Cyclesmith Duathlon

Well, it never rains, but it pours. Figuratively speaking at least, although we just got an absolute soaking on a run. We were really talking about how there were no races for ages, and now there's one every week. Last week it was your choice of Navy Tridents of the Cabot Trail Relay, and most of you wisely opted for Navy; although we understand the weather-conditions were truly epic. The rain held off the Cabot Trail until the minute the last runner finished the final leg (we kid you not). We'll bring you a recap of the CTR when we've recovered all our sleep and a recap of Navy when we get one. Anyway, back to races and this week we bring you the Cyclesmith Duathlon.

The C'smith Du is one of the oldest extant races in Nova Scotia, and certainly the longest running duathlon. This year marks the 24th running of the event. It started out life at Portugese Cove (on the Sambro loop) before migrating to it's current spot at Lawrencetown Beach. The course has further evolved to give us the race in the current incarnation of a 5km run, 34km bike and 6 km run.

The race starts on the road opposite the canteen at Lawrencetown Beach and you run west along the 207 towards Halifax. The run heads almost immediately uphill, but it isn't that long or, truth be told, that steep. Nevertheless, make sure you are well warmed up before the start as this hill could do funny things to cold muscles. The turnaround on R1 is by a church and after a few hundred metres on the way back you'll hang a left off the 207 onto the trail which you'll follow back to TZ. It may not be as smooth as tarmac, but this return route avoids having to climb the hill to get back to your bike.

Get your bike in TZ and head to the mount-line, which is usually in the gravel car-park but most choose to run their bikes to the road to mount. The surface in the car-park is not conducive to flying mounts, and it's bumpy enough on the way out to make slipping your feet in your shoes impossible. Plus, the more superstitious of us try to preserve their tyres on the way out; they'll ride back in, after all a flat 50 m from your rack-spot isn't going to wreck your day, but one 35000m from your rack-spot might just. Granted, it's only for 50 metres, and not so much Paris-Roubaix as Strada Bianca. but it's useful to plan around.

The bike course is a simple out-and-back east along the 207 to the DOT facility just before the intersection with the 107 and back again. The course has a generally good surface, certainly we've never found it too hard to negotiate on the drops or in the position. There is a fair amount of climbing onthe course though. We often think about it in two halves. The first half is gently rolling; enough to get you out of the saddle every now and then, but not too challenging. The second half has one large climb, followed by a more gradual downhill to the turn, before turning around and doing it all again. So maybe it's not so much halves as quarters. Whatever the fraction, given that both rouleurs and grimpeurs complain about it (too much hill, not enough hill respectively) then it must be offering something for everyone.

The TT leaves you back in TZ. Do the helmet and shoe thing and head out on R2, which is wholly different to R1. Instead of heading out on the 207, you hit the boardwalk and run eastwards into the scrub-grass behind the sand-dunes. This is a non-technical off-road run in which the terrain ranges from soil to gravel and crusher-dust and back again with a little tarmac thrown in at the turaround. As with the bike, it's flat to start with a couple of little hills thrown in for good measure.

To be honest, despite being off-road, the only thing tricky about R2 is the whole post-bike legs thing. Unless there's a monsoon out, we don't even think trail-shoes are in order for R2; your regular road shoes and a sense of humour about running with rubbery limbs are, as usual, the only requirements.

A quick look at the start-list (you can register on Atlantic Chip) shows that many of the usual suspects are signed up already and chasing the Worlds Du spots on offer. However, at the moment, the Navy-du 1-2 of Shawn Amirault and Kurt Stevenson are yet to ante up, but 3rd place Alan Miner already has. At the moment, Stacy Juckett-Chestnutt is the only person doing the weekend's double; that is the Enfield 10 miler on Saturday and the Du on Sunday. We reckon we will as well; a marathon and a mountain leg of the CTR in two weeks apparently isn't enough excitement, so we reckon the double should just about do the trick of making us take a break.

For more information see the event website. See you Sunday (or maybe even Saturday)

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Photos from last year's event from Cyclesmith and Atlantic Chip. Results for last years event at Atlantic Chip.