Eddie Brocklesby knows a good duathlon when she sees one! She's raced all over the world, at World and European Championships and has won gold on more than one occasion. At 66 one might think that this invincible redhead could be thinking about putting her feet up, but no, definitely not Eddie. Last weekend after organising her race Three2go on the Saturday, she headed to Richmond Park on the Sunday for the Chelsea and Westminster Health Charity London Duathlon, 'for a little warm-up before next weekend's World Duathlon Championships in Concord, North Carolina', as Eddie put it.

Its not always the case that athletes come away from a race singing its praises, but Eddie certainly was about the London Duathlon. So we thought she should put pen to paper and tell us why she thinks the World's biggest Duathlon really is worth a go.

I've raced on a fair few different courses and in my experience the London Duathlon course was simply brilliant - by far the best duathlon course I have raced! Richmond Park is a fabulous Royal Park anyway, with some stunning views, but it was such a privilege to bike round, on a road closed to traffic, enjoying those long downhill stretches, and taking roundabouts on the wrong side with not a cop in sight limiting us to the usual 20mph.

It must have been a very fast course for the top guys, with few obstacles, although I passed one guy, calling `on your right` as I went by and he screamed `Left` and there ahead of us, was a huge deer, waiting patiently for us to pass before he crossed the road! But these are just some of the joys of Richmond Park, which is just a stone's throw away from central London.

It's a challenging course, with some hills, which is great because you really feel like you've worked hard and had a good solid race at the end of it. The run course, described as undulating, was not the easiest, but again it takes you through some fabulous scenery, which I guess takes you mind of some of the pain. I never find the second run in a duathlon easy and the undulations around the run course certainly don't help, but I'm not complaining, as I said this is a fabulous place to race.

Although it would have been good to have seen more elites racing, and greater focus on the Elite event, the whole-day event offered something for all, especially beginners. I quite liked the staggered race starts, as it never became over-congested. Some may miss the `race` element, but I don't. As someone who's used to coming in well towards the back of most races, it was great to have the opportunity to overtake a few people, albeit on commuter bikes with baskets - who were so clearly also loving the experience! Many good runners and cyclists are put off multi-sport by the thought of the swim in a triathlon, so I think this is a great race to help whet the appetite of anyone thinking of doing a multi-sport event.

The plentiful supply of enthusiastic marshals was impressive, and it was good to see the event was also attracting older people to compete or to volunteer. Duathlons are a great goal for those seeking to develop a more active lifestyle! Apart from a few minor suggestions to enhance safety, I hope that consideration can also be given in the future to four loops on the bike, thereby more akin to the Olympic duathlon distances, and perhaps attracting our elite athletes! All-in-all though a great race which I would highly recommend to anyone interested in doing a duathlon.

For more information on the London Duathlon go to www.londonduathlon.co.uk.