Duathlon - 7.5km Run/ 15km Bike/ 7.5km Run

The Merrell MudMan which took place on Saturday 5th December, certainly lived up to its' name this year.  Having rained non-stop for almost two weeks beforehand, the extreme hilly course was made even harder by some seriously challenging and incredibly muddy conditions.

The army training ground in Surrey was the perfect venue for the Merrell MudMan, which comprised both an off-road run and a challenging mountain bike duathlon event. As ever, it attracted a wide array of duathletes, runners and triathletes looking for an off-season challenge and, crucially, a bit of muddy fun!

The sun came out at the last minute on the day though, and competitors were treated to the most fantastic bright winter morning for what turned out to be a thrilling day of racing for both the runners and duathletes.

It was an exciting start to the duathlon event race as XTERRA specialist, Jim McConnel took a commanding lead on the run, coming into transition with IceMan winner Colin Dixon hot on his heels. Dixon took the lead on the bike when McConnel had to drop out with a puncture. This left the field open and ensured Lee Rankin came in a confident second place. ‘My usual sport is road biking’ said Rankin ‘but I thought I would borrow my mate's mountain bike and give it a go!’. Jim Griffiths came in a cool third, commenting ‘It was a tough course out there today! It was seriously hilly and seriously muddy’.

Last year’s female winner Aileen Anderson, had come back for another go on the super tough course, but despite the muddy conditions, she powered through to take the overall win in an impressive 16th place overall. Faye Cripps gave her a run for her money though, and finished only 45 seconds behind her in 2nd place.  3rd lady was Elizabeth Doyle. Winning relay team ‘Hoof It’ repeated their victory from the IceMan only 2 weeks ago to finish in an impressive 6th place overall.