My first National Duathlon race of the 2014 season has come and gone. The race was held at the International Regatta Centre in Penrith, NSW. The distance I had to compete over was a 5km run, a 20km ride and a 2.5km run to finish.
It was a chilly 10 degree morning but thankfully the sun was out. It was a mass start with all Under 35 men leaving together. I was a bit hesitant at the start and after a few hundred metres a pack of 5 runners were starting to break up the field. Immediately I tacked on to the back but I could feel the pace was too quick and I began to work with two other competitors to keep a steady tempo and limit the gap between us and the leaders.
I went into transition in 6th and went out onto the flat ride around the lake. I lost one place and gained a place over the course of the ride. I found it difficult to keep an eye on the guys in front as large numbers of other athletes filled the bike course. Overall I was pleased with how the race was panning out when heading out onto the final run.
On the 2.5km run 5th was at least 30 seconds ahead if not more and after a kilometre I could tell the gap hadn’t changed much. My hopes of catching him were looking slim. I then heard breathing and footsteps coming behind at a steady rate and knew 7th was catching. As he went passed I tried to sit on him but he was just too quick and I ended up finishing 7th in the Under 35 males.
The race was also a qualifying race for the Australian 2015 Duathlon World Championship Age Group team. As a result of winning my age group, 15-19, I gained 25 points towards age group selection. Although my main goal is to qualify for the Junior Men category and to do this I need to place in the top 3 at the Adelaide Duathlon in October.
Overall it was a productive race and I learnt a lot about competing against interstater’s in the Duathlon format.
Daniel Canala
