Sun 20 Feb 2011 - Wasing Races

Race Report - Race Results - Race Photos

Race Report

The long awaited and eagerly anticipated first QX event took place at Wasing in Berkshire on Sunday. Set on the beautiful Wasing Estate this was a great opportunity to experience the exhilarating challenge of off-road racing in a unique location.

With two races - an Off Road Duathlon and a Trail Run - and a short and long course for each, there really was something for everyone to take part in. The weather was kind, with the wind and rain of the previous week abating to give unusually settled, if somewhat overcast, conditions.

All competitors started together and completed one lap of the running loop first, irrespective of which race and course they were doing. From the start, the approx. 6 km long running loop took competitors through the centre of Wasing Wood on one of the main tracks before heading back to Wasing Place (the Estate’s main mansion house) and across open grassland in Wasing Park. After crossing a small stream, the runners came around the back of the cricket ground on grass, tantalising close to the start / finish area but only two thirds of the way around the loop, providing a great viewing opportunity for the many spectators who'd come to support friends and family. The route then took them up a steady incline between agricultural fields before doubling back through the woods and returning to the start / finish area along a lovely little undulating trail that weaved in and out of the trees.

After completing one lap, trail runner’s doing the short course headed for the finish while those that had opted for the long course continued on through to complete a second lap. Meanwhile duathletes collected their bike from the bike transition and set off on the biking loop.

The biking loop was all within Wasing Wood, on a variety of off road vehicle tracks with a few short sections of single track here and there to keep things interesting. The first few kilometres took competitors along the main gravel track to the far end of Wasing Wood. From there the course twisted and turned lots of times as it made its way around and through the woods back towards the start / finish area. Recent heavy rain meant all the tracks were wet. Many had gravel bases so despite large puddles and muddy surfaces they remained fairly firm underneath giving good riding conditions. But a few of the tracks were grassy and these were soft and heavy in places making the going much tougher for some.

Short course duathletes finished after one lap of the bike loop having cycled almost 9 km whilst those doing the long course did two laps back to back before finishing with another lap of the running loop.

The long Trail Run was won by Hugh Mackenzie in a very fast time of 52:24 while Jo Webb finished just ahead of several other female runners to be the first female home in 1:17:28.

Nick Onslow put in the fastest bike lap of the day to win the short course Duathlon in 55:59, pushing Jon Gould into second place with a time of 56:34. The first female to finish was Betsy Rose in 1:16:42 – an achievement made even more impressive by her young age.

The long course Duathlon was a closely fought affair with Matt King leading after the first run. Matt still led after the first bike lap but his lead had been significantly reduced by James Turton. James soon overtook Matt not long into the second bike lap, only for Matt to put in a storming final run at the end to catch and pass James, beating him by just thirteen seconds in 1:50:21. Third and fourth place were equally close with Jon Pettifor finishing just ahead of David Murray with a time of 1:58:16. Lesley Loader finished in 2:15:19 to be the first female home - though she seemed just as pleased to have beaten her husband!

Well done to everyone who took part. Full results can be found below...

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Race Results

LONG DUATHLON

Top Male:

1st Matt King 1:50:21

2nd James Turton 1:50:34

3rd Jon Pettifor 1:58:16

Top Female:

1st Lesley Loader 2:15:19

2nd Sue O'Connell 2:24:05

3rd Bex Anderson 2:26:52

Top Teams (top 3 finishers in a team count):

1st Hairy Blondy and Titch 6:29:15

2nd Princesses and the frogs 6:59:06

3rd Jolly Boys 7:21:20

SHORT DUATHLON

Top Male:

1st Nick Onslow 0:55:59

2nd Jon Gould 0:56:34

3rd James Gilks 1:02:02

Top Female:

1st Betsy Rose 1:16:42

2nd Wendy Berry 1:18:56

3rd Christine Knights 1:23:48

LONG TRAIL RUN

Top Male:

1st Hugh Mackenzie 0:52:24

2nd Richard Winchester 0:54:13

3rd Jon Heaney 1:00:49

Top Female:

1st Jo Webb 1:17:28

2nd Lyndsey Jones 1:17:59

3rd Jenni King 1:24:32

FINAL RESULTS

The full official results for each race can be downloaded by clicking on the relevant link below:

Trail Run - Short - Final Results (103 KB)

Trail Run - Long - Final Results (94 KB)

Duathlon - Short - Final Results (95 KB)

Duathlon - Long - Final Results (108 KB)

Team Rankings - Final Results (390 KB)

Previous versions of the results which include the provisional finishing positions and the preliminary results can be found here, should you wish to refer back to them.

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