Race Report: The MudMan

Competitors were not deterred by the midweek snowfall just days before MudMan, the second event in the Human Race Off Road Race Series. An icy affair was expected at the army testing ground in Camberley and there was even talk of running in a duvet on Twitter during the week. Yet to the delight of the runners, duathletes and of course the crew, winter sunshine shone across the course.

The action began with the 12km trail run, and after a good amount of rain the previous day the course was surround by deep puddles, meaning extra care was needed with every step on the uneven track. After the first short loop the headline spots were more or less secured with Kevin Quinn storming his way up the hills leaving the rest of the field behind him. Upon finishing in 42:07, Quinn spoke of his expectations of the course “I wasn’t prepared for it being so tough, but not knowing what is around the next corner is all part of the fun!” Joe Croft’s placing mirrored that of MudMan 2011 as he finished in second place in a time of 43:15. Last years MudMan trail run winner, Richard Lazell then placed third beating his previous time by over 3 minutes in 44:33. For the females, Gemma Felstead headed up the field an impressive 7 minutes faster than last year’s first lady in a time of 51:17. Jackie Stretton took second place, just 37 seconds behind in 51:54, followed by Gemma Farrell in 52:34. The trail run leaderboard stands with Kevin Quinn and Heike Godwin at the top of the table after race two.

The duathlon course (8km run 16km bike 8km run) lent itself well those that were runners, so bike specialist Faye Cripps had some work to do to come home top. She rose to the challenge and her 2012 summer run training appeared to have paid off as she confidently exclaimed post race, “It was extremely challenging with the number of hill climbs in both the run courses”. Cripps, who finished in 2:04:33, is keen to complete the full series to keep her motivation and fitness in tact throughout the winter months. Becky Hoare (Army Triathlon Association) had a consistently strong race placing second in a time of 2:16:20, closely followed by Gemma Jones in 2:19:22 who took third. The female duathlon leaderboard sees WildMan winner Juilette Clark sitting comfortably at the top with 96 points, but it is still all to play for with three events coming up in the New Year.

In the male category, last years Off Road Duathlon Race Series winner, Richard Stannard was seen roaming the course but due to injury decided to go down the creative route and film the action from the middle of the field. Cedric Lassonde who lead the male duathlon leaderboard after race one, was also absent from the line up but the field was not short of talent as Doug Hall (Total Fitness Bath) rocked up to make his mark. Matthew Williams took the lead with a fast first run but that was where his race ended and Hall took the lead for the duration of the race. With his new carbon mountain bike, Hall opened up a 96 second lead over Jez Cox and managed to hold on in the final run finishing in 1:44:15. Cox took second finishing in 1:47:01. Philip Westoby (Army Traithlon Association) came in in 1:50:13 to take third place in and after a strong performance at WildMan this places him at the top for the male duathlon leaderboard after race two.

FILED UNDER: News / Press Releases TAGS: 2012 / About / Information / MudMan / race-report