Observations from the 2008 Duathlon Nationals, Richmond Virginia, April 27, 2008

I recently attended the USA Triathlon National Short Course Duathlon Championships in Richmond, Virginia. While I have seen races of this high caliber before, I thought I would share some of things I noticed and learned from my weekend at "du nats." I was not attending this event as an athlete, I was there as a coach to a participating athlete and as a member of USA Triathlon's National Duathlon Commission. This group gets together to discuss the state of duathlon and make recommendations to the national governing body for the advancement of the sport. I am a new member and wanted to get off to a good start by attending the meeting that they have in conjunction with this race. I happened to race a bit in the sport race, the non-championship event, which I enjoyed, but most of what I have to offer here is the product of my observation at the event.

The main topic of discussion at the race, and in the days afterward, were the courses. In particular, the bike course has generated a lot of debate. By all accounts the bike course was technical, it involved at least 10 turns over a 10K loop that was to be completed four times. Throw in some hills and it was not an easy course particularly for multisport athletes who are more accustomed to putting the head down and going. This course would allow none of that. In many ways the course was like the European city center courses that are common for world championships. Given that this race was to serve as the primary means by which athletes were chosen for Team USA for the World Duathlon Championships, the use of such a course did not seem like a bad idea. Such an impression is a lot easier to hold until the course becomes as rainy and slick as it did after a strong storm overnight and a drizzle during the event itself. I don't have a lot to say on the topic but to state that on the day of the race, fitness was an important part of the results but technical skill also played a notable roll. I am not sure anyone can say how much of a roll technical skill played but it was certainly there.

The transition area was at the bottom of this hill. Riders would traverse up a narrow road to the top of this climb on each of the 4 laps.

I loved the run course. Like its bike counter part, this was not a course in which you could dial in the intensity and hold that consistent until the race ended. The run course was a non-stop series of turns, bridge crossings, a nasty little downhill out of transition that had to be ascended to finish the race and overall changes of pace everywhere. It was not a get in a grove type of course. As the lead man yelled at his coach as he came into T1, "it's a cross country course." I know a lot of folks did not like the fact that it was a slow run course, and I can see as an athlete that if you were in top shape you'd like to see that in your race times. At the same time, I really liked the fact that the run course required athletes to make choices almost all the time. There were so many chances to make good and bad choices that would define the outcome of the race, I liked it that fitness and the mental ability to use that fitness were both crucial for success at this venue. It was a strong person's run course that required thought. What could be better than that? Not much in my mind.

Here you can see the hill that athletes ran down out of transition and up to complete the loop.

After watching the racing for a good part of the day, I grew even more convinced of some things that I have felt important for some time now. First off, multisport does not often require a significant amount of technical skill while cycling. Most often duathlons and triathlons are pretty simple bike rides. While this general pattern is true, it does not mean that athletes should not work to become more adept at their technical skills. On a course like this one, technical ability was critical. Even when technical demands are pretty low, athletes who have good technical skills can still take advantage of their abilities to separate themselves from their competition. I know that my ability to corner at speed often sets me apart from those around me at multisport races. Athletes don't even need to dedicate a lot of time to make improvement, it often can be done within their existing rides. Play with cornering speed, different lines, hand placement, etc. A little work can make a big difference.

Trail running is a great training. The little changes in footing, gradient, and the overall inconsistency of the effort really helps people become better runners. Athletes should include as much trail running as their schedules will allow for the technical development of it, let alone the fact that the soft surfaces take much less of a toll on the body that does the pavement.

Training specificity matters at key races. It was clear to me that many athletes had not trained with the specific demands of this race in mind. With the rain, the course placed demands that were hard to mimic, no doubt, but even dry, I got the sense that a lot of folks had not thought about what racing this course was going to demand of their body. To have an optimum performance, these little things matter.

All in all, I thought the venue was great and I hope to be back in Richmond next year to race the Duathlon National Championships myself.

See you at the races!