, Lucy and Lucinda were still together and Shiz Gerami had pulled back another couple of minutes from them. Ryan Hart [DUtri, 20m] was next out of T2 with a terrific 33:26 for the bike, overtaking Roz Layton [DTC, 14m] and Richard Fearnside [DTC, 16m] as well as overhauling his co-starter Nick Byrne [DUtri, 20m] who posted an excellent 36:52 for the bike. Harry Eaton [DUtri, 24m] was flying with a 33:52, while Kat Henderson's [DUtri, 24m] 33:07 had got her back in front of Fiona. That gave her a lead of 25 seconds at the start of run 2 - but would it be enough?
George Harden [DTC, 24m] was next back. We knew he could run - he regularly does sub-12-minute runs here - but he seemed to have new bike legs this evening with a brilliant 36:13. Then, as the clock ticked past 72 minutes, the 2 leading 34-minute men hit the transition area. Phil had left T1 5 seconds ahead of Harry; now the position was reversed. Harry was in front, but by just 2 seconds. Out on the road, the positions had changed back and forth, but neither rider had quite enough powder to ride away. Stewy Allison hadn't been able to keep in touch, and no wonder! Harry and Phil scorched round the bike course in 27:36 and 27:43 respectively, and now just 2 seconds separated them as they started that last run, 3200m to go...
Gerry Lloyd [DTC, 28m] had a great bike too, a 32:41 that would be 4th fastest on the night. Stewy Allison's [Hartlepool Tri, 34m] excellent 30:22 would normally light up the leader board, it was only good enough for 3rd best on this evening.
By now of course, Wayne Owens was home and dry, completing his first duathlon under 70 minutes and collecting 30 points. Lucinda and Lucy came in next, separated by a couple of seconds. Ryan Hart [DUtri, 20m] in 4th, kept up his pace with a great second run of 12:27. There were a lot of great performances with a stack of PBs: George Harden [DTC, 24m] stepped into the sub-60 class with a great 58:58, and Gerry Lloyd [DTC, 28m] was over 2 minutes faster than previously with a terrific 56:40.
But at the sharp end of things there were 2 battles shaping up nicely in that final 3200m run: Harry and Phil separated by a just couple of seconds, and then there was Kat and Fiona... Kat had started the bike section 33 seconds behind and finished it 25 seconds in front. As they passed the start point again on the final run after the first small loop that gap had come down a little.... could she hold on? Similarly Harry had left T2 just a couple of seconds ahead of Phil, and as they passed us after the small run-loop that gap had stayed the same. Phil looked comfortable 2 seconds back - was the young lion waiting to pounce on the old gazelle? The tension at the finish line was palpable as we waited. Other finishers ran in and basked in some great times - Ryan, Shiz, Nick, Harry Eaton, Roz, Tom, and George Harden with that great 58:58. Then we got our answer. On the short finishing straight, Harry sped into view - alone. Harry had kept the pressure on all the way, sneaking ahead an extra 5 meters here, an extra 10 meters there, stretching out the invisible elastic from 2 seconds to 18 seconds at the finish. Occupied with timekeeping, we could only listen to the sounds of recovery coming from behind us - and it took a while. As other runners finished, we were attempting to do the maths, to work out the actual times while still paying attention to incoming finishers. Gerry Lloyd was 20 seconds back with a strong second run of 11:30 giving him that brilliant 56:40. Then Fiona and Kat raced into view. Fiona was in front. She'd closed the gap, but Kat was very close, just 2 seconds back. A gap now in the timekeeping meant we could do the sums on Harry and Phil, and see what they'd really done. Course records inevitably fall, but this kind of hammering is unusual - especially in a shortish sub-60-minute session. Phil's 2-minute improvement is absolutely remarkable, particularly in view of 'his' distance being Ironman. But Harry has taken us to another country, the Land of Forty Nine..........
For the girls, both Fiona and Kat pushed each other hard. Fiona's times have fallen incredibly in 3 outings - 1h10m, 1h5m, and now 1:00:45 while Kat's times have also fallen over 18 months from 1h9m to 1h3m to 1:00:47. Who can break through the magic 60 barrier first?
Thanks to Allan and Joe for sharing stopwatch duties, and to Christine and Rachel for assisting at various stages. The next duathlon session in the Summer Series is Thursday June 16, though you may also like to come along to the new bike pacing session on Thursday June 2 - check it out on the website HERE

Full Results.pdf HERE
Full Results.xls HERE
Updated Sub-60 list HERE