Exeter Sprint Duathlon, 18 Apr 2021

This was a great event to add to my repertoire with some great highlights, as well as some good take homes! The race was hosted at Escot Park near Ottery St Mary in Devon. This venue certainly wasn’t set up for a typical sort of duathlon race course. The first 5k set out across a field and then along a narrow path into some woods. It wasn’t a fast course, with slip and trip hazards galore! However, I really found this route a lot of fun, and it was almost a bit of a relief to forget worrying about a target pace but rather feel the rhythm of the race and soak up the atmosphere!

Then the bike leg was a 20km out and back - an undulating route through quiet roads with a backdrop of some fantastic East Devon scenery.

Photo: Ed Morris Photography

To finish was a repeat of the first 5k route where I unfortunately ran Into some unexpected difficulties with my chest - a sharp central pain forced me to hold back until I crossed the finish line. I am getting this checked out by a professional to rule out any underlying medical conditions but perhaps a far more likely cause may be related to my hydration and fuelling beforehand and during the race. My quest to shed some more light on this will be valuable in optimising my performance through to the last few kms on race day!

Lucy Hoade