Swallowfield Duathlon 2018

2 years ago the Swallowfield 10+3 was my introduction to duathlons. 6th place seemed a good start. A year later and tri bars on my road bike, a 3 minute improvement and 4th place seemed good progress.
nOn Sunday 16 September I was the only WADAC entrant again on this flattish and relaxed event, one of the few duathlons on the open road. It is locally organised together with a 10k run and a 3k children’s race, raisin get money for the 1st Swallowfield Scout Group. The duathlon splits the 10k at roughly two-thirds for the first run and one-third for the second. The 18k bike circuit is on the short side for this sort of event and the whole thing advantages runners over cyclists. On this occasion, I managed a 2nd, not because I shaved much off my previous best time (11 seconds to be precise) but because of fewer faster competitors. My TT bike accounted for 10 seconds of improvement - therefore it was not about the bike this time. (I blame the headwind that made it feel uphill for the first 6k). And quicker transitions compensated for my slower run legs (interpret that as you will).Nice to see Alan Doney there, ex WADAC member, finishing in 20th.