Record Breaking Ballbusting End to the Season

Sunday, 19th November 2006

Saturday November 11th, saw a record 399 athletes compete in the 16th annual triandrun GORE Ballbuster Duathlon. Mark Stenning and Nicki Barron took victory on the famed course that takes in 5 arduous 8 mile loops of Surrey's infamous Boxhill, near Dorking. The event that serves as the traditional end to most competitors season is truly an immense tests for athletes with a few failing to live up to the challenge.

This years race saw competitors compete around the idyllic national trust property on a cool November morning, fortunately, the rain and storms of the night before went way in the early hours of Saturday morning. The 8am start saw a bright Sunny day emerge although it was not all smooth sailing for competitors as the wet roads from the night before coupled with postcard perfect  carpet of autumn leaves created a slippery cocktail that saw bike speeds on the descents cut dramatically from previous years.

The Men's Race

This years men race was a hotly contested affair with the lead changing a dozen times. From the off John Heaton Armstrong, Matt Hawcroft and McMeekin Lee, set a blistering pace pulling clear by several hundred meters in the first half of the opening 8 mile run. Mid-way through the run McMeekin Lee gave a master class in the skill of descending to pull away from his fellow leaders and enter transition in 44m48s, 6 seconds up on Hawcroft (44m54s), with Lee Piercy (45m26s) who finished in fourth the previous year having worked his way into third with Armstrong dropping back to seventh. Was the fast first run going to be enough or had they gone too hard. Only time would tell.

It was then on with the windproof jackets and the gloves and out onto the gruelling, 24 mile, three lap bike where the competition hit the boil with the lead changing constantly lap after lap. Now those hot running muscles became super-cooled on the bike and with such a demanding bike course it was the cycle specialists who were expected to make their way through field to the front. Lap one saw the run leaders exchange spots continuously but by the end of the second lap John Heaton Armstrong had made his way back to the front only to suffer a mechanical and pull out. His departure left the door open for cyclist Phil Sykes to take the lead into the final lap of the bike having completed the three laps in 1h10m22s. Hot on his tail and closing quick was ex-GB international Mark Stenning whose incredibly fast bike of 1h06m45s brought him into real contention after a fairly pedestrian first run of 51m50s.

Though to quote race director John Lunt this race is all about the second run and it seemed Stenning's tactic of taking it easy on the first run and pushing hard on the bike and in turn on the final run was the right mix to win on the day. Stenning ran the last 8 miles quicker than his first 8miles in 49m02s seconds to be the only competitor to dip under the 50 minute mark on the last run to finish in 2h47m37s.

On his win Stenning commented "It was a great race, though with the road conditions you had to go very carefully. I held back until near to the end of the bike and then went for it."

Following Stenning into second and third where McMeekin and Hawcroft, who though having biked in excess of an 1h15m each posted the second and third quickest final lap run times to finish in 2:50m46 and 2h51:08.

The Women's Race

In contrast to the men's race, the women's event was a procession to victory from start to finish for Nicki Barron in her first outing on the Box Hill circuit. Barron racing her last race of the season prior to starting her build up to next years world duathlon championships posted times of 50m23s for her first run, 1h19m13s for the bike and 58m54s on the final run to finish in 3h08m30s, 37th overall.

On her win Barron reflected on the incredibly tough nature of the course: "I felt really good until the second run and then it started to hurt and I slowed a lot.

Following Barron home in the women's event was Aussie, Lisa Jacobs and Tracy Connell in 3h11m21s and 3h19m42s respectively.

A Ballbusting Great Day Out

For the rest of the 399 competitors, the Ballbuster course provides each person with a unique challenge. Most come to do battle with the sheer magnitude of the race,  Whether it's the cold autumn temperatures, the steep gradients of the zig zag, the downhill running, or the 4000m of descending and climbing, many come back each year to tame the Ballbuster. Unfortunately, there were also a few that failed. When all was done and dusted a record 361 athletes had conquered the triandrun Ballbuster.

On the day event organiser John Lunt commented: "It's fantastic that we have once again broken record numbers at the Ballbuster. What started off as a one off event, 16 years ago, has become a must do classic challenge. Boxhill is such a beautiful place, I wish all Human Race events could have such a great setting."

He continues "The whole Human Race team are now going to enjoy a bit of a rest until our season kicks off with the ASICS Kingston 16mile Breakfast Run on April 1."

However, there is a rumour that there maybe a spring Ballbuster......keep an eye on the Human Race website.

For full race results from the Ballbuster visit www.humanrace.co.uk

Source:  Press Release

More info:  www.humanrace.co.uk