Cycle U Tri Team Member Marta Qualifies for Worlds

On the last day of May 2009, Cycle U Triathlon Team member Marta competed in what is often described as one of the most difficult duathlon races known to human kind, the Long Course Duathlon National Championship, held in Auburn California. Included below ist he race report, submitted by the athlete herself:

When they described it as the World's toughest half they weren't kidding. The bike was amazingly hilly ok it was a lot of climbing. I was very happy that I was on my road bike and with a compact double. It started with a couple mile very steep climb- by the way this was after the 3k "warmup" run or the "sprint for your bike run". It just kept on from there. I almost got killed during the bike- I was going down a big descent at about 35-40 mph when some deer came running across the road. I was on a collision course with the second one. I jammed on my brakes and managed to stay upright which is why you should all race cyclocross with Christine and I in the fall- good bike handling skills. Actually you needed them for the whole thing it was a very technical course along with the 5500 feet of climbing. It made eating a little hard but I managed to get in my gels and fig newtons.

The run also was very hard it had a lot of long hills- like 1/2 mile and also my least favorite- long down hills although the hardest part of the run for me was the temperature. It was somewhere in the high 80's. I actually had the dark lenses in my glasses and I'm pretty sure that it is the first time in 2009 that I have used them. I drank and wore a lot of water- there is nothing like running 13.1 miles in wet bike shorts. They had good aid stations I had some warm coke at one that was very good.

My time wasn't really that fast given the course but since it was a duathlon and not many people do them I won my age group- this is why you should race duathlons. Since it was the long course national championships I'm the national champion for my age group and I'm qualified to go to the world championships next year.

It is June now and I'm going to have to start swimming.