Sunday October 12 marked the 3rd annual Shanghai Duathlon at Dishui Lake, New City of Lingang Shanghai.

The day started out early for me and a few of the other STRIC crew and our visiting Triathlete from Singapore’s Tribob Club, Kim Soo. The event location was about an hour’s drive from where we are in Shanghai and the morning was cool and cloudy. A nice change for us as we are all used to racing in hot conditions so I was looking forward to a cooler race even though I knew it would be considerably hotter by race start time of 9.30am.

Dishui Lake is a very nice area; the roads around this new City are clean, well paved and deserted. It is a little tricky to find even for our experienced local driver. There could be little more road signage but we got there after a few stops and phone calls. The Lake is a little over 8km around and always windy, every time I have raced or trained there the wind blows across the water and depending on where you are on the course; it’s a tail, side or head wind. Luckily for the athletes the time spent in the head wind was less than the cross and tail winds. I was the only cyclist with a rear disk wheel and it helped, a lot.

The organizers had two events running at almost the same time. There was a shorter 5k run followed by an 17k bike and another 5k run then there was the main event of 5k run, 42 k bike and a 10k run. I did the main event which started first. There seemed to be around 100 plus starters in this event, definitely suiting a runner more than a cyclist. There were many athletes I didn’t recognize and who were dressed like they were ready for the Shanghai marathon. I guess if you were a runner this would have been a really fun event with the bike ride in the middle. I’m a Triathlete and I like a swim to get the heart rate going before I push my big body into the concrete and bitumen but this wasn’t that kind of race. I predicted many athletes would push themselves out on the first 5k run and I would reel most of them in on the bike. I’m happy with 5 minute K’s and this is what I did for the first 5k run. I liked the run course; it went along the road for 1.5km then down a narrow path to the waterside and alone the water for 1km up the path and a turnaround back down the same course. The 10km two loop course was slightly different than the single 5 k loop but only a small part of it. The run course terrain was rolling up over a few bridges and down the path. For the most part, it was a fast run.

What surprised me was there was a lot of road side cheering and support from spectators which was nice. You are never too far away from the crowd as you see them twice on the first run, pass them 5 times on the bike and then another 4 times on the last 10k run. There was no slacking or any dark areas where you could sneak a little walk when you should be running or a slow paced section on the bike, as with most of China, ‘someone is always watching’. The support was great.

There was a good mix of local and foreign athletes and while the registered numbers might have been the same as the previous years the vibe was definitely positive. There were no timing chips which meant a lot of volunteers spread out across most of the course. I saw many trying to read race numbers and make sure everyone did the correct number of laps, especially on the bike. A few slipped through I’m sure. Let’s face it; counting to 5 for some athletes can be very hard when you are riding a bike at the same time, that’s quite a lot to ask really. Glad I had the computer, that’s all I can say ;-) I was given number 094 and most of STRIC members had a ‘4’ in their numbers. If you pronounce the wrong tone in Chinese when saying 94 it actually means ‘Will Die’ I also noted Freddie Croneborg had the number ‘4’, strange since he won the event the previous year and should have been given the number 1 honor. I am sure it was an oversight by the organizers, why on earth would you want to upset the very people paying and promoting your event?

It was nice to run up to an aid station and get a smile and a pat on the back ‘Jia You’ and cool drink. I poured a cup over my head at one stage but turned my head as I hear someone and the water went into my ear. I’m sure I looked pretty silly standing on the grass jumping on one leg to shake it out, definitely a first for me. I tried grabbing a water bottle from a volunteer on the bike but I miscalculated and came in a little ‘hot’, boom, flying plastic bottle bounced off my body at 30k’s, water everywhere except in my mouth. I didn’t attempt that again, actually the volunteer didn’t offer again, can’t blame him.

I enjoyed the ride, it was exactly what you can expect going around in a circle 5 times, the wind got a little stronger but for the most part it was a fast ride for me. There was some noise from one of the guys about being drafted. It looked like it actually distracted him so much that it really affected his race time. I guess it was hard for the organizers to police but I might suggest a compulsory ‘race briefing’ even if it is 10 minutes before the start to quickly run through the rules. Those guys drafting didn’t even look like they knew they were doing anything wrong. Personally, I don’t like the drafting races; being quite strong on the bike means I can get a bit of a buffer to carry me into the run. Seriously, the Triathlon at the 2008 Olympics was pretty uneventful until the last minute or so, the cycling with the draft pack just went around and around and the guys in the pack were saving their legs for the run. I guess that’s what a few of them did in this even, not appreciated by some. I like this course because there is enough room to pass safely on the left without having to come off the tribars or get on the breaks.

Transition 2 was a little bit of a mystery. I had to yell out to a few officials to find the entrance as it wasn’t marked at all. Actually I started looking for it from the 3rd lap and a nice big sign facing the cyclists might be the call for next year’s race. When I arrived in transition I was updated on the race progress, I took my time, racked my bike, changed, gel, drink and a chat with a few people and I was off. I wasn’t in a hurry really; I had planned to get into a rhythm early and cruise which is pretty much what I did. I was told there were a few people I knew in front of me and I said ‘no way that’s not right’ I remember passing them early or lapping them on the bike so I knew where they should have been in the race. This was later to found to be true as one of them was informed by the officials he had only completed 4 of the 5 bike laps and had to do an extra 5km run. A few others I definitely know got away with only doing 4 laps, actually I don’t even think they knew so I wasn’t telling them. A timing chip sponsor is definitely the call for next year. I’m sure this is where STRIC could help and this will make it easier and fairer for everyone.

Overall this was a successful event. If you expected timing chips, free electrolyte drink and gels and other race days freebies then you might have been disappointed but let’s face it, this was a very affordable race. As a local race this was a good ‘hit out’ to see where you are with your fitness and to get ready for the next event. It was also a great opportunity for a lot of people to do their first multi sport event, which for us, as Triathletes, is great, the more the merrier as far as I‘m concerned. Triathlon is a rapidly growing sport and we need to support anyone who shows interest and make their transition into this sport as easy as possible. Congratulations to Ritchie the organizer and all the sponsors of the event. Race results and times are available on Duathlon China.

KP

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