Jez Cox (first male) negotiating the water on his bike

OVER 200 people took part in Sunday’s annual WD12 open duathlon organised by the WaldenTri club.

Lucy Gossage ( first female)

People inspired by the Olympics were urged to enter the annual off-road sporting challenge, held around the Carver Barracks site, and the turn out was good.

Over 100 adults took part while 120 children entered the junior races. A proportion of the proceeds was donated to the Carver Barracks Injured Soldiers Fund.

Under the direction of race organiser Andy Stoten, the race was supported by a huge number of marshals. And for the first time the race was chip-timed for all competitors.

The adult race, with 106 competitors, kicked off with a 5km partially off-road run, followed by a 14km mountain bike ride and another 3km run. The bike course, devised by Liam Brook and Andrew Riley, had some challenging and unique obstacles, including two large 20-foot tall gravel mounds and a water splash, as well as the usual single track.

Jez Cox, from Team Bike and Run, led the field for the men from the start, with an excellent first run time of 17 minutes 53.09 seconds, over a minute ahead of his nearest rival. He gained second fastest bike split of the race, clocking a time of 43m 52.2s, with a final run time of 7m 14.55s.

Although he picked up a two-minute time penalty for discarding equipment on the course, his overall finish time of 1hr 12m 17.70s earned him first position.

In second place of the male open category was Lester Allen, in an overall time of 1h 15m 12.65s. John McAndrew from Ely Tri Club, was overall winner of the male vets category, in a time of 1h 12m 47.8s, with Royston Young of Born to Tri finishing in 1hr 14m 14.75s, gaining second place in the same category.

The ladies open race was won by professional Cambridge triathlete Lucy Gossage, in a time of 1h 21m 45.7s. Her excellent first run time of 19m 19.6s gave her the third fastest run time overall. With a bike split of 53m 23.3s and final run of 7m 33.9s, Gossage finished six minutes ahead of second place Emily Boldy. First senior vet lady home was Olivia Hetreed, of London Tri, in a time of 1h 37m 13.45s, with Alison Bartrip taking home the second place prize in a time of 1hr 53m 25.05s.

The junior races, which took place in the afternoon, followed a different run and bike course. Over 120 children competed in ages ranging from 8-16 years. TriStar 1 (age 9-10years) female winner Helena Dyce, of Walden Junior Tri, finished the 1.2km run, 2k bike and final 400m run in 14m 58s. James Fraser of Walden Junior Tri was first male in the same age group, finishing in a time of 15m 34s.

TriStar 2 (ages 11-12) male winner was Ivor Crooks of Cambridge Triathlon club, in 25m 40s, with Kate Tillotson of Walden Junior Tri winning for the girls in 28m 52s. TriStar 2 had a 1.6km run, followed by 4km bike and finally a 600m run.

The Tri Star 3 (13-14 year olds) and Youth (15-16 year olds) both followed the same race course, starting with a 2km run, followed by a 6km bike and ending with a 800m run. Fastest male in the triStar 3 group was Ciaran Flaterty in 35m 32s, with Hannah Bates of Hoddesdon Tri Club winning for the girls in 42m 17s. The youth category was won by Daniel Blocksage in 31m 58s.