The 1st Annual Spring Sprint Duathlon

As you know, I'm not much of a sports person, but I do enjoy running a little. I've done 5K's, a couple of half-marathons, and even finished the San Francisco Marathon.

This last Sunday, May 4th, 2014, I added a new event to my athletic career: the Spring Sprint Duathlon at Smolak Farms, North Andover, Ma. 

What is a duathlon? In this case, it's  a 5K  (3.1 mile) road run, a 13.3 mile bike race, and a 1.5 mile trail run. Add this up, and you get a nearly 18 mile race--just a little more than a half-marathon. And you do the whole thing, one right into the next. 

It all started at work about a month ago. Team Blue--Blue Cross Blue Shield MA's (BCBSMA) fitness and community involvement group--had put out the calender for upcoming events. I thought about doing this for a few days--after all, the location's convenient  for me, and I do also enjoy bike riding--so I signed up. There were only 10 spots available, and in the end there were only three of us. This gave us the option to race as a relay, but we are individualists, so while we started together, we ran our own race.

But there's one other thing......I volunteered, and was accepted to be, team leader/captain. In this, it was my job to take the team photo, make sure my team-mates had all the information they need, and take attendance on race day.  Not too difficult, but kind of funny that I was captain of an athletic team. 

Race day. I arrive about 6:30 am. Registration opens at 6:45, there is a mandatory meeting at 8:15, and the start is at 8:30. I've got my bike in the back of the truck, my Team Blue shirt, and ready to go. At registration, I pick up my bib for my self and my bike, and meet up with my team-mates, Christine and Angela.

Team Blue: From L--Angela, Christine, myself

The 5K

There were  about 120 competitors, and according to the Athlete's Guide, there were to be two waves: first all the men, then all the women and the relay starters. But in reality, we all started together, and right at 8:30, we were off. Heading down the main road through the farm and out the back gate,we wind our way through the back streets of  North Andover. The road is open to traffic, but we have half the road and there are plenty of volunteers and police to keep things safe. At the half way point, we literally turn around and head back. Once back on the farm, we head into the transition area to switch to the bike race. 

The Bike Race

In a duathlon, just like a triathlon, time in transition counts to your total time. You want to spend as little time as possible there. This is why everything has to be ready and perfectly positioned. 

Every competitor has their own spot in the transition area according to their bib number. I was very lucky with bib # 40; this put my bike in the front row of transition, and I could just run in, strap my helmet on (helmets are required in official USAT events such as this; I would wear one anyway), and get right back out. 

But before we could actually get on the bike, we ran/walked them up the hill to the main gate, and jumped on as we hit the road. From here, it was a 13.1 mile loop around the towns of North Andover and Boxford. Again, the road was open to traffic, but being Sunday morning, there wasn't really much. Volunteers and police were at every turn so it was very safe. There weren't many people out, so it was a quiet ride, and as we came up to another rider to pass, we'd say hello and good job. 

Since I have no odometer on my bike, and there were no mile markers on the road, it was hard to tell where on the course I was.  But I did have my Timex in chronometer mode; since it took about half an hour to finish the 5K,  at the 1 1/2 hour mark I figured I was getting close to the end of the ride (more on my times later.) And that was about right. Off the bike, and back to transition for the trail run. 

The U.S.S Sheldon Cooper ready for launch.

The Trail Run

The final section of the race took me into the apple and peach orchards on the farm. Weaving in and out through the rows of trees--and up and down the hill--I walked most of this course. I was tired, despite taking my Goo and water. Also, I had studied the course maps, including the changes in topology, but you never really know what you're getting into until you actually see it. 

Of course, you do have to run through the finish line, so once out of the orchard, I ran back on to the road and through the finish.

Post race

After running through the finish, I caught up with Angela, and later Christine. While I was the last to finish in our group, we all had a great race, especially since this was the first time any of us had done something like this. We were all happy with our times, and most importantly had a lot of fun in a great setting,  and would do it again. 

Time for food now.  The folks at Smolak Farms put out a nice spread: water, coconut water (which I quickly learned I didn't like), bananas, apples, ham and cheese quiche, broccoli and cheese quiche, and freshly baked banana nut muffins and Smolak's famous apple-cinnamon donuts. So good.

The Times and Placement

Here's my stats for the race:

111th place overall, out of 120 finishers
30:21 on 5K run
0:48 in 1st Transition
1:04:49 on 13.3 mile bike
0:36 in 2nd Transition
22:22 on 1.5 mile trail run

Total time: 1:58:54

13th in age group, 63rd in gender.

All in all, it was a great morning out, and looking forward to next year! 


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Disclaimer: The opinions stated here are solely those of the author, and do not  reflect those of BCBSMA, or its management or staff.