With the London Duathlon coming up this weekend there will be an awful lot of first time duathletes venturing out onto the roads of Richmond Park to compete for the first time. We asked Annie Emmerson, top duathlete and regular contributor to Tri247, to give some instant tips for those feeling a little daunted by the prospect.

Know the course

If you get the chance, drive the bike course and familiarise yourself with the corners and descents before hand. The run course is harder to get around because some places on the course don’t allow vehicle access. You could always ride it as a pre-race warm-up, although this may be a little to much for some. Tri247 is featuring the course as its Route of the Month so you can always check it out virtually through Motion Based and their map player function.

Preparation

It’s always a lot easier going to bed the night before a race knowing that you have everything ready to go for the race. The best way to do this is to write a list of things you need to remember for the race, including race number, water bottles, trainers etc etc. When you have this done use the list to prepare everything for the following day, that way you can’t forget anything! If you can't think of a list then don't worry, Tri247 has a Race Day Checklist online that you can download and use.

Don’t make huge changes to your diet in the days before a race; if you enjoy a glass of wine and normally have one then don’t change the habit, plus it will probably keep you more relaxed. In regards to food, just stick to your normal healthy diet with a slight increase in carbs as the race gets closer.

When you arrive in transition do take the time to make sure you know where everything is. Read up on some basic skills in Tri247's guide to surviving the transition. Your bike rack will have a number or letter allocated to it, you'll need to remember this when you get back to transition to find your bike. Do also take the time to locate all the entrances and exits and the route to and from them to your bike. There is nothing worse than being 'Lost in Transition'!

The first run

A warm up is important, if you start the race cold it will take you a lot longer to get into it. So, having warmed up properly, anything up to a 15 minutes (depending on your level ) is fine, head to the start nice and early so there’s no panic or worry about missing the race! The first run should be strong but controlled, if you go off too fast you will be in danger of burning yourself out too early. So, start steady and build into the run gradually, this way you will conserve energy for later on in the race.

The bike

Again, don’t go tearing off up the first hill! Once you are up and biking take on some fuel as you will have burnt a few calories on the first run. This might be in the form of an isotonic drink or gel or maybe an energy bar, the important thing is, is to make sure you survive the bike with enough energy for the last run, so have a sip of drink every ten minutes or so.

Make sure that the bike is in the right gear in transition so that you have a smooth start, there's nothing worse than being in a really big gear and having to struggle to get moving.

The final run

If you’ve got this far, you know your going to finish, so whatever energy you have left give it your all and enjoy the last 5k!

Afterwards

Do take the time to get some food in after the race. The first hour after finishing is the best time to get fuel back into the body so that it can recover quicker. This should include both carbohydrates and protein as well as plenty of fluids to replace all that sweat.