Iron Pig Duathlon

This past Saturday I raced the Iron Pig Duathlon in Fayetteville, AR.  The duathlon was 5k, 18 mile, 5k.  2011 marked the third year for this unique race.  This event is unique is that the first 5k is ran on the Drake Field Executive Airport runway and taxiway which is advertised as "the only duathlon in the world that has a leg of the race on an airport runway".  The organizers obtained permission from the FAA to close the airport for one hour to permit the run.

The weather was perfect at gun time.  Sunny with a temperature in the lower 40's, with a light South wind.  A few hours later at the awards ceremony, the temperature was in the mid 60's.

The runway route has an elevation change of 40 feet, which provided an opportunity for the participants to start of with a fast run.  I ran a 23:02 for run 1 which beat my previous best time by about 3 1/2 minutes.

 Transition was setup in the airport parking lot near scenic highway 71.  The bike route was an 18 mile out and back South on highway 7, leading into the foothills of the Boston Mountains. The final run route was an out and back ran around the West and North sides of the airport property.

While I did not place, I was still content with my performance considering it was my first multi-sport event this year.  My T1 and T2 times have improved since my last Tri.
I still need to do some more brick workouts going from the ride to the run.


While I didn't make the top 3, I did place 8th in the Clydesdale Age Group: 40 - 98

Run 1      T1         Bike       T2          Run 2     Total   

23:02.9    1:06.6    59:27.4    0:49.5    33:04.9   1:57:31

My wife and son ran the 5k race and placed 1st in their respective age groups.
Two of my former couch to 5k students and one current student placed 1st, 2nd in their age groups also.

Kudos to the event planners and volunteers for putting on a very fun and well organized event. I am looking forward returning next year.
 

Up next on my race schedule, the Muskogee Run 15k on 4/9/11.

Steve....