The award winning Durty Events team are gearing up for the opening event of the company’s Winter Duathlon Series, being staged for the first time at Bowhill House and Country Estate, Selkirk, in The Scottish Borders, this weekend.
The three events, that feature mountain biking and trail running, will be staged in December (02), January (27) and February (24), each course progressively longer and more challenging than the other; and entries are open now to solo competitors and teams of two.
The Bowhill Winter Duathlon Series is in its 11th year and always attracts an enthusiastic band of competitors keen to take part in one of the fastest growing mass participation multisports in the UK. As Durty Events notes, the only difference from a triathlon is that a duathlon does not include the Durty Events’ special of a swim in chilly open water! That delight is saved for later in the 2013 Durty calendar of events.
Durty Events is keen to stress that all three duathlon events in the series are open to anyone – from novices just wanting to have a go at an achievable challenge while keeping fit, through to elite athletes looking for some winter training in a fun and relaxed environment.
Rory Downie, the current Scottish and European Under 23 Cross Triathlon Champion, who has signed up for the Bowhill Winter Duathlon Series, said “The Bowhill Duathlon Series is sure to be a cracker. I’ve been to loads of Durty Events and never been let down!
“The Winter Duathlons are perfect winter training in a friendly laid back environment and a great introduction to off-road racing; it’s how I started.”
For the first duathlon in the series, this Sunday 2 December, the 150 competitors will complete a mountain bike ride on mainly blue graded trails followed by a trail run. The elite athletes are expected to finish in 40 minutes (20 minutes for each discipline), with the slower competitors averaging 60 to 70 minutes.
Entries are still open for Sunday’s event and are priced from £12 for solo competitors. For a team of two, one biking, one running, the price is £20 and £27.
Paul McGreal from Durty Events said “This is the first time we’ve used Bowhill for our Winter Duathlon Series and we can promise all those taking part an achievable challenge on some terrific forest track. It’s going to be an adventurous but achievable and fun day out for all of our 150 athletes.”
Earlier this month the CELTMAN! Extreme Scottish Triathlon, held at Shieldaig in Wester Ross and organised by the Durty Events team was judged the Best Event of 2012 at the coveted Annual British Triathlon Awards.
For the bravehearted, not the faint-hearted, CELTMAN! is an iron-like race with a twist. The distances are ‘iron-like’ and the terrain severe. Athletes complete a 3.8K (bracing!) sea-loch swim, an arduous 180K road cycle and a 42K exposed mountainous run (approximately 75% is off-road). The approximate ascent for the whole race is 4,000m (13,000 feet).
