IceMan race action
Snow, slush and, yes, plenty of ice at the aptly-named IceMan
The third event of the Off Road Race Series kicked off with ice, snow and slush, which were apt with the event named IceMan.
The 11km and 16km trail runners were off first and the sea of thermal wear headed off into the woodland. The winter sun, although welcomed by spectators, proved to be another element to combat, with the rays were blinding at points in the course. Dan Robinson and Jo Gorrod from Jersey Spartans took the men’s and women’s 11km titles, respectively, with the 16km honours going to Kevin Quinn and Claire Rodgers.
Finally, the duathletes took to the course and Hugh Torry was the first to shoot back to transition in just 40:56 for the opening 10km. The field then saw Jez Cox and Oli Mahony take to the stage. Cox’s new 29er proved a big hit, as he flew around the course, but Mahony pushed further forward taking the top spot. Cox dug deep for the final run leg crushing Mahonys run time by 2mins and finished in first place in a time of 2:02:02. Mahony took second just 50 seconds behind Cox in 2:02:52 and Chris Nicholls, third in 2:04:55.
In the female duathlon there was no movement in the field as Freya Martin (B2P Tri Club) stormed her way around the course and led each section Martin took first place in 2:12:20 with a clear lead of 8mins. Fay Cripps came in second in a time of 2:20:25 and Samantha Aplin had a strong final leg taking third place in 2:34:47.
The next event in the Off Road Series is the TuffMan located in Pippingford Park Estate, East Sussex, on Saturday 23 February 2013. More at http://humanrace.co.uk/events/off-road
Matt Baird
Editor of Cycling Plus magazine 
