When competitors for the Derby Double Duathlon on Sunday morning, they must have wondered what they had let themselves in for.  With snow on the ground, there were a few frantic phone calls to establish whether the race was going ahead.  Thankfully all the roads on the bike course were clear and the off road run just a little more challenging than expected!

With a race format of run/bike/run/bike/run and distances of 2k and 12k respectively, the racing was likely to be fast and good transition technique was called for.

The run took place in the spectacular grounds of Foremarke Hall, home to Repton Prep School.  After the first 2k, the runners were lead into transition by Jake Manning, who had already built up a bit of a lead.  He was then followed by a group of 5 or so runners trying to chase him down.

In the females, Carolyn Osborne, racing in the Vets Category, had a slim lead over Zoe Sewter and Elsie Roberts.

The bike course took place on the country lanes surrounding Foremarke Hall and Jake returned to transition still in the lead, with Ian Hughes not too far behind. Ian then set about chasing Jake on the second run – still wearing his helmet!  Apparently this was all part of the race plan – to cut down on time spent in transition and, with the cold weather, it saved any fumbling of helmet straps with numb fingers.

Whilst Ian and Jake recorded fast bike splits, overall honours went to Jake’s dad, John, who was taking part in a relay team with Lottie, his daughter - another member of the sporting Manning family.  In spite of John’s very fast ride, the Manning team were only in second place behind another family team – this time a father and son combination, led by Patrick Watson, the school’s headmaster.

In Ladies race, Zoe Sewter rode a very good first bike and pulled out a 2 minute lead on the rest of the field.  Carolyn Osborne was still putting in a good showing in the Female Vets and was holding on to second place overall.

Jake continued his good showing for the remaining run, bike and run legs and won the race overall.  Ian Hughes took the male vet’s honours and consolidated his overall second place.  The remaining podium places in the men’s under 40’s were filled by Tim Doyle and Russell Atkinson, with Mick Revill and Richard Hawksworth rounding out the top 3 male vets.

In the female race, Zoe Sewter won by an impressive 4 minute margin, but Carolyn Osborne was pipped to second place overall by Elsie Roberts who ran an impressive final run leg to take the honours and second female under 40.  The final podium positions in the female under 40’s were taken by Zoe Allery and Sheona Revill and Kerry Pape finished second and third respectively in the female vets.

In the team competition, it was the father and son headmaster team that won the day – in spite of John Manning again blitzing the field on the second bike leg, recording the fastest bike split of the day.  Toby Mansfield and Christian Booth took third place.

Competitors’ feedback after the race suggested that in spite of the cold, the race and the format was a great success – so watch this space for similar events in the future.

Many thanks to the Headmaster of the school, Patrick Watson, for allowing Derby Triathlon Club to use the school and the grounds for the event.

Full results can be found on Results

Derby Tri’s next event is the Skinfit Spring Triathlon on Sunday 11th May and if this race is anything to go by, it promises to be another great event.  Entry to the race is via www.entrycentral.com with race details on the Derby Tri website.