This was my first international competition so it was very exciting but also nerve wracking.

We got together on the start line and looking around, I spotted a few names that I recognised from my age group. Before long, the horn sounded and we were off! The start was quite narrow so everyone was fighting for space and I felt myself getting pushed behind and struggling to run properly but it was probably a good thing as it meant I couldn’t go off too fast! The run took some twists and turns through the town of Caorle and headed along the sea front, luckily not on the sand as had previously been planned. The run was quite flat but had some cobbles and tight turns to negotiate. When we got to the second lap, I was feeling good and got into a nice pace, overtaking a few people and pulled ahead to get into transition. Transition was slow for me as I haven’t mastered the perfect mount but my aims were to get all my stuff on, not break any rules and not fall off my bike so I was happy!

I headed out on the bike route with one other competitor and after a few minutes we saw a group of three riders, she said “let’s catch up with these girls” so we pushed on and started drafting off them. After riding in the small group for another couple of miles, a bigger group came along and as they overtook us, I hung on and went with them, the others joined and we just formed one big group. We took it in turns to pull ahead but the whole group stayed together for the rest of the ride. There were some 90 degree turns to go over a couple of narrow bridges and I slowed down to avoid getting squashed but soon realised after the bridges how hard it was to cycle on my own due to the wind. I pedalled hard to catch up with the group again and then settled into their pace. I really enjoyed the bike ride as it was just like a group ride rather than a race and when we worked together it made it so much easier. However, there was no chance of breaking away from the group as the course was exposed and flat so there was a lot of wind. As soon as I tried to get ahead, everyone followed me and took advantage then overtook me so I decided to just stay with them. I was one of the last ladies in my bike group to come into transition as I didn’t want to have a crash, transition was also slow as I wanted to make sure I had the tongue in my shoe flat before running, otherwise it would be quite uncomfortable.

However, I started running and gradually picked off each of the women that I had cycled with, including one in my age category, then about three quarters of the way through the run, I ran past the majority of the group and tried to maintain the distance away from them for the rest of the run. The run felt long and I was happy to turn the corner into the stadium and see a fairly short section of track to complete before the finish. There was one person left from the bike group ahead of me so I sprinted as hard as I could and so did she, but I just got past her, making it to 19th place and coming third in my age category. Overall, the race was very enjoyable and I am super happy with the result, also it means I’ve pre-qualified for next year!

Sarah Hunter

European Sprint Duathlon Championships, 18 Mar 2023

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