Whilst Nick’s race of choice is duathlon, he is also a very accomplished runner. He recently raced the Wimbledon Audi 10k taking the victory by a considerable margin.
Photograph c/o Jolekha Shasha
This was a folly, the 3rd race in a row and after two gruelling Olympic distance duathlons. Mind you after two 2-hour punishing duathlons, I felt I deserved something a little less tiring and snappier. So I completed a last minute entry into the Wimbledon 10k and got up at the crack of dawn to trudge over to the venue slightly more famous for tennis matches than distance running. Two bus rides and a train later and I made the start.
Initially I was slightly alarmed by:
a) The fact that over 600 competitors were taking part
b) The weather was distinctly wet and
c) The race was part sponsored by another energy drinks company!
Within the first kilometre or so it was clear that a lead group of 4 had established itself firmly ahead of the rest of the field and so we all tucked in as close to the lead car (a rather cool Audi SUV with a time board attached). At about 2k in, my legs really started to fatigue due to the all the racing I had done in the last 2 weeks; was this such a smart idea?
At 4k, a strong attack came from one of the pack and I started thinking; ‘ok, just try to snag a podium place if you can, but just hang on for a bit longer’. Fortunately this attack was short lived. As soon as we made our way up Wimbledon Hill (a fairly evil drag about a minute long) and keeping the pace constant I managed to break away and the rest of the field just seemed to blow apart entirely.
By the 5k marker (at the top of the hill) I could no longer hear footfall and soon afterwards realised I had a race winning break of at least 20 seconds. The rest of the race went according to plan and I just kept trying to push myself hard and convince myself that nothing was won until I ran through the finish line. Job done and my first race victory of the year!
Racing up and down the country would not be possible were it not for the continuing support of both TORQ and the tri team sponsors so thanks as ever go to:
Delicious, natural and healthy nutrition: www.torqfitness.co.uk
Frames – Merida: www.merida-bikes.com
Cycle Shoes – Lake: www.lakecycling.co.uk
Helmets – Limar: www.limarhelmets.com
Cables – Jagwire: www.jagwireusa.com/
Aerobars – USE: www.use1.com
Wetsuits – 2XU: www.2xu.com
Wheels – Fast Forward: www.ffwdwheels.com
Powermeter – Powertap: www.cycleops.com
