Nick demonstrates his awesome running speed at the TCR 10k, with lots of TORQ sponsors watching he was under a little pressure but didn’t show any nerves and appeared to glide over the course in an effortless style (a true sign of a talented runner). This is his account…
Mixing it up at the front!
This 10k has been part of the Triathlon show at Sandown park for many years now and always attracts a good crowd of spectators and athletes from the world of multisport. For me the race usually comes just before the start of the duathlon season and is a great opportunity to test my form and also try and get some coverage for all our sponsors whilst they are all watching!
The race is also a good opportunity to come up against some of the biggest names in triathlon and this year was no exception with 6 time world champion Richard Stannard and British pro Ironman athlete Jonathan Hotchkiss making up the field.
From the gun, the twisting and undulating course around Sandown park made for an exacting and gruelling 10k made harder still by some slippy corners and a constant drizzle that never seemed to shift. Almost immediately a group of three formed at the front of the pack consisting of myself, Dan Watts and Shaun Lucas. Our pace was a little too furious for Richard Stannard and Jonathan Hotchkiss and by about 2k in I was struggling with the sensational leg speed of Dan Watts who I discovered afterwards has run 5k in 14 minutes dead!
Due to the fast pace early on I started to concede time on the two leaders but still managed to secure a strong 3rd halfway through the race at 5k. At just after 5k I heard over the PA system that Richard Stannard was coming through strongly in 4th and this seemed to coincide with me going through a tough patch in the race and almost managing to convince myself that I was going to get caught up and lose a podium spot.
1 lap to go and the pain is showing
Fortunately I somehow managed to hold on and paid close attention to the time gap at every U-turn on the course and assured myself that the gaps were getting bigger and not smaller.
With the last kilometre in sight and a podium spot in the bag I pushed through for a fast time and managed to finish in 32.43, around 20 whole seconds quicker than my time on the exact same course last year when the conditions were perfect.
My new Amphibia transition bag again proved itself to be invaluable and so spacious I decided to take 3 pairs of trainers with me just to make sure I had the optimum pair for the conditions. With less than a week to go before my first duathlon of the year I’m super keen to try the rest of my new kit for 2012.
All pro snaps courtesy of Jolekha Shasha
Thanks, as ever go to ALL our awesome sponsors.
www.wilier.it/en – Wilier Triestina – Triathlon Frames
www.ffwdwheels.com – FFWD – Aero wheels
www.ritcheylogic.com – Ritchey – Aerobars, saddles and finishing kit
www.cycleops.com – CycleOps PowerTap – Power meters
www.racezone3.com – Zone 3 – Wetsuits
www.limarhelmets.com/eng – Limar – Helmets & glasses
www.lakecycling.co.uk – Lake – Cycling footwear
www.jagwireusa.com – Jagwire – Cables
www.scott-sports.com – Scott – Running footwear
www.shimano.com – Shimano – Groupsets
www.triathlonspecific.com/Sable/Sable.html – Sable Water Optic -; Swim goggles
www.max-mediagroup.co.uk – MaxMedia – Team PR
www.amphibia-sport.com – Amphibia – Transition bags
www.champ-sys.co.uk – ChampionSystems – Custom Trisuits and Cycle wear
