European Standard Duathlon Championships 2020, 8 Mar 2020

This was my first race representing GB. I only started doing multisport events last May, four months after giving birth to my daughter, and it was only my 9th ever multisport race.

I arrived with my trusted dad as my support team on Friday, allowing all day Saturday to get acclimatised, ride some of the course, and watch the sprint event. I was terrified for what was to come on Sunday. My preparation has been horrendous: consecutive illnesses and issues since October had scuppered much of my training, so I had no idea what to expect of my body.

The race started a few minutes late, having been cooped up in the starting pen for what seemed like hours. So much adrenaline meant that I went off super fast in the run. I had decided I was going to give 100% and to see what happened, to have no regrets. For most of the first 10k run I was in a group of two Spanish and a Portuguese athlete. We were working pretty well together and going at a very decent pace. Unfortunately my lack of conditioning showed in the final lap and they got a bit of distance over me. But I was still 1st in my age group.

T1 was strong, until I had to get on my bike, and this was certainly not as smooth as I had planned. This allowed the Spanish athlete in my age group to overtake me, and then 1km into the bike leg my helmet clasp came undone, necessitating a stop to adjust. I had a strong first lap, regaining 1st place and working well alongside some other Brits for motivation. Again, my lack of conditioning showed on the 2nd lap and I lost some ground.

Normally I would back myself to regain this on the run, but the distance too great. I finished 2nd, 1min 20 behind the winner. A result that, given the aforementioned conditioning and fitness concerns, I was overwhelmingly pleased with. But it is also linked to feelings of 'what if?': I am now looking forward to being stronger, and working with Tim and Catenary Coaching will help me manage my training, train smarter, and reach my potential.

Sarah Metcalfe