I had the pleasure of racing my first duathlon this September. Lakeside duathlon was on my radar all summer. I’ve competed in triathlon of all sorts – olympic, off-road, half- and full – Ironman. I’ve never really loved the swim, so I decided to give duathlon a go. As a bonus, this was a qualifier for the World Championship to be hosted in Edmonton in summer 2027 (if you can win your 5-year age-group).
The race is set in rural Oxford County on the shore of Lake Sunova. It is a quaint small town on a small lake and the community is lovely. There was a separate bike rack for duathlon so you don’t get mixed in with the much larger triathlon.
The race starts on the road and heads out for 2 laps of a 5 km route before heading out for a single loop of a 40 km bike. You then return to transition and head back out for one loop of the 5 km run course. You are surrounded by farm land throughout the race which was beautiful. There was plenty of police presence and as usual, the good officers of the OPP had everything under control and safe and they cheer you on along the way.
The course was a little more challenging than I bargained for. The run had a couple of long climbs. Not a very steep grade, but it required a significant drop in pace. The main draw back to the run was that it was almost all on a gravel road. I wore a pair of very soft “super shoes” and the soles were essentially destroyed by the end of the race (thankfully they were not brand new)!
The bike was rolling and overall quite fast. Intersections were well controlled by OPP officers and I felt safe staying in the aerobars pretty much the whole time (with exception of a few climbs where I felt I needed to just focus on pushing on the pedals).
The vibe of the crowd and competitors was great. Lots of supportive smiles and helpful tips from others. There were lots of newbies and people with more experience.
Pizza and fruit and snacks were ample at the finish, but a vegan pizza option would have been a nice option!
The race was well organized from start to finish. Aside from the gravel road surprise on the run, I really have nothing negative to say about this race experience.
So how did it go? I finished second overall. I saw the first place finisher in my sights, but couldn’t close the gap at the end of the run. Not all was lost… I did win my age group! So, stay tuned for my review of the 2027 World Championship!!!!
