Mari wins and breaks the course record at the 2009 U.S. Long Course Duathlon National Championships
Written by Mari Chandler Created Date: Friday, 26 June 2009 14:12
About a week prior, I decided to compete in the U.S. Long Course Duathlon National Championships to be held in Auburn, CA on May 31. I had never competed in a duathlon and the combination of running and biking seemed perfect for me. This course started with a 3k run, followed by a 56 mile bike, and then finished with a ½ marathon run. There was no pre-qualifying race to enter the national event, so I signed up not knowing just what I was getting involved with. Not to mention, this event happened to be overlapped with what is known as the World’s Toughest Half Ironman.
The Half Ironman started at 6:30 am, with my duathlon starting 15 minutes later. The course was designed so that the duathlon opening 3k run leg looped around near lake that the triathletes would do their swim in. Both events transitioned to bikes in the same area. This way the ½ ironmen and women would be racing side by side with the duathletes once they began the bike leg and for the remainder of the course.
My race started with a gentle rolling 3k trail run and what I had planned to be my “warm-up”. I ran comfortably at about 6 min/mile pace and stayed about 10 spots back from the leaders, all guys. I came into the bike TA with about a 1 min lead on the next woman, and after a 45 second transition I was on my bike and out on the road for a long hilly ride. The bike course would have 6000’ of climbing. At about 9 miles into the bike I was passed by a women racer. I knew the last run section would be my strongest leg, and that as long as I stayed within a few minutes of any women racers, I would most likely be able to catch them on the run. She stayed within site for the next 10 miles or so, but the route had a lot of ups and downs and curves, and eventually I lost contact. At the 40 mile mark there was a short out and back loop. This would be my first opportunity to see the gap that she had on me and if any other women racers were creeping up on me. I was surprised to find her only 1 minute ahead of me. I pushed a little harder over the next few miles and by the 50 mile mark I had caught up with her and passed her on the last small hill climb. I came into the run TA with a small gap on her, but I had made the rookie mistake of not knowing exactly where I had placed my running shoes before the race. After a few frantic moments of searching up and down the many rows of shoes I recognized my Vasque Blurs and was off for the last leg of the race, a ½ marathon run. Despite my terrible transition, I had managed to get out on the run still in the lead. The run course was 2, 10k laps with a small add on loop. The route had a few gradual hills, a lot of turns, and was a mix of single track, pavement, gravel roads, and a soccer field. My legs felt surprisingly good coming off the bike, allowing me to settle into a comfortable pace. After the first 10k loop I realized I was on pace to break the course record. I kept pushing on and focused on catching and passing the guys who had blown by me earlier with their fast fancy bikes and much stronger legs. I finally crossed the finish line in 4:58:59, breaking the previous record of 5:08:26.
There is no World Championships for the Long Course Duathlon this year, but my win at nationals qualified me to compete in the 2010 World Championships. The date and Location are still to be determined as well as my decision to race, although I am definitely hooked and ready to take on another duathlon.