On Saturday I will be starting my first race of 2010:
The Merrell Tuffman Duathlon
This is the final race in whats been a very popular winter duathlon series.
The race will take place at the stunning Pippingford Park Estate down in Sussex.
Said to be the crown jewel venue for off road racing, having already visited the venue for an xc mountainbike race last year and enjoyed the steep trails, I couldn't agree more. Revisiting the technical woodland this time, I will be keen to put my newly acquired riding skills to the test. I didn't enter the other rounds of the series as my prioraty has been concentrating on building my fitness ready for the long year ahead. However this final round has just fallen at an ideal time to test myself and make any adjustments to my preparation before my season really begins in April at Xterra Portugal.
Interestingly a quick look at the start list shows that I'm not the only one who's using this (10km run/20km bike/5km run)off road event as a start point for 2010.
UK Xterra Pro's Sam Gardner, Jim McConnel and Paul Davies will also be lining up with me to see how there wintering has gone? Also current Merrell series leader Colin Dixon and duathlon specialist Jez Cox "who rumour has it has only ever been beaten once in an off road event!" will both be there doing there best to stay at the top of the podium.....
This should all make my first outing in the VOTWO colors anything but a walk in the park......
