TORQ’s super-fast duathlete has been doing some speed work prior to European Duathlon Championships. Competing at the new Olympic stadium at Stratford, Nick Shasha secured a highly credible 8th plave overall and 1st in his age group amongst a highly competitive field. Here is Nick’s race report…

‘Before switching my preparation 100% towards the European Sprint Duathlon Championships (Nick previously came 3rd –edit JE) at the end of the month, I thought I’d let myself get one more running race in the legs.  The chance to be one of the first runners (ok, the 8th) to step foot on the track at the Olympic stadium was an opportunity I really didn’t want to miss.  Over 40,000 applied for one of the 6,000 places on offer and I was one of the lucky few to get a place.

The day itself was somewhat overcast but nothing could dampen the atmosphere in the Olympic park and the race got underway circling round the whole of the park and going past all of the venues during its 5 mile course.  Initially I managed to get a great spot and led the field out from the start.  After the first mile it became apparent that there was some real class amongst the 6,000 and Tommy Davies started to string apart the field and by the time he finished he actually broke the previous Olympic record for 5 miles!

I was only 90 seconds behind and managed to crack the top ten (8th) finishing in a time of 26.43 (that’s 5min 20sec per mile – edit JE).  Best of all I finished first in my age group. I think Usain Bolt might have had me over the last 100 metres though.’

Full results from the day are here: http://nationallotteryrun.com/Results/FullSearch.aspx

Thanks, as ever go to ALL our awesome sponsors:

www.wilier.it – Triathlon Frames
www.ffwdwheels.com – Aero Wheels
www.ritcheylogic.com – Aerobars, Saddles and Finishing Kit
www.cycleops.com – Power Meters
www.racezone3.com – Wetsuits
www.limarhelmets.com – Helmets & Glasses
www.lakecycling.co.uk – Cycling Footwear
www.jagwireusa.com – Cables & Housing
www.scott-sports.com – Running Footwear
www.shimano.com – Groupsets
www.triathlonspecific.com/Sable/Sable.html – Swim Goggles (Sable Water Optic)
www.max-mediagroup.co.uk – Team PR
www.amphibia-sport.com – Transition Bags
www.schwalbe.com – Tyres
www.lezyne.com – Pumps, Tools and Bottle Cages
www.champ-sys.com – Custom Trisuits and Cycle Wear

Pro. snaps courtesy of Jolekha Shasha