Thruxton Sprint Duathlon World Championship Qualifier, 2 Oct 2022

Going into this race I had not done a huge amount of training since the European Championships and have struggled with my running since having covid in August. Therefore, my goal, having already secured qualification at an earlier race, was to just enjoy it and use the race as a marker for my current fitness level.  

Looking at the start list, this race was arguably one of the strongest fields of athletes I have ever competed against and as the gun went off, I tried not to panic at the initial pace. I actually paced the first run reasonably well and came into transition just in the top half. T1 went smoothly and I posted one of the fastest transition times and soon got my head down on my bike. This was a draft legal race so I started to look for some strong cyclists to work with. After the first lap or two I managed to find another couple of riders and we rode the bike course together, although I did spend the majority at the front of the pack. I pushed the bike hard and managed to move up to 30th overall.

As I approached T2 the bike pack I was in had grown to five or six. Again, I posted the fastest transition time in T2 in my age group and 3rd fastest overall resulting in me coming out onto the run in front of all those in my bike pack. Knowing I had been quick in transition I put the hammer down in the first km of the run determined to put a distance between myself and the others and it worked. I held my pace around the run course and was pleased with my second run. 

6th in Age group and 27th out of 91 overall.

Alli Coleman