BUCS Duathlon Championships 2011 (by Michael Lazaris)

When my alarm went off in the wee hours of the 19^th October it took every last bit of will power to get out of bed, not only because it was ridiculously early on a Saturday, but because I was about to embark on a 9 hour coach journey to Bath for my first ever duathlon.

My fear was reinforced on arrival at Appleton by Lyndsey standing there with a look of utmost horror across her face. Cautiously asking her what’s wrong, Lyndsey replies, “I only do EUTri for the training…I absolutely HATE races!”. Could it actually be that bad? We soon left Edinburgh and I was unfortunate enough to be sitting next to Tom and Katherine, who spent over an hour flirting about how many mutual friends they have from back home and how their mothers know each other. Only Erin’s notes on non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs could ease the pain. Luckily, the coach had a DVD player, so we watched Cool Runnings followed by the action-packed Casino Royale to get some pre-race inspiration. This left us feeling like impossible is nothing…if the Jamaicans can do it, so can we! That, or we can just shoot/beat up/drown/blow up any competition and make the race a bit easier. Before we knew it we had arrived in the beautiful city of Bath with almost 2 hours off our ETA, so we got dropped off at the hostel to dump our bags and claim our beds (or springs with a thin covering of material). While at the hostel, Erin showed off her cultured American roots by confusing a painting of a Roman with a ninja turtle, and so began the weekend-long abuse of her accent and anything she had to say (“the claaaaw!”).

After a good meal and a few pints at Wetherspoons, we had a stroll around Bath, saw the sights and headed to Waitrose for food and more booze (EUTri are serious athletes). In the hostel, we all sat down for some fun and games. Dechlan had the great idea to split us into two teams: Celts and rest of the world. This obviously set the non-Celts up with a huge disadvantage as the games were language comprehension based (the game Articulate) and most of us don’t use English as our native language (American doesn’t count). So us non-celts ended up losing, which pains me too much to mention. Seriousness aside, it was a great game and also revealed the filthy-minded amongst us (nut sack, something smelly that girls shave (armpits by the way-yet another gem from Erin) and many more).

Sunday morning, race day. After trying to get some food down for breakfast while still half-asleep and some great race advice by EUTri president Ali-“be quick”, we left the hostel and made our way to the bike van to begin our “short and flat” cycle to the course. It took us two hours, and was about 80% uphill; always a great warm-up before a sprint duathlon! There were also some epic falls by Ross (who spent more time on the ground than his bike), Sexy Dec and a semi-fall by Tom, only to be rescued by Akib. We even had a puncture along the way (another mention to Erin), so by the time we arrived at the course most of us felt like we had already done the duathlon!

After setting up our bikes in transition, we headed to the start line for the beginning of the race. Before I knew it we were off on the first part of the race: the 2 mile run. I hate sprinting. Fact. Any picture of me running looks like something has died inside me. Nevertheless, I powered through, set a steady pace and eventually made it back to the bikes for the 10 mile cycle. My first obstacle was trying to remember how many laps I’ve done (need to do 5). There was also some light entertainment provided by a girl who fell off her bike and cut open her jaw. Horrible thing to say but it honestly distracted me from my own pain! 1, 2, 3 or 4?!, 4, 5, done…now for the hard part of the duathlon. Getting off the bike for the second 2 mile run must have been hilarious to watch as I could barely walk, let alone run. I spent the first half wobbling along like I was in desperate need of the toilet. It also felt like if I ran any slower I’d be going backwards. Things only got worse when a swarm of GB runners swooped passed me from the next heat (show-offs), but the end was near. Operation terminal investment: use every last drain of energy, no matter how ridiculously exhausted/near-death you feel, and get to the finish line (something I learnt from parasitology-don’t ask). And that’s it, first duathlon done! Oh, and another mention to Erin for her second puncture of the day during the race, followed by Stephen-it happens to the best of us!

After cheering on the rest of the team, we got the bikes loaded and hopped straight onto the coach for our glorious return to Scotland (with a well-deserved pit-stop at Burger King). Overall, a great weekend with great memories, and a brilliant effort by EUTri!