The inaugural Mud & Mayhem Duathlon at Delapre Park was greeted with a ground frost and low lying mist throughout the race village as early competitors arrived before the race. The clear skies resulted in temperatures quickly rising and the race started in bright sunshine.
The opening run saw 5 runners completing the picturesque 3K run around Delapre Lake in under 13 minutes. Stewart Shears led the field into transition after 11:50 closely followed by Garth Collier in 12:00.
The bike course contains a large section of single track riding through the woods, made both muddy in places and slippery due to the heavy summer rain. Dave Nichols made light of the conditions, posting the fastest bike split of the day, as the leading men’s relay team moved from 5th overall to head the field.
Duathletes Richard Lewey and Peter Norton arrived back in transition together closely followed by Tom Bailey who posted the fastest individual bike split to move up from 8th after the run. Peter headed out of transition first courtesy of his quicker change, but was caught relatively early on by Richard Lewey who set the fastest second run split of the day to win the individual race in 1:27:26. Rob Taylor had the distinction of finishing first, as the relay team combined well to finish 7ó minutes ahead of the field in 1:19:30. The podium was completed by Peter Norton, 2nd in1:27:26 and Tom Bailey, 3rd in 1:27:51.
Kate Sealey finshed strongly to take the ladies title in 1:35:38, a time good enough for an impressive 7th overall, with the fastest 3K run and the fastest bike split. Behind her Bex Bates moved from 5th after the initial run into 2nd with a
strong bike leg but eventually slipped back. Emma Bush set the fastest time on the longer 6.5 Km run to move into 2nd place, and held onto finish second in 1:43:05. Third across the line was Wellingborough runner Justine Keech combining with Lorraine Kirk to finish as the 1st ladies relay team, with Nicola Shannon the third solo lady in 1:47:05.
Behind the leaders everyone was enjoying the chance to race off road with it’s relaxed atmosphere and challenging, traffic free courses. With 4th finisher Harvey Jones summing up many opinions. “The bike route? I loved it, and was really up for the second lap as I enjoyed it so much.”
Sports Physio and massage was on offer before and after the event courtesy of b-Activ along with Bike mechanics for those last minute tweaks from Baines Racing.
More at www.gobeyondultra.co.uk.
