The inaugural running of the WaldenTRI Duathlon, WD11, took place on November 20th at the Carver Barracks airfield.

However thorough the planning, there is always some unforeseen challenge on the day (remember the broken lock on the entrance to Transition at WT11 at 5am!).  At WD11, when the PA was plugged into the mains at 6am, we lost all power to the registration building, which besides being plunged into darkness also meant we didn’t have the PA for commentary and music.  So, undaunted, the registration team cheerfully continued to process all the senior registrations by head-torch.  Race briefing was amplified via a rapidly rigged up car battery powered PA & we were back on track!

WD11 was conceived as an idea in 2010 and the foundations were laid back in February this year when the date, venue and format was agreed.  In the last 6 months the race committee have created new race routes around the airfield with a lot of strimming, mowing & raking.  In creating a new race format for both Juniors and Seniors, the race committee have worked hard to create new maps, signage & marshal requirements, risk assessments, race instructions, car park plans etc.  For any new race, attracting participants is always a challenge.  Having created new special promotion material, including a YouTube video of the bike route, we promoted WD11 across the region to a range of clubs, shops, gyms, train stations and we even had Helen Jenkins tweet the race!  By race day, we’d reached a total of 208 entries, which far exceeded our expectations and meant we were comfortably ahead of our breakeven number.

At 8am, the starter horn got the seniors off to mass start, which in foggy conditions made for a dramatic spectacle.  With a 5km run, 18km MTB, 5km run ahead, the course was designed to be challenging for both novices and experienced athletes alike.  One participant unfortunately pulled up 50 metres from the start with an Achilles injury.  Thankfully, everyone else was OK and got through the uneven single track section without injury and as the first runners emerged from the fog we could tell there were some very quick athletes and we were on for a competitive race.

With so many members marshalling and with the Cross Country on the same day, we had a small but quality field of WaldenTRI members in the senior race.  After the first run, Craig Dyce was right up there with the leaders, Nicki Davis was leading the ladies race with Donna Dale & Clare Thompson not far behind.  Greg Herring was also high up the rankings.

In the foggy conditions, the bike was always going to be challenging for those not familiar with the route.  The up & over 8 ft mound was a leap of faith for some not knowing what was on the other side and a few people had some minor spills.

Some reports of punctures started to filter back to the Transition area and we began to wonder how many people had been impacted.  Punctures can occur in any off road event and despite our best efforts to sweep the course, several people had to retire from the race.   The race was really hotting up by the second run and we knew WaldenTRI members were in contention.

The overall male winner was Paul Bolton setting the inaugural course record in 1.38.10.  Just 1.23 behind him was WaldenTRI’s Craig Dyce taking 3rd place overall (2nd Vet) in 1.39.43.  Greg Herring finished 12th overall (7th Senior) in 1.48.22 (not just a MTB’er then Greg!), Piers Davis finished 32nd overall (11th Senior) in 1.57.49, 17 year old Tom Carruthers finished 45th overall (15th Senior ) in 2.02.16 and Michael Passfield finished 65th overall (35th Vet) in 2.12.21.  Very well done guys!

WaldenTRI’s Nicki Davis won the ladies race & set the ladies course record at 1.51.53.  Donna won her age group in 1.55.36 and had a dramatic sprint finish to take 2nd place overall on the line.  Our head coach Clare Thompson finished strongly and was 3rd in her age group in 1.57.29.  Another outstanding performance from our ladies who also won the the Female overall club prize.

Normally at this point, we can relax, pack up and have a leisurely afternoon, but we still had 3 more Junior races to go!  With 3x mass starts, all racing different distances, the Junior races were arguably more difficult to manage than the seniors.  Thankfully the sun had beaten back the fog and the Junior race took place in glorious sunshine.

I think all the marshals and spectators were incredibly impressed with the kids who showed fantastic determination, focus and commitment in all their races.  WaldenJNR had 37 children racing so we had numbers on our side to dominate the prizes.  All the children did fantastically well, our podium finishers were Tristar 1 boys - Jacob Hinton 1st, Alex Dale 3rd.  Tristar 2 boys – Leon Bozianu 2nd.  Tristar 3 boys – Charlie Passfield 3rd.  Youths boys – Ptolemy Hand 1st, Luke Diana 2nd, Tom Berry 3rd.  Tristar 1 girls – Helena Dyce 1st, Ciara Broomfield 2nd, Tor Lovell 3rd.  Tristar 2 girls - Lottie Dyce 2nd, Hannah Lindsell 3rd.  Youths girls – Maddie Trevillion 3rd.  WaldenJNR won both the best overall male club and best overall female club prizes.  Very well done to all the children, their parents and their coaches!

Feedback from the participants, race officials and parents has been fantastic. A small selection of comments below:

“Overall this was a well organised race with a high emphasis on the safety and wellbeing of the children….it was evident that a significant amount of planning had gone in to this event much to the credit of the race director and WaldenTRI” – Jonathan Davies, BTF Junior Race Referee

“Brilliant info provided to the competitors prior to the event.  Info on the website was detailed with full race day information.  I thought the YouTube video of the course was a great touch…..A great and well run event and a pleasure to referee, thank you” – Kate Tucker, BTF Senior Race Referee

“We have just completed our first duathlon and want to say what a well organised event it was ,how helpful and  friendly all the officials were. Their encouragement made all the difference, thank  you.” – James Helen and Alice Hewlett

We are compiling the results from the participant surveys and already it is clear that our marshals have once again done a fantastic job.  The enthusiasm and encouragement given by all the marshals was evident in feedback from participants.  We had over 60 marshals in total, so a huge thank you to the marshal team.  You are key part of why WaldenTRI’s events have such a good reputation around the region, thank you!

In 2011, WaldenTRI selected The Injured Soldiers Fund as our adopted charity.  With a portion of race proceeds from WT11, WD11, a percentage of surplus club funds and other WaldenTRI related contributors we have generated over £1500 in 2011 which was presented by our Treasurer Charles Dale to club member Major Al Budinger from 33 Regiment, Carver Barracks.  A big thank you to Al who presented the senior prizes and helped with many of the logistical arrangements on the day.

Finally, a big thank you to the race committee who have worked extremely hard to create WD11 and have developed a race template that can be re-used in the future.  The race committee were Andy Stoten, Louise Rolfe, Liam Brook, Andrew Riley, Howard Williams, Charles Dale, Phil Doel, Matt Switzer, Colin Pryor, Deb Ives, Glyn Baker and Matt Hinton.

WT12 is planned for 24/6/12 and WD12 for 18/11/12.  Please put the dates in your diary now.  We would like new members to join the race committee(s). If you would like to be involved in helping with our 2012 events, please drop a quick note to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it