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Merrell TuffMan Duathlon and 10km Run  - Saturday 6th February 2010  

Pippingford Park, Nutley, East Sussex

The fourth and final event in the Merrell Off-Road Series was the culmination of an exciting winter series of mountain bike duathlon and trail run events organised by Human Race.  A brand new venue in East Sussex and a super technical course greeted both the duathletes and runners for what would turn out to be a gruelling race.

The Merrell TuffMan had promised to be ‘tough’ and it certainly lived up to expectations. The new course had been designed to be more technical, especially on the bike and with sections running along the side of the lake, it was a challenge for cyclists just to keep their bikes upright and avoid sliding into the water. The 10k trail run, was simply a mud fest and had challenging, technical twists and turns to keep everyone on their toes.

The World Record Holder of ‘10 marathons in 10 days’ (brathaychallenge.com) Adam Holland (Votwo) was the ‘surprised’ winner of the 10km run and thrilled with his performance ‘I didn’t expect that at all!’ he exclaimed.  Only seconds behind him in second position was David Hellard and Mike Page in third place.  First lady was top triathlete Fiona Moorhead-Lane who declared it to be ‘hilarious and loads of fun!’ with Yseult Whitaker in second and Carys Mills in third for the ladies.  The canicross runners with their dogs were back in action with Mark Dunbar, running with Norman and Ringo, taking first place.

In the duathlon however, all eyes were on the supreme Colin Dixon who already had three wins out of three under his belt in the series… could he make it four out of four?  But XTerra pro Sam Gardner and newcomer Tim 'Macca' McDowell along with the ever present Jim McConnel and Paul Davies, were all on the start line to see if they could give him a run for his money.   Dixon was sadly forced to pull out however after one lap of the bike with technical difficulties and McDowell suffered a ‘race ending’ puncture. This left Gardner, McConnel and Davies to battle it out for the win.  The hugely experienced Gardner put the hammer down though and pulled away leaving the rest in his wake, to take the win with a great performance.

McConnel took second place with Davies in third. ‘Gardner was supreme on the bike today’ said McConnel ‘and he’s in great form at the moment. I’m really happy with second place though and now off to XTerra Portugal which will be fantastic. Thanks to Human Race for an excellent series it's been great fun’.

‘It was perfect conditions for me today’ said Gardner ‘I love racing in the mud and the course was ideal for me too. These events are perfect sharpeners for the XTerra circuit. I’m off to Saipan in a few weeks to try and retain my title, and really looking forward to a great season’.

For the ladies it was the ever improving Fay Cripps taking her second win of the series and an impressive 40th place overall, with Claire Weldon in second and Elizabeth Wilson of Clapham Chasers in third. Team Hoof It took the honours in the relay to score their fourth win out of four.

The TuffMan marks the final race in the Merrell Series for this winter. However more off-road fun will be back in November – check out www.humanrace.co.uk for more details.

Next up from Human Race is the Lucozade Sport Race Your Pace Half Marathon on 28th March at Dorney Lake, enter online at www.humanrace.co.uk

10K Run - Men

Adam Holland   40:20

David Hellard   40:52

Mike Page   43:37

10K Run -Women

Fiona Moorehead-Lane 50:23

Yseult Whitaker  57:07

Carys Mills   58:51


Duathlon – Men

Sam Gardner – Berkshire Tri Squad  1:52:57

Jim McConnel – driventotri.com 1:58:20

Paul Davies    2:05.07


Duathlon – Women

Fay Cripps -   2:35.47

Claire Weldon  - 2:42.55

Elizabeth Wilson 2:52.16

Every month we will be emailing out the latest Human Race Newsletter. For those who would prefer to read it on our website, we will also be posting it here. To view the latest Newsletter, click on the link below. If you would like to subscribe to the newsletter, enter your details on the Human Race Home Page, under the EMAIL UPDATES heading.

220 Evening Triathlon Series
NOW OPEN!
750m Swim, 20km Bike, 5km Run

Building on the success of the 220 Evening Triathlon Series last year, we have opened up the entry forms for the 2010 series of races.

Taking part on the last Wednesday of May, June, July and August the event has three wave start times the first being at 6pm. An ideal stress buster after a hard day at work!

Race dates for 2010 are:

RACE 1: Wednesday 26th May 2010 For more details and online entry for the May race, CLICK HERE

RACE 2: Wednesday 30th June 2010 For more details and online entry for the June race, CLICK HERE

RACE 3: Wednesday 28th July 2010 For more details and online entry for the July race, CLICK HERE

RACE 4: Wednesday 25th August 2010 For more details and online entry for the August race, CLICK HERE

New for 2010: Enter all four races in the series in one transaction (Save £12)
£180 (ON MAY ENTRY FORM ONLY)

 A PDF of this article can be found at the bottom of the Shock Absorber WomenOnly Triathlon Race Page and Shock Absorber WomenOnly Triathlon Training Day Page.

Every month we will be emailing out the latest Human Race Newsletter. For those who would prefer to read it on our website, we will also be posting it here. To view the latest Newsletter, click on the link below. If you would like to subscribe to the newsletter, enter your details on the Human Race Home Page, under the EMAIL UPDATES heading.

Merrell MudMan Off-Road Duathlon and Trail Run - Saturday 5th December 2009

The Merrell MudMan which took place on Saturday 5th December, certainly lived up to its name this year.  Having rained non-stop for almost 2 weeks beforehand, the extreme hilly course was made even harder by some seriously challenging and incredibly muddy conditions.

The army training ground in Surrey was the perfect venue for the Merrell MudMan, which comprised both an off-road run and a challenging mountain bike duathlon event.  As ever, it attracted a wide array of duathletes, runners and triathletes looking for an off-season challenge and, crucially, a bit of muddy fun!

The sun came out at the last minute on the day though, and competitors were treated to the most fantastic bright winter morning for what turned out to be a thrilling day of racing for both the runners and duathletes.

Duathlon - 7.5km Run/ 15km Bike/ 7.5km Run

It was an exciting start to the duathlon event race as XTerra specialist, Jim McConnel took a commanding lead on the run, coming into transition with IceMan winner Colin Dixon hot on his heels. Dixon took the lead on the bike when McConnel had to drop out with a puncture. This left the field open and ensured Lee Rankin came in a confident second place. ‘My usual sport is road biking’ said Rankin ‘but I thought I would borrow my mate’s mountain bike and give it a go!’.  Jim Griffiths came in a cool third, commenting ‘It was a tough course out there today! It was seriously hilly and seriously muddy’.

Last year’s female winner Aileen Anderson, had come back for another go on the super tough course, but despite the muddy conditions, she powered through to take the overall win in an impressive 16th place overall. Faye Cripps gave her a run for her money though, and finished only 45 seconds behind her in 2nd place.  3rd lady was Elizabeth Doyle. Winning relay team ‘Hoof It’ repeated their victory from the IceMan only 2 weeks ago to finish in an impressive 6th place overall.

Men
1st Colin Dixon             1:49.08
2nd Lee Rankin             1:53.41
3rd Jim Griffiths            1:58.05

Women
1st Aileen Anderson       2:13 41
2nd Faye Cripps            2:14.06
3rd Elizabeth Doyle       2:27.26

Merrell MudMan Trail Run -10km

The Merrell MudMan 10km Trail Run is not the race to choose if you’re after a flat PB course.  But if you fancy a bit of fun on one of the most extreme and toughest, muddiest and hilliest courses around, then you’ve come to the right place.

Lee Kemp repeated his IceMan victory with a stunning performance on what he described as ‘the toughest 10k he’d ever run’ in a truly impressive time of 38:58. Hugh MacKenzie was second in 39:57 with former MudMan Run winner David Chapman in third in 42:11.

The women were led home by Fiona Strouts in 50:08 with Annabel Hagon a close second in 51:02. Amelia Ashton-Jones was third in 56:49.

If you missed out on all the fun at the Merrell MudMan, don’t worry…  there are 2 more Merrell Off-Road Races yet to come. Get them in your diary now. You have the choice of a gruelling Mountain Bike duathlon or a tough trail run at either event, or you could even bring your mates along to tackle the duathlon as a relay team.

WildMan 23rd January 2010, Hankley, Nr Guildford, Surrey (Run, Duathlon and Relay Duathlon) GO WILD IN THE COUNTRY

TuffMan 6th February 2010, Pippingford Park Estate, Nr Gatwick, East Sussex (Run, Duathlon and Relay Duathlon) MAN IT'S TOUGH!