Prosport News
15 March 2010 - Claire Horner places 1st at the KZN Ultra triathlon
After a week of hard training and long hours on the saddle I made the trip up to Midmar Dam for this year’s KZN Ultra triathlon. I was not quite sure how I would race on tired legs, but I always love the venue as it is a tough and challenging bike and run route which suits me well!
This year was a non wetsuit swim which put me at a bit of a disadvantage to the stronger swimmers, and, I have never been one for enjoying cold water at the best of times, let alone in an ultra distance race!!
I surprisingly had a comfortable swim, and got out the water in 3rd place, about 3min30 down on the leading girls. After about 20km on the bike I caught Corinne Berg, so I was now lying in 2nd place about 2min down on Riana de Lange. My bike was going well, but I knew I could not slack off at all as Ironman athlete Helen Buley was coming up fast behind me. I managed to hold Riana de Lange on the bike, but I could not put any time into her. Into transition 2 I was in 2nd place and still 2min behind de Lange.
My legs were pretty heavy setting into the run course, but I soon got into a good rhythm. It is always easier to chase someone down then to bechased! The run route was extremely technical, with a hilly off road section, then onto jeep track with the final 5km on hilly road surface. I closed the gap quickly and I was surprised that I had caught De Lange after about 3km into the run. I was now in 1st place, but behind me I knew Helen Buley would be chasing hard.
I was extremely relieved to see the finish line in sight. My first win of the season felt really good, especially after such a tough week of training. I had a solid run split opening up an extra 1minute on Buley, and a further 4 minutes on De Lange who finished in 3rd.
This week is another tough week of training as Ironman draws closer. We are off to Singapore 70.3 on Wednesday 17th March where we race big names thrown in with a few World Champions!! It is sure to be a fantastic experience.
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