Mr B Wins Gold!!

This morning we had a very early start. Mr B entered the duathlon championship event which started at 8am which meant we needed to be there by 7.15am to give him a chance to set up his bike and be organised in plenty of time. In order to see the competitors start I followed in my car at the same time. There was a good crowd and about 200 entrants, 50% of which were interstate competitors.

Having seen them safely take off I drove just a bit further down the road to where the Vets' Monthly Handicap Race was held at Deek's Forest. This course used to be surrounded by bush and trees before the 2003 bush fires. Now it is completely exposed. However, the surface is still great and it was a perfect day for the run. It would be dreadfully hot in summer with no shade but today it was lovely - sunshine but a little bit cool because it was still only 9.25am by the time my group (with only me in it) was called. I wasn't eligible for points today as I have missed a few monthly runs this year being on holiday and out of Canberra too often! The first half of the run was great but the second half was definitely tough with nearly 4km of gradual incline to the end. I did enjoy it however and it was lovely to catch up with everyone even if it was briefly as I had to rush off after I finished so that I could catch Mr B in transition from the bike to the final run.

Distance: 8km (undulating) Time taken: 44:22 Average pace per km: 5:31 Place: 42nd (from Group 23) Calories burned: 480

The end of the duathlon was very exciting with Caroline, Bob, Robyn and Mr B all winning their respective age groups for the ACT. Dave won a bronze medal for his age group overall but won a gold medal for the ACT. Now this may well mean that he will qualify for the World Duathlon Championships in Italy next September and of course he WILL need spectators!!
Mr B - proud finisher

















Winning the Gold!



Caroline and Mr B - gold medalists!