<?xml version="1.0"?><rss version="2.0"><channel><title>The London Duathlon - Duathlon247</title><link>http://www.duathlon247.com/index.html</link><description>Latest the london duathlon articles from Duathlon247</description><item><title><![CDATA[London Duathlon: 12th September 2010]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://www.duathlon247.com/article_5748.html]]></link><description><![CDATA[The  London Duathlon offers racing on traffic free roads within the confines of  London&#039;s largest Royal Park 

  Ultra Distance (20km Run &amp;gt; 80km Bike &amp;gt; 10km Run) 
  Challenge Distance&amp;nbsp;(10km       Run &amp;gt; 20km Bike &amp;gt; 5km Run) both with a team relay option, 
  Fun Distance&amp;nbsp;(5km Run &amp;gt; 10km Bike &amp;gt; 5km Run)

  10km Run Only Option  
We have added a 10km Run only option which will slot into the middle of the  days racing, to give people the opportunity to enjoy running in the park while  we have the benefit of the traffic-free environment.  
With Kids event for 3 years upwards, there is a racing for the whole family  available in one of London&#039;s most scenic locations.   
If  you haven&#039;t already signed up then there is still an opportunity to sign up for  The London Duathlon&amp;nbsp; (Fun, Challenge or Ultra), the 10K run or get your  children onto the kids event.   
For  more information on The London Duathlon please go to&amp;nbsp;www.thelondonduathlon.co.uk
]]></description></item><item><title><![CDATA[London Duathlon launches Ultra Distance]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://www.duathlon247.com/article_5706.html]]></link><description><![CDATA[London Duathlon,  the world&#039;s biggest duathlon event to be held on Sunday 12th September 2010,  has launched a new Ultra Duathlon distance that will appeal to the thousands of  athletes now focussing on longer distance racing. The 20km : 80km : 10km  event will be integrated into the existing Challenge and Fun distance events for  the London Duathlon, held annually in Richmond Park - the only day in the year  that the Park is closed to vehicles. 

Mass Participation Events, organisers of the Goodwood Duathlon and Liverpool  Triathlon, recently acquired the London Duathlon, though Kevin Stewart,  Managing Director of MPE, was instrumental in establishing the original London  Duathlon as a Director of London Triathlon Ltd. He said &amp;quot;I am delighted to  be involved with the event again. Richmond Park provides a stunning venue and  we feel that by launching an Ultra Duathlon, we can draw a new audience to the  London Duathlon. This is one of several new initiatives we are looking at to  build on the existing success and make 2010 the best event to date.&amp;quot;

The Ultra distance will involve two laps of the Park for the first run,  followed by seven laps on the bike and a further full lap of the Park to  finish. Places in the event will be available on a first come, first  served basis and limited by the route capacity. Athletes will start in the  first waves of the day and be limited to 6hrs 15 mins to complete the  distance. 
Entries are open now: www.TheLondonDuathlon.co.uk]]></description></item><item><title><![CDATA[Mass Participation Events acquire The London Duathlon]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://www.duathlon247.com/article_5697.html]]></link><description><![CDATA[Mass Participation Events,  organisers of the Goodwood Duathlon and Liverpool Triathlon have acquired The  London Duathlon, to be held on Sunday 12th September 2010 in Richmond Park,  London.

Kevin Stewart, Managing Director of MPE, was instrumental in establishing the  London Duathlon originally as a Director of London Triathlon Ltd.&amp;nbsp;He said  &amp;quot;I am delighted to be involved with the event again. Richmond Park  provides a stunning venue and while we will continue to offer the Challenge and  Fun distances we are also looking at new ideas that will encourage previous  participant to return to the event and draw new people into duathlon. I am  looking forward to building on the existing success to make it the best event  to date.&amp;quot;
The London Duathlon has been  running since 2005, attracting around 3,500 participants each year, and  Richmond Park provides an ideal venue for friends and family to support  participants throughout the day. &amp;nbsp;London Duathlon makes use of Richmond  Park&#039;s 2,500 acres on the only day that the park is closed to vehicles with  views across the capital from the highest parts of the course taking in many  famous sights including St Paul&#039;s Cathedral, 12 miles away.&amp;nbsp;
Mass Participation Events will be  making announcements in the coming weeks about new initiatives to extend the  London Duathlon&#039;s appeal to a wider range of athletes.
Entries are open now: www.TheLondonDuathlon.co.uk

On Sunday 9th May 2010,  &amp;quot;Glorious Goodwood&amp;quot; will be the venue for a Classic 10km40km5km and  Half Distance (4km20km4km) Duathlon. 
The historic Goodwood Motor  Circuit will act as the base for the event, with the bike course taking in a  20km loop on the South Downs. Starting on the Pit Straight athletes will  complete the first run on the motor circuit, exiting from the north-east gate  onto the West Sussex highways for a challenging bike course, returning to the  Motor Circuit through Goodwood Park (the venue for the Festival of Speed Hill  Climb). Back into transition on the Chicane Paddock and switching to the second  run, with the finish on the starting grid opposite the Jackie Stewart Pavilion. 
Entries are now open online at www.GoodwoodDuathlon.co.uk 

Participants in the UK&#039;s newest  major triathlon swim, bike and run whilst taking in Liverpool&#039;s World Heritage  Sites, including The Liver Building, Albert Dock, and the brand new Liverpool  Echo Arena.&amp;nbsp; 1,000 participants in last year&#039;s inaugural Liverpool Triathlon  enjoyed a closed-road route, at the heart of this iconic city, providing a  fast, safe course for all standards of athlete. 
&amp;quot;Many thanks for a wonderful  race on Sunday. The organisation of the event was superb. The personnel  involved were unfailingly helpful and friendly. The course was very well laid  out and marshalled. Thank you again. I&#039;ll be back next year.&amp;quot; Norman  S&amp;nbsp; 
Entries are now open online at www.LiverpoolTriathlon.co.uk ]]></description></item><item><title><![CDATA[Interview: Phil Holland]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://www.duathlon247.com/article_5654.html]]></link><description><![CDATA[Phil Holland was the surprise winner of last month&#039;s Chelsea and Westminster Health Charity London Duathlon. Holland may have lacked some of the experience that the other athletes had, but he used that to his advantage. With the bike definitely being his weak link he let the other guys do the work and waited for the final run. Then, like a cat ready to bounce on his prey, launched his attack in the last few kilometres of the race! Annie Emmerson caught up with the quite unassuming Phil Holland just after the race to find out how his race panned out.


]]></description></item><item><title><![CDATA[Interview: Tarik Djeddour]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://www.duathlon247.com/article_5636.html]]></link><description><![CDATA[Last week we showed you Annie Emmerson&#039;s interview with Julian L&#039;homme, the London Duathlon&#039;s second place finisher in the men&#039;s race. This week&#039;s interview is with Tarik Djeddour ,the third place finisher. It was a close race - closer than Tarik realised - as there was only 30 seconds separating the top three men.

Next week we&#039;ll be bringing you Phil Holland&#039;s interview and hearing about his surprise win at the Chelsea and Westminster Health Charity London Duathlon.




For a written report and results click here.]]></description></item><item><title><![CDATA[An experienced eye takes a look at the London Duathlon]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://www.duathlon247.com/article_5624.html]]></link><description><![CDATA[Eddie Brocklesby knows a good duathlon when she sees one! She&#039;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, &#039;for a little warm-up before next weekend&#039;s World Duathlon Championships in Concord, North Carolina&#039;, 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&#039;s biggest Duathlon really is worth a go.



I&#039;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&#039;s throw away from central London.
 
It&#039;s a challenging course, with some hills, which is great because you really feel like you&#039;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&#039;t help, but I&#039;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&#039;t. As someone who&#039;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. ]]></description></item><item><title><![CDATA[Record number of participants at the 2009 London Duathlon]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://www.duathlon247.com/article_5622.html]]></link><description><![CDATA[The world&rsquo;s largest duathlon got even bigger this year as 3,686 participants took part in the Chelsea and Westminster Health Charity London Duathlon at London&rsquo;s Richmond Park.

Thousands of spectators lined the course at the run, bike, run event, which is closed off from traffic for the only time in the year. 2009 also saw the first children&rsquo;s duathlon with competitors as young as three years old participating.

Chelsea and Westminster Healthy Charity is the official NHS charity supporting the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital and official sponsor of the London Duathlon. The charity supports innovation and excellence in healthcare at the hospital by raising funds and making grants to projects and research that make a difference to quality of care for patients, their families and staff. This year, all funds raised for the charity through the London Duathlon will go towards the neonatal and paediatric units at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital.

 

Gary Lawson, Chief Executive of Chelsea and Westminster Health Charity, said, &ldquo;We are extremely grateful to those who participated in the 2009 Chelsea and Westminster Health Charity London Duathlon, along with their supporters and friends. They have all helped raise a substantial amount of money for the paediatric and neonatal units at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital.  This support will make a crucial contribution to the quality of care for patients, their families and staff.&rdquo;

 

Nick Rusling, managing director of IMG Mass Participation Sports said, &ldquo;It has been a very successful day at the Chelsea and Westminster Health Charity London Duathlon here at Richmond Park. We have seen a record number of competitors turn out today, which demonstrates the growth and popularity of the sport as well as the London Duathlon as an event.&rdquo;

Results from the overall age-group race


  
    Pos
    Men
    
  
  
    1st
    Ian Cardy 01:23:34
    
  
  
    2nd
    Lee Calderon 01:25:08
    
  
  
    3rd
    Stewart Guynan 01:25:08 

	


&amp;nbsp;

  
    Pos
    Women
    
  
  
    1st
    Victoria Gill 01:34:04
    
  
  
    2nd
    Karen Axelsdottir 01:34:37
    
  
  
    3rd
    Jenny Gowans 01:37:31

	


Results from the elite race can be found here.

Click here for all London Duathlon results.

For more information on the Chelsea and Westminster Health Charity London Duathlon please visit: www.thelondonduathlon.co.uk

 



 
]]></description></item><item><title><![CDATA[London Duathlon race report]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://www.duathlon247.com/article_5620.html]]></link><description><![CDATA[Yesterday saw the biggest duathlon in the world - The Chelsea and Westminster  Health Charity London Duathlon - take place in the beautiful surroundings of Richmond Park, in Surrey. Four thousand athletes took part in the fourth edition of this great race, which has now become a fixed event on the annual domestic duathlon calendar.

Sadly, with the World Duathlon Championships taking place Stateside in just two weeks time the elite fields were light to say the least. This year there was no elite women&#039;s field but there was a solid elite men&#039;s field, and although the numbers were low the racing was fast and exciting over the unusual distance of a 5k run, 12k bike, 5k run.

Following the first 5k run a group of five athletes had broken away and worked hard to increase their lead as they took on the short sharp hills and descents around the roads of Richmond Park. At the end of the bike the five breakaway athletes: Phil Holland, Tarik Djeddour, Julien Lhomme, Nick Shasha and Harry Springall tore out of T2 like men possessed before settling down to battle it out for the podium places on the last 5k run.

Eventually it was Phil Holland (pictured above) who took the initiative and pulled away from Tarik Djeddour and Julien Lhomme, who finished second and third respectively, to take the win. 

A very happy, but slightly surprised Phil Holland was elated with his victory, &quot;I&#039;m not really a biker and it was really the other four guys that did the work on the bike. I saw an opportunity to make a break on the final run and I took it. I expected to do ok today, but I didn&#039;t expect to win so I&#039;m delighted.


  
    Pos
    Men
    
  
  
    1st
    Phil Holland (GBR) 50:31 
    
  
  
    2nd
    Tarik Djeddour (GBR) 50:43 
    
  
  
    3rd
    Julien Lhomme (FRA) 51:05 

	

	4th
	Nick Shasha (GBR) 51:36
	
	
	5th
	Harry Springall (GBR) 52:38
	



Click here for all London Duathlon results.]]></description></item><item><title><![CDATA[London Duathlon Image Gallery]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://www.duathlon247.com/article_5619.html]]></link><description><![CDATA[Richmond Park on Sunday played host to the world&#039;s largest duathlon - The Chelsea and Westminster Health Charity London Duathlon.
Duathlon247 were on hand to check out proceedings, and we also had a camera handy.
Click on the Launch Image Gallery link at the top of the page, to see if you sneaked in front of our lens. ]]></description></item><item><title><![CDATA[How to succeed at: The London Duathlon]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://www.duathlon247.com/article_3936.html]]></link><description><![CDATA[After years of bike and run training in Richmond Park, former world number one duathlete Annie Emmerson takes a look at How to Succeed at the London Duathlon, which takes place on Sunday September 13th 2009.
Vital facts

 
 Race date
 September 13th 2009 
 
 
 Future dates
 TBC
 
 
 Website
 www.thelondonduathlon.co.uk
 
 
 Location
 Roehampton Gate, Richmond Park, Surrey
 
 
 Race distances (advertised):
 Challenge: 9k run, 20k bike, 5k runSprint: 5k run 10k bike, 5k run
 
 
 Series / Qualification / Championship Status
 None
 


Background
Set in the stunning location of Richmond Park, this is the fourth year IMG Events have staged this event, which has become a firm favourite with duathletes of all abilities. With a challenging course, great scenery, excellent organisation and the added bonus of closed roads, this is a race that shouldn&#039;t be missed. 

The First run - 9k



The first run will give you an opportunity to take in the beautiful surroundings of the park. From the starting point just next to Roehampton Gate you head up to Richmond Gate, be warned; don&#039;t go off too hard as this is a long slow drag which will catch you out if you&#039;ve started too fast. At Richmond Gate you have one more short climb and then you can enjoy a nice long downhill section to Ham Gate. Here you divert from the main road  and head through the centre of the park (this is a flat section, but beware; if the wind is up you&#039;ll feel it here), to Robin Hood Gate and then it&#039;s the last push for home back to T1 to pick up your bike. NB: this is a tough, undulating run course, which takes place mainly on road and I would think twice before putting on your super-fast racing flats, especially if you&#039;re not used to running up and down hills.

The bike - 20k
The bike course takes you in the opposite direction to the run so you&#039;ll head back towards Robin Hood Gate. When you get to the first roundabout you head straight over and up a very nasty little hill (beware of roaming deer), make sure you have the correct gear ratio and be prepared to be in your easiest gear when you near the top of the hill; it&#039;s not long, but it does bite! From here you roll towards Kingston Gate, where just before there&#039;s a very fast little downhill section (my advice is to ride or drive the course in the week beforehand so you don&#039;t get any surprises). After Kingston Gate you start an undulating section which takes you towards Ham Gate (where you turned off on the first run), and it&#039;s here that there&#039;s another climb, but this one is more progressive and the stronger cyclists will probably stay in the big chain ring. At Richmond Gate there&#039;s one more small uphill and then it&#039;s downhill all the way home! Well just about, there&#039;s one more 10k lap on the bike to go. Even if you&#039;re not blessed with sunny warm weather on the day keep fuelling as this is a tough little course and you&#039;ll need some energy for the last 5k run. Note: make sure you&#039;ve tried and tested any sports drinks or gels that you&#039;re going to use in the event before race day.


The second run - 5k


Once you&#039;ve got this far you know you&#039;re on the home straight. Apart from tired legs you&#039;ll enjoy the last 5k run, which follows the same route as the first run, but only as far as where the climb starts on the kick up to Richmond Gate. Here, instead, you turn left to White Lodge (The Royal Ballet School), and it&#039;s a gradual uphill for about half a mile before you head downhill back to Robin Hood Gate and back to the finish line. You&#039;ll be tired but now, but don&#039;t think about the pain, think about how good you&#039;ll feel when it&#039;s all finished!

This is a challenging course, no doubt about it, and if you don&#039;t respect the bike and (especially), the run you will pay. But make sure you take in some of the sights and enjoy the scenery. 

Transitions
Nothing specific to note. 
 
Other information
Even though the bike is a little technical, with roundabouts and one or two downhill sections to take in, there are some straight downhill and flat sections, which mean it&#039;s worth getting as aero as you can on the bike.

Although the Park roads are closed (the only time of the year which there are), the roads are narrow in parts and you do have to share them with other competitors, both running and biking, so keep focused at all times. And one last thing; the famous deer of Richmond Park normally keep themselves tucked away when it gets busy, but keep your eyes out in case there&#039;s one or two that want to join in the fun.

For more information check out our Route of the Month: Richmond Park or go to: www.thelondonduathlon.co.uk

 

]]></description></item></channel></rss>
