Proud to Represent Team GB

Our very own village advisor Shirley will soon be taking part in The Pig Ultra Duathlon. She is extremely proud to be representing Team GB as well as the Inspired Villages team.

Here's what she had to say:

"I had been running and cycling regularly and decided to take part in a local Duathlon – an event that combines the two! 

I initially found two options when it came to distance: the Sprint Distance is usually around 5km, followed by 22km cycling and a further run of 5km. The Standard Distance is usually around 10km run followed by 38km cycling and a further run of 5km.

I’m not really a sprinter so decided to take part in the Standard Distance event and was quite successful. I had heard that you could apply to become part of the GB age group team if you achieved a particular standard, in which case you would qualify and compete at European Championship level. I thought that it would be nice to represent the country and wear a GB kit and decided to set a goal of achieving qualification.

In October 2016 I took part in the Oulton Park Autumn Duathlon and successfully qualified to compete as part of the GB age group team in 2017. The race took place in Soria, Northern Spain in April 2017 where I achieved 6^th position. I was pleased with this but as always wanted to achieve more!

Naturally I am more of an endurance athlete having taken part in a number of marathons and ultra marathons over recent years. I had heard that there is a longer distance duathlon for which qualification to represent Team GB as an age group athlete could also be achieved. I decided to investigate further and discovered the long-distance duathlon.

Although the actual distance of the long distance events vary, the championship race is a run of 10km followed by 50km cycling and 30km running (approximate 6-mile run, 31-mile cycle, 19-mile run). In my aim to qualify I have now entered a long-distance duathlon which is due to take place on 16^th September. This event is actually much longer than the championship race, should I finish within the qualification criteria this will give me qualification to be part of the GB age group team for the long distance championship race in 2018.

My event on 16^th September is by Brutal Events, The Pig Ultra Duathlon, this race consists of a 15-mile run, followed by 112-miles of cycling and then a 4.3-mile run up Snowdon on the Llanberis Path and 4.3-mile run back down. This is a very challenging event and much further than any duathlon that I have competed in previously. My training is going well and I am confident that I will complete the distances. I expect the event could take anything between 12 and 14 hours to complete."

Shirley's aim is to work towards qualification for the Team GB age group for 2018, as well as raising money for an amazing charity that is extremely close to her heart, The Helping Harry Trust. Any donations would be greatly appreciated and would encourage Shirley in this extremely challenging task.