2nd May 2010 - Juliet Vickery

I wasn't at all convinced that I was going to qualify for the GE Edinburgh ITU Duathlon World Championships! Imagine the scene: it's 8:30am on a wet and windy Sunday morning. I've had an awful night's sleep and have woken up with a streaming cold. I've rarely felt less like racing in my life! However, I really need to today... I'm trying to qualify for the GE Edinburgh ITU Duathlon World Championships.

The Cambridge Duathlon on 2 May was my only chance to qualify and wear GB colours in Edinburgh. I really wanted a place on the team. So I got up, got dressed and thought positive thoughts: the race is on home territory, I know the course well and, like all competitors, can count on great support from Cambridge Triathlon Club marshals.

The first run leg The first 7.5km of the opening run is mostly on road, with a final kilometre around a huge playing field. This can be a depressing or encouraging lap depending on where your opposition is! As it happened, I entered T1 as 5th woman. Layering up in transition to keep warm cost me a bit of time but, as soon as I was on the bike, I knew it had been a good move. I suffered hypothermia in a race at Milton Keynes last year and wasn’t about to risk that again!  

Cold wind and a puncture This 2.5 lap fenland course may be flat and fast but it’s also exposed, and the icy wind was relentless. Early in lap one I was passed by the leaders of the men's race. How do people cycle that fast? It made me feel as if I was standing still! Buoyed up by several cheering marshals at every corner, I held my position, but a puncture meant I eventually found myself entering T2 as 4th woman. 

Pushing on to qualify The second run hurt (doesn't it always?) and I pushed on with cold, stiff legs. I was spurred on by the knowledge that, failing a disaster, I had qualified for the World Championships. At about the 5km mark, the 3rd woman came into sight. I calculated that she was catchable with an effort and knew I would kick myself if I didn’t give it a go. So I pushed on. It wasn’t pretty, but it’s amazing how the body can find that little bit extra when the finish line is in sight.  

I crossed the finish line in 2hrs 20min, delighted to have put in a great performance.  I was 3rd woman and 1st in my category. After congratulating my fellow competitors and thanking the organisers, I returned home with a voucher, a nice cut glass tumbler and, best of all...a place in the GE GB Age Group Team for the GE Edinburgh ITU Duathlon World Championships in September! Edinburgh here I come!