(Article from www.britishtriathlon.org)

---

The British Triathlon Federation is pleased to announce that the 2010 Edinburgh ITU Duathlon World Championships will take place in the historic city from 3 to 5 September, 2010.

The Duathlon event consists of a 10km run, 40km cycle and 5km run and is expected to attract hundreds of elite and age group competitors from around the world to the Scottish capital where they will compete around Holyrood Park, Arthur’s Seat and the Scottish Parliament.

Scotland boasts a strong tradition within duathlon, most notably through reigning ETU Duathlon European Champion Catriona Morrison from Broxburn. Morrison has five major titles to her name in the last four years including two ETU Duathlon European Championships (2007 and 2009), two ITU Long Distance Duathlon World Championships (2007 and 2008) and she was ITU Duathlon World Champion in 2006.

Dr Sarah Springman OBE, president British Triathlon Federation, Vice-President ITU, commented: “Hosting a World Championships, in duathlon, and in Scotland shows British Triathlon’s commitment to the diversity that makes up the ITU portfolio of disciplines as well as to our own Home Nations. We seek to put on a world class event for world class athletes with the valuable help of our partners in the City of Edinburgh Council, Event Scotland, Triathlonscotland and our in-house events team. We are delighted to welcome the world’s elite and age group duathletes and challenge them to take on the exciting course around Arthur’s Seat, while exhibiting their transition skills in front of two of Edinburgh’s most iconic buildings, ancient and modern, the Queen’s historic Palace at Holyrood House and the Scottish Parliament.”

Paul Bush OBE, Chief Operating Officer at EventScotland, the national events agency, said: “Edinburgh has a reputation around the world as an outstanding destination for world class athletics events.  From the best ever World Cross Country Championships last year to the annual Great Edinburgh Run, the city lends itself exceptionally well to hosting elite and mass participation sports events.  The ITU Duathlon World Championships in 2010 will further strengthen Edinburgh’s reputation in this area and will add yet another fantastic event to Scotland’s ‘world championship’ portfolio.”

President of triathlonscotland, Geoff Earl added:  ““triathlonscotland is thrilled to host this World Class event in Edinburgh, allowing the opportunity to showcase the beauty of our capital, the strength of our performers and provide an important platform for the development of the sport and its volunteer workforce in such an important period in British sport.”

Marisol Casado, ITU President commented: “We are delighted to take the 21st edition of the ITU Duathlon World Championships to Edinburgh in 2010.  Great Britain has a wonderful history in Duathlon, boasting great champions like Michelle Dillon, Paul Amey, Tim Don and of course Scotland’s own Catriona Morrison.  After successfully hosting the 2007 Duathlon European Championships, Edinburgh proved it was a worthy candidate to become the first British city to host the ITU Duathlon World Championships.”

Councillor Steve Cardownie, Festivals & Events Champion for the City of Edinburgh, said: “Having hosted what were acclaimed in 2003 as the best-ever European Cross Country Championships, followed by a successful Duathlon European Championships in 2007 and the fantastic World Cross Country Championships in 2008, we are better placed than anywhere else to deliver this type of major sporting event.
 
“Welcoming the ITU World Duathlon Championships to the city centre in September 2010 will be a welcome boost to the economy and will put a display of top notch sport on show. I look forward to welcoming competitors, officials and spectators from all over the world.”

 

Photo from Jon Rainford - many thanks - others in the gallery!

It’s Monday morning at 9.30am. We are just in the door having returned from UK 70.3. 820 miles in the van and  70.3 miles self propelled over the past three days. The van was definitely the hero of the story this weekend: official team HQ in a field at Wimbleball for 70.3 UK: feeding station, stretching station and sleeping station. It also meant that by the time we reached the Lake District at 12.30 am on the way home last night that we could call it a day and park up before completing the 400 mile journey back this morning. I’ve got a 10am massage appointment to keep…!

It was a fun weekend from start to finish. A “home” race meant that Richard (my husband) could come to support me and generally take care of me all weekend - driving, cheering, mechanicing, cooking - so it was great to be able to repay his commitment to the cause with another win on the 70.3 circuit :-)

 It was a beautiful day in Wimbleball, so calm and still that the mist had descended and the start was delayed by an hour. By the time we set off I was feeling a little sluggish and did not really enjoy the swim. However, I think that I was around 2.5 mins behind Julie coming out the water, which is pretty much what I would expect. After climbing the Everest hill into T1, 3 pro women hit the bike together (Bella, Abigail and me). Abi talied off after about 3/4 of a lap leaving Bella and I together until the second lap when I pulled away on the hills. The entire course in Wimbleball is a hill fest - sharp climbs that are impossible to conserve energy on. Having a 27 cassette at least meant that I could try to save my legs. Meanwhile at the head of the course, Julie was (in her trademark style) making the bike look like a walk in the park, putting minutes into Bella and I. Trying to stay positive when the gap is exponentially growing is tough but I know that to have a decent run, I need to ride consistently and I beavered away. Hilly bike courses can do strange things to your legs and it was more than a relief to jump off the bike and run into the change tent feeling not too shabby in the old pins department. Jules was ripping it up 6 mins down the road, so I had my work cut out. If you think that the bike is mean at UK 70.3 you should have a laugh at the run course. It’s the full monty: X - country for the most part - trails, gravel, grass. And then there are the hills: little ones, big ones, fat ones and skinny ones! A hill for everyone! After the first lap the gap was down to 4mins, but I was still not convinced that I could catch; after the second lap it was 2mins 30s and I realised that it was game on. The only problem now was that I had to try and ignore the call of mother nature to go and fertilize the bushes. I needed all the time I could get to catch Julie. With about 4km to go I caught and passed Julie and was able to click off the remaining Ks to the finish. A big smile and a special kiss for husband Richard as I ran down the finish shute. A thousand thanks to him for making the weekend easy for me and, as always, endless thanks to all my sponsors who keep me training, racing - and winning ;-)

 Hopefully some photos to follow when I get them.

The weather here has been unseasonably summer-like (for summer). Last week we took the opportunity to get some photos taken on the course for the World Duathlon Championships 2010. Let’s hope we get the same weather next year….

Photos are all taken by Iain MacIntosh of Imac Images - http://www.imacimages.co.uk/cart/photocart/index.php?do=photocart&viewGallery=2093

(more photos by Imre Foldi are in the gallery) 

I’ll be the first to admit that I was not relishing the prospect of lining up for the European Duathlon Championships in Budapest. My season has started with two great 70.3 events - all longer miles, so I have not been feeling speedy at all. In fact, I’ve not done anything speedy on the run or the bike for a while. Combine this with a DNF at the British National Triathlon Champs last week due to a dodgy tummy and a week and a half of X-trainer work as my Achilles has been niggling, I was not feeling in the best of form either mentally or physically. I learnt two important things this weekend 1) I was fitter than I thought 2) It can be very easy to talk yourself out of a race, but if you stay strong and believe in yourself, you can get the desired results.

(you’ll have to imagine the figures! overall wattage 210 (bang on 70.3 pace) my 4 laps solo at the front 218w) 

Early in the run Kat Grimmet - in her first International race for GB, took the bull by the horns and had built herself a substantial lead. On the last lap the group finally got back into contact with her and around ten of us entered T1 together. Unfortunately for Kat, she missed the pack coming out of transition and was swallowed by the second bike pack. Her strong second run ensured a top ten finish for her first GB vest - congrats!On the road there was a lot of faffing. I did a few solid (half  a lap and more) turns at the front. I tried to get away a couple of times, but without success - I think that with the longer miles in my legs I lacked the mental and physical sharpness to make a definitive break. After hiding for a while and covering some breaks I decided that biking at 160W was useless and I may as well get a decent training day. I put myself on the front, rode at half ironman wattage and towed the group for 4 laps. On the graph you can see at about half way when the watts become more level! I questioned my decision, wondering if I was sacrificing my second run, but with some decent running in my previous races this year I knew that I would run OK. It was more a question of everyone else having fresher legs….? I made sure into T2 that there was no overtaking me and stealing that first place spot onto the bike racks as I knew that I needed a super fast transition and fast couple of Ks to stand any chance of a win. I blasted my way out and within 1.5K had only one girl on my shoulder and as I went onto lap two I tried to put the pace up as much as I could. Thank goodness that at about 3.5k I felt myself pulling ahead. I was seriously breathing out of all orifices and held on to win my second Euro Champs. Very satisfying :-)Thanks to all the GB squad members who waited out the long day in the heat and sun to cheer me on.

A big thanks to Ramon Serrano for taking these fab piccies and giving me permission to use them on my web page! You can find the complete set in the Gallery under “2009 racing”. www.ramser1photo.com

After a good 2^nd place finish at New Orleans 70.3 at the beginning of April, I moved across country to Tucson, Arizona for a three week stay. On some days I felt as if I was riding my bike in a sauna with a hairdryer directed in my face! For my pale Scottish colouring it was a tough time. I averaged one bottle of sunscreen per week (any potential sunscreen sponsors out there should feel free to contact me!). I had a great time in Tucson training for one week with Physfarm on the Sabino Canyon side of town and then cashing in on the generosity of fellow pro Leanda Cave, who graciously put up with me for a couple of weeks.

Then it was time to head to the Caribbean island of St Croix. I simply do not know where to begin writing about my wonderful experiences here. This year I was lucky to arrive on the Monday prior to the race, so I had a full 6 days to live the island life and acclimatise to the heat and humidity. The St Croix 70.3 is more than just a race. For over 20 years the island has embraced local, national and international athletes in a weekend of triathlon activity. Swimmers, bikers and runners take over the island and are welcomed with open arms and wide smiles. The combination of location and community participation in this event make it very very special. It was hard not to feel truly blessed as I woke up every morning to ride around the island, swim in the Caribbean and run through the island’s trails – what an office for a week! For many of the pro athletes one of the highlights of coming to St Croix is staying with a home stay family. I can quite honestly say that I feel as if I have been pampered for a whole week and treated like a queen. My husband now has a lot to live up to when I get home to Edinburgh!! I was honoured to stay with Todd Newman, one of St Croix’s best known citizens and a true triathlon fan. Also staying with Todd were Wayne Nicholls and Win Thomas, two close friends. Together they form the “knuckleheads” (Win, Wayne and Todd - L-R above) and kept me constantly amused with tales of past triathlons and adventures. Who needs to do ab-work when you spend so much time laughing?

And the race? Well, it was another day at the office. The women’s field was very strong this year including current and former world 70.3 champions Joanna Zeiger and Miranda Carfrae. I exited the water in the pack chasing Joanna Zeigler and Nina Craft. The bike course in St Croix is a challenging affair – winds; high heat and humidity; the rolling East end loop and, of course, the infamous “beast” at 21miles. After ascending the beast I was in 3^rd position trailing Miranda and Nina. On such a challenging course my plan was to bike within my limits. I bike with a Powertap so I can monitor my wattage throughout the race. This way I can make sure that I maximise my running potential. Coming into T2 I was in second place trailing Miranda by around 3mins. On the run I was feeling pretty strong and I settled into a good pace within the first 3k. The aide stations are a super organised affair. With the high heat and humidity there was plenty on offer for every athlete. I made the most of these goodies and enjoyed the cheering and motivation of the volunteers and spectators alike as I ploughed on. After taming the bike course, if you thought that the challenge was all over, you can get a nasty shock when you get going on the run. Winding out of town and over a couple of tough rises you enter the Buccaneer Resort. Here you run around the perimeter of the golf course on a mixture of paved, gravel and grassy trails before hitting a nasty steep hill, exiting the Buccaneer and re-tracing your route back into town again. At the run turnaround I caught my first glimpse of Miranda who was only about 400m ahead. I was still feeling good and knowing that I had caught about a minute and a half in the first lap of the run I started lap 2 feeling positive that I could catch. On the trails around the golf course I could see Miranda ahead and caught her at around the 10 mile mark. It was a strange feeling to move into first place – part of me was really excited and started to imagine what it was going to feel like when I finally crossed the line! It’s really important to live in the present in any race so I put all of those musings at the back of my mind and ticked off the miles back into town. On the way back in I caught sight of all three “knuckleheads” and got to give them all a cheer! Finally, running up King Street with the spectators cheering I was able to relax and enjoy the moment. I am really ecstatic to have won in St Croix. It was an honour and a privilege to compete in such a great event in a fabulous location. Thanks to everyone who makes the race happen. I can’t wait to come back next year!!

When I got to New Orleans before the race, I had no idea where to ride, what way was North, South, East or West. I convinced the wonderful Cycleops girls to let me do my pre-race session on their turbo. I got my training done without getting lost and they were able to demo the cycleops  power meter (a majorly beneficial training tool!) and indoor trainers to the masses. A win/win situation!

 

 

It’s the day after the day before. I’m feeling OK- a little stiff in the leg and bum department, but nothing that a good massage won’t sort.

New Orleans was a good solid race. A satisfying start to the season. In all honesty the field was stronger than I thought that it would be. For the first in a while I swam with a pack, I think that I actually was smiling as I left the water although that may have been from relief – my last open water swim was in November. The bike was OK, not brilliant. The first hour or so was silly with the girls all in a chain trying not to draft. I found that the best place to be was either at the front or the back, but it was so frustrating to go to the front, push the pace, and still have a line of people behind me…..it took a while to get free but I settled into my race plan and stuck to a steady wattage. I think that this was the key to my performance. When I settled into the run I felt really comfortable. I probably ran conservatively but with this being the first time out for the season and the heat, humidity and wind making it tough I erred on the side of caution. Maybe with another mile or so I would have caught Natasha (her bike leg was truly humbling), although I suspect that if I had crossed the line and was offered another 2 miles I would have declined graciously!

Now off to Tuscon to train in the heat for a few weeks.

It’s official - I am a human pin cushion! Today I had an MOT before heading off to the States for a month. Two races, one training camp. Fingers and toes crossed for good things.