I entered the Holdenby duathlon on Oct 23rd and it was my first duathlon since the much missed Silverstone events. I went for the sprint distance comprising a 5k run, 22.5k cycle and 5k run.
The run was one lap around the grounds of Holdenby House. The first 1k was downhill, so there was an inevitable uphill section just after halfway which was short but tough, especially on the second run. Most of the run was on farm tracks but there was also a 1k cross country section over quite rough ground. The cycle was quite an undulating course, with one long uphill section and then a nice downhill run near the end, though unfortunately I was held up at a set of temporary traffic lights on this part.
The trouble with the duathlon discipline is that you know that anyone you overtake on the bike is a better runner and is likely to overtake you on the final run, which is pretty much what happened to me. I finished 18th out of 46, with split times of 27.02, 45.02 & 28.08 + 2.08 in T1 & T2, making 1.42.25 in total. I had hoped to finish inside 1.40 but given the difficulty of the run course, I was pretty satisfied with my time and position and although I was exhausted at the end, it was an enjoyable morning.
Steve