Pembrokeshire Duathlon - Neyland

11th April 2010

Report by Nicola Mills

My alarm went off far too early for a Sunday, but with the thought of running and biking in Neyland, I sprang out of bed. 

I had decided to travel to Neyland with Gethin who was marshalling at the event, so with the precision of a military manoeuvre we left the house at 0630hrs.  Arriving at our destination at 0645hrs gave me plenty of time to get myself organised before the race start at 0830hrs.

I met up with Karen and we left our bikes etc. at transition before performing our wifely duties and making cups of coffee for our other halves.  As competitors arrived, it was good to see a good turnout of Tri Club members.

Tempting as it was to stay and enjoy the unseasonably fine April weather, soon it was time for the race briefing and we all lined up for the start.  A pleasant 5k run ensued, past Neyland Marina and onto the cycle path.  Shortly after joining the cycle path I was met by the race leaders coming back towards me, including Jake Watson in costume, with this year’s suit being more aerodynamic than last year’s sumo costume.  I reached the turn around point and made my way back, and even managed to pass a few people.  As I later discovered however I was unsuccessful in attempting to evade Julia’s lens by running immediately behind someone else.

On reaching transition and to shouts of encouragement from Gethin (or were they more military orders?) I located my bike.  As quickly as I could muster, I got my cycling kit on and attempted to push my bike up the hill out of transition to the main road.  Inadvertently kicking a fellow competitor (sorry!) whilst mounting my bike, I was off on the 22k bike route.  I passed a few more people on the hill up towards Waterston and took the opportunity to have a much needed drink.  Out on the bike course I caught sight of numerous Tri Club members all of whom were doing really well.

After completing two laps of the Sentry Cross/Honeyborough roundabouts I headed back to Neyland.  After getting off my bike I attempted a comedy run with my bike to transition, successfully completed through a combination of running down a hill in cleats with a bike after cycling 22k. 

Under a barrage of encouraging commands from Gethin I racked my bike and headed out on the final 2.5k run, following the same route as the first run.  Glad this time though that the turnaround point was much closer to Neyland.  Crossing the finish line I headed directly for the finisher’s welsh cakes where I finally caught up with the other Tri Club members for a post-race chat.

I thoroughly enjoyed this event – it had a great atmosphere, due in no small part to the excellent organisation and marshalling.  Combined with fine weather and a scenic location, it even made the early start worthwhile.

Results for Club members:

Pos	Name	Run	Bike	Run	Total
1	Luke Watson	16.52	34.37	9.07	1.00.36
2	Simon Oliver	18.12	34.31	9.51	1.02.34
5	Alex Matchett	17.43	36.22	9.42	1.03.47
10	Roger Denton	19.18	36.53	10.37	1.06.48
12	Scott Patrick	20.12	36.53	10.31	1.07.36
15	Paul Hughes	20.28	37.16	11.04	1.08.48
19	Patrick Martin	20.01	38.39	11.19	1.09.59
25	Beauty & the Beast	23.42	38.01	10.42	1.12.25
26	Two Pees & a Pod	18.56	43.40	9.56	1.12.32
28	Ellie Jones	20.36	41.37	10.35	1.12.48
30	Robin Withers	21.53	40.37	11.01	1.13.31
38	David Moore	21.30	41.10	12.03	1.14.43
41	Mark Jones	24.00	38.01	14.06	1.16.07
48	Jake Watson	19.47	47.08	11.33	1.18.28
68	Phil Thomas	24.26	45.52	13.28	1.23.46
69	Karen Munn	24.12	46.22	13.19	1.23.53
73	Ceri Jones	25.17	45.02	14.43	1.25.02
75	Val Brown	25.31	45.21	14.28	1.25.20
77	Nicola Mills	26.47	44.49	15.02	1.26.38
84	Leann Morgan	25.56	49.06	14.35	1.29.37
97	Vicky James	29.06	53.12	16.53	1.39.11
98	Roger Caygill	31.50	51.39	16.48	1.40.17
101	Sarah Vasey	30.02	55.49	18.26	1.44.17
103	Dasos Zangarous	32.40	59.18	19.47	1..51.45

 

For full results please look at event page