jez cox

Flash! Ah-ahhhhh, saviour of the universe!

noreply@blogger.com (jez cox) — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 09:05:00 +0000

Whilst I was away in Lanzarote, Tony at bike and run ( www.bikeandrun.co.uk ) worked his magic on my race bike, fully stripping it down and priming it for the summer after a long winter in the mud. She's looking awesome as I'm sure you would agree. Now all I need is some rooty singletrack through a wood lined with bluebells. Oh, and some summer would come in handy too!

Summer Planning...

noreply@blogger.com (jez cox) — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 18:13:00 +0000

I've just come back from 2 great weeks getting the miles in on Lanzarote and amongst enjoying our lovely weather back here in Blighty (ahem) I've been drawing up plans for the summer. For me it's really all about continuing to bring my Mountain biking on and building towards next winter's cross du season with the goal of winning the Asics series. It was last winter and I didn't succeed but I am doggedly stubborn and wont give up on it!

I'm going to add to it but here's my initial programme which still needs some trail running races added to it plus some smaller running events and mid week leagues:

May :

Gorrick 100 Enduro mtb xc

13^th, Eastern MTB XC Champs, Thetford

16^th, Beastway MTB xc

23^rd, Beastway MTB xc

30^th, Beastway MTB xc

June:

5^th Hawridge International Duathlon (maybe?..)

9^th, Nuclear Burn Cross Duathlon, Essex.

13^th Beastway MTB xc

14^th, South Downs Way Attempt.

20^th Beastway MTB xc

July:

9^th Beastway MTB xc

15^th, National MTB Xc series, Langdon Hills, Essex

22^nd Alpe D’Huez Duathlon (maybe?)

Aug:

5^th Box End Quadrathlon, Maybe...

26^th National Cross Tri series, Surrey. (Team)

Sep/Oct/Nov etc.. The start of the Cross Duathlon series...

If you've got any suggestions of any trail races that you'd recommend thgen please do let me know at jez@jezcox.com thanks.

I hope to see some of you on the trails!

Start with a win, end with a win. Mud and Mayhem, Thetford, 1st Place.

noreply@blogger.com (jez cox) — Sun, 18 Mar 2012 18:22:00 +0000

Back in the Autumn sun of September I started my cross Duathlon season with a win and new course record at the Boneshaker in Wantage, in between I had a winter of ups and downs and have some how managed to tie it all back together by wining the final cross du of the winter season, the Mud and Mayhem at St. Helens in Thetford forest.

I must admit, after my battle with Tim McDowell last year and seeing he wasn't back for more I though I'd be able to enjoy it a bit more but Iain Robertson of Anglia Tri had other ideas and really pushed it on the first run.He was really strong on the bike as well and I could see that it was going to be a very close race in the thick of the forest. For once, it was me who was able to draw away from him in the technical singletrack which makes Thetford so much fun to ride in. He did then claw some time back on the final run but pushed hard all the way I hung in there to take a win, determined to dedicate it to my Lovely Mum Anne on mothers day. On a further note - Big respect to my mate Fay Cripps for smashing it up today, winning the women's race by miles and finishing 6th overall.

The start of it all up on the Ridgeway of the Boneshaker

I've got a little bit of a break now as I'm on GB team manager's duties next week up at Oulton Park (hope to see lots of old and new faces (in pain) there. After that, I'm off to Lanzarote for two weeks of training the first week and coaching on a training camp the second. If you're at Oulton next week do come and say hi (I'll be the plonker stood around in a GB tracksuit) and if you're out in Lanza over Easter do let me know if you want to hook up for a ride or run and we'll see what we can do..... jez@jezcox.com

Trailman Asics Final. 5th place

noreply@blogger.com (jez cox) — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 21:29:00 +0000

I have the pleasure of writing for www.tri247.com and www.duathlon247.com from time to time and the moment you can read my race report from Sunday's Asics Finale, the Trailman.
Here's a preview of it but do skip over to tri247.com for all the latest reports, interviews and news but if you are not yet converted go have a peek.

The Trailman, the 5^th and final round of this winter’s Asics Off-road series was widely acclaimed by many as being the hardest even though on paper, with its rolling undulations and grassy slopes that was unexpected. The course and venue were entirely new and as is so often the case in the off-road scene we got to race over trails that we would never be allowed on at any other time in the year. The wide open expanses of Eridge Deer park in Kent provided a stern test made infinitely harder by the deep mud sections which littered both the run and bike courses. This is a ‘Humanrace’ event after all and throughout the whole series they pride themselves on creating those ‘are we seriously going through/over/under/up/down that!?’ moments for the unsuspecting competitors who round the corner of some deep dark wood only to be presented with the aforementioned ‘treats’. For the Trailman it was deep clay lined mud pits which sucked off trainers and made carrying the bike through it the quickest way. It goes without saying that race times were the slowest for the whole series taking the distances into account but that didn't make the racing any less intense.

On the first run with fellow Maxifuel athlete Sam Gardner and Oli Mahoney

Nearing the end of the Trailman Bike leg

Speaking personally I have had a pretty poor winter off-road season and was determined to try to salvage a good result from the final round. As I suspected, the race went off at lightening pace with around a kilometre entirely downhill to start with and from the off it was Colin Dixon and series winner Richard Stannard pushing the pace with Phil Westoby, Paul Davies and myself giving chase. As always, ladies series winner Kate Robson was not far behind and dominating the ladies race. For Kate however, the final race was to be wrestled from her by off-road specialist Fay Cripps who had excitedly shown me her brand new Carbon ‘29er’ race bike just before the off. She was very unsure as to how the new bike would feel, admitting to me that she had only done one ride on it since getting it and that was a race which she only won by some 20 minutes so not a conclusive performance, I’m sure you’d agree..... Joking aside, she took command of the lead of the bike leg and was then able to win on the final run. Fay finished 9^th overall and Kate was 14^th so despite most of the men being ‘Chicked’ it also made the lead men sit up and take notice of two seriously good athletes.

Back with the men, Richard Stannard used his strength on the bike (also riding a ‘29er’ by the way) to put the race beyond doubt before finishing with around a minute in hand over a hard chasing and effervescently evergreen Colin Dixon. Paul Davies completed another strong off-road winter series by taking 3^rd and I did everything I could to catch Oli Mahony as we approached the finish but couldn’t quite get there. The racing has definitely been a lot tougher in the series this year. Last year, I started the series by winning the opening round by over 3 minutes and this year, coupled with the fact that I have been going like a bag of spanners on the bike the competition has been much tougher. The series’ success not only demonstrated Humanrace’s commitment to Duathlon and their ability to unlock special venues but also the growing number of multi-sporters in the UK who only race off road. With a number of winter series now and the Scott national X-Tri series spanning the traditional tri season, the UK race scene seems to be harnessing the potential for traffic free adventure and a sense of having ‘got through it’ above just ‘completing it’.

QX Wasing Cross Duathlon 2nd

noreply@blogger.com (jez cox) — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 11:53:00 +0000

The start of the QX Wasing Duathlon 2012

As the Cross Duathlon season draws to a close I was on the look out for a race to use to keep sharp as we approach the Asics series final, the Trailman, next Saturday.

Quest Xtreme's events ( www.qxmultisport.co.uk ) were something I had seen advertised for a couple of years now and so I decided to try their 6k/20k/6k Cross Du on the Wasing estate near Reading.
It's a great place to visit and like a lot of these off road races you would never get the chance to ride or run over those hardly used trails were it not for events like these. I'm running quite well at the moment but (and as a coach I am quite happy to admit this) my bike form is simply awful. I think it's just one of those rough patches that you go through and I'm not particularly worried about it but it is annoying when it stops you being able to enjoy just good trails because you feel like the brakes are on the whole time. Anyway - Stop complaining Cox! - Jay Horton came bombing past me on his 29er after I'd headed out onto the bike with a good lead and there was no way I could catch him after that. It was a good win and he's starting to run really well now so I have to wonder - is he going to step up to the Humanrace Asics series next winter? I hope so. Speaking of which, the final round, next week is still open for entries for the next two days I believe so if you're keep then get over to http://humanrace.co.uk/events/duathlon/trailman I hope to see lots of you there.

MTB leg at the wasing QX Duathlon

Asics Tuffman and the return to feeling.....better?

noreply@blogger.com (jez cox) — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 11:52:00 +0000

Winter really has finally kicked off with a flurry of snow and freezing weather in the UK hasn't it?

After going over my last calf niggle and cold I was delighted, I have to say, just to be on the start line at the Asics Tuffman in Sussex last Saturday. It was the scene of my worst performance in the series last year and I'd be the first to admit that the technical, ever changing cambered nature of the bike course is not to my liking and so my goal was just to get through it and see what happens (note to all the athletes I coach: never do this for a race..!)

The race was completely different to last year's muddy conditions in that everything was frozen solid and so, actually, the bike leg became much faster. Not that that helped me! I had a reasonable run and then just didn't get going on the bike. I clawed back a few places on the final run and 9th was, well.... I finished. I'm happy in that respect. Paul Davies had a great run and it was looking like his day until he had contact lens problems and the race in general was a real demonstration of the strength in depth of British cross du/tri racing at the moment.

Richard Stannard continued his domination of the series this winter by winning and Kate Robson, who was in my Worlds team in Spain last September also continued hers by winning again.
Over the next few weeks I'm going to try to build to the final round, the Trailman and see if I can end the series on a high. We'll see.

In and around that I've been making plans for the next few weeks and these include doing the Kingswood Cross Du in Kent, then the QX Cross Du in Reading, followed by the Trailman and then the road bound (Argh!!) Bison Challenge in my beloved Chilterns before heading to Club La Santa for two different training camps back to back. Bring on the sun, sand and green team sandwiches. And Fries. And a large Coke. And an ice cream. Spot of crazy golf? Is that the time? Doppio Espresso please... Man I'm hungry.

Another cold, a district team title, another win, a course record and a calf injury (busy...!)

noreply@blogger.com (jez cox) — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 17:54:00 +0000

After the disappointment of missing out on both the first two Asics races my ill tempered and disobedient body decided to throw in a cold for good measure which was washed down with yet another sinus infection and a liberal sprinkling of antibiotics.

Happy New year by the way!

So, seemingly clear of that I managed to drag my body around the county XC champs in Stevenage to help St Albans Striders to the team title as the 5th counter of six. I was on the last two days of antibiotics at the time and so as I have always found when on them, my powers of recovery were zero and I was subsequently treated to a good 3 days of being only just able to walk.

Recovered in time by last weekend I took to the start line of a race I have never done before, the Waddenhoe Quadmire Duathlon in Buckinghamshire. It was a great race and on a really tidy short sharp circuit. Its a classic example of where I believe Duathlon should be headed in this country and in a way it is much more in keeping with the continental style of sprint race based on a short, sharp, feature packed course. I actually felt great and went on to win and set a new course record but could really feel my left calf tightening over the final run in my spikes on the rough, frozen ground and now, a week on, I have not been able to run at all. It is healing but two days before the defence of my Wildman title in the Asics series it's all up in the air again.....

Hey ho. We take the rough with the smooth in sport and as I always say, without the troughs there are no such things as peaks. It's all relative! I hope to see some of you on Saturday in the sands of Hankley Common.

Looking forward to a bit more road in 2012

noreply@blogger.com (jez cox) — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 15:01:00 +0000

I did two crits in 2011. One at Hillingdon and one at Paulhaguet in Central France. I loved the French one so much (despite the kicking..) as it took me back to racing there in my early 20s and so in 2012 I'm going to be riding in a few select races for VC Riom back in the Auvergne. 10 years on since I was last out there, I'll only be doing a few races but now that I am accustomed to life in the mud there's a part of me that just cant wait to feel the roll of tarmac again.
The smell of melting tar in the July sun, the ding of the last lap bell, the old boy who steps out into the bunch on his way to get his pastis, the fading light of a nocturne in the middle of nowhere, the prime that never was and the roll call of people you befriend in hope of being fed.
Class of 2001, I salute you!

Asics Mudman - Fail.....Doh!

noreply@blogger.com (jez cox) — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 16:01:00 +0000

So, having yacked up my chances at the first round I put in a whole 10 days of really good sessions and was feeling great again right up until I came down with a cold 3 days before the Mudman. It's Saturday afternoon now and the race will have been and gone and I have to admit I feel pretty miffed that it's got away from me again having had to retire with a mechanical in the same race a year ago.
In these situations I have to ask myself what I would be saying to one of my own athletes and as always it would be about taking the rough with the smooth, enjoying the troughs because without them there are no peaks etc etc... I suppose I've been doing it long enough to know better but that's what keeps us coming back isn't it? There's always a "what if?" and an "If only" and that's what makes sport so addictive I suppose. Still. I've filled my morning with periodically emptying my head of the cheese farm's fresh produce and in between incessant snout wipeage I have managed to plot of the rest of my winter Cross Du programme. And here it is:
December:

18^th Merida Brass Monkeys 4hr enduro -Ash Ranges C

NYEve: Hillingdon winter series D

January:

8^th Herts Cross Country champs C

15^th Waddenhoe Quadrathlon (xc run, river kayak, MTB, xc run) C

21^st Asics WILDMAN (10/18/5 Cross) A

February:

4^th Asics TOUGHMAN. A

11^th Chiltern League XC, Wing C

19^th Sunday Lge XC Royston. C

26^th Friston Forest Cross Du. B

March:

10^th Asics TRAILMAN series finale A

18^th Mud and Mayhem Cross Du, Thetford B

It's a nice mix of run, bike and cross Duathlon races and the Quad should be great fun but really it's all about the 3 Asics races. I don't know what my chances are with the series now after this bad start so if anything it means I'll have the freedom to go all out to try for an individual win and what better place to start than on the sands of Hankley Common where I won last year. I hope to see some of you there. It's going to be an exciting year in the sport of cross Duathlon. Although I cant say anything yet I am involved in a number of new initiatives that are aiming to bring cross Duathlon on to yet another level. Humanrace have got it spot on with their Asics series and thankfully other organisers are sitting up and taking note.

Asics Iceman - Fail

noreply@blogger.com (jez cox) — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 20:32:00 +0000

Race report : Returned with race number 1 as last years Rd 1 winner. Felt awesome, started strong, got gap, went wrong way, rejoined, surged, puked, rejoined, puked, dizzy, stopped. DNF

On the plus side, I came 4th in the evening's World Pudding championships with a zingy Chocolate orange cheesecake.

Cross prep building pace

noreply@blogger.com (jez cox) — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 13:22:00 +0000

With a week to go to the start of my beloved Asics offroad series everything seems to be heading in the right direction. After a 1st, 2nd, 1st, and 2nd in the Cross Duathlons in September and October my final phase of preparation has seen me mixing it up with some intense training and unusual races. Last weekend I competed in the Herts league 7k Orienteering and despite knowing the venue like the back of my hand and running like a loony between checkpoints I still only managed 4th place. These top orienteers are something else to behold. They're running as fast if not faster than me but reading a map and navigating at the same time where as I was virtually standing still reading the map and then legging it. Still, when you consider that there were about 25 controls there is no way I would have run 25 intervals that hard on a Saturday morning so it's more wood on the fire which is good. The next day I decided to take to my mountain bike for the fast Sunday ride from St Albans and boy did I pay for it. Thanks boys! ;-)
This weekend followed a similar structure with an 8k cross country race yesterday and then the same group ride today. The cross country was incredibly hard (which was nice) and for the group ride today I opted for the road bike and some payback for all the pain they put me through last week. How very dare they! It's Sunday afternoon now and as always it's following a familiar Espresso fuelled structure : once I've finished writing this I'll be tapping away finishing off this week's training programmes as I look after the Cox stable of ever improving athletes. As always I enjoy reading the texts and emails of how people have done in any scheduled races this morning and this week it was great to read that Carl Ferri is back with a bang winning the Hillingdon duathlon having been unable to race Du all season with calf issues. He's had fun becoming a road racer under my tutelage and now it's great to see him back in the king of sports and a win is always a great boost. Well done Carl.

ASICS Off Road Race Series Promo

noreply@blogger.com (jez cox) — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 10:28:00 +0000

Black Park Cross Duathlon, Iver Buckinghamshire. 2nd

noreply@blogger.com (jez cox) — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 10:15:00 +0000

Sunday saw yet another glorious Autumnal day which set the perfect scene for the inaugural Black Park Duathlon. The organiser, Chris Denman and his West Drayton MBC crew had stuck closely to the tried and tested XC MTB loops which they often promote on and this made for an exciting bike lap.
I knew there were some really good mountain bikers in the field such as Barry Stewart, Karl Norfolk and Jay Horton so I had no option but to really hammer it on the opening three mile run. Having done that it was a case of settling into the four lap bike leg and trying to not get caught in the technical sections. In the end, I was caught on lap 3 by Barry and then Karl came storming past on his cross bike (which seemed a good option in the bone dry conditions) and so it came to the manic chase back over the final 3 mile run. I was able to catch Karl but couldn't reel Barry back in as he had a really good final run in which I was only able to claw his winning margin back to 39 seconds.
It was a great event and just as importantly for me it was a chance to go back to somewhere I used to spend so much time as a teenager. In the days before the Hillingdon Circuit the 'Black Park loop' was the place to train and the chain gangs were legendary there on a Tuesday night. The off road scene now rules the roost at Black Park with a great set of forest trails which are not dissimilar to Thetford Forest really. It doesn't yet have a great reputation as a trail centre but it shouldn't be over looked if you're a West London based mountain biker looking for some sideways action and a chance to get lost in a beautiful woodland without having to drive far.
For me there's now a bit of a break from racing for a couple of weeks until I get nearer to the First Asics race, the Iceman. The build up to the series is looking great and things have never looked healthier for the UK Cross Tri/Du scene.
Have a look at the video above to see what you're missing out on. I mean, who wouldn't want to face plant into a muddy puddle on a Saturday morning? It beats going shopping!

GB Medals glistened in the Asturian sunshine. World Champs, Gijon

noreply@blogger.com (jez cox) — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 15:16:00 +0000

2011 has seen me taking on the position of Great Britain Duathlon team manager. Here is my report:

The Great Britain standard distance Duathlon team took yet another impressive haul of medals at world championship on the 25th of September.

Here is my unpublished report as GB team manager

The Asturian city of Gijon, set back from a long golden beach on Spain's North coast provided the picturesque setting for the championships and the impressive rolling hills surrounding it was a pointer to the bike leg which would see the biggest gaps open up in most of the races as the riders tackled a 4 kilometre climb heading East.

The Run course was an entirely flat affair but one in which the many turns began to take their toll as the changes in pace were felt over the four laps. I'm pleased to report that I heard nothing but praise for the bike course which took in two laps of a long climb which was followed by a descent that was seemingly the perfect blend of speed and thrills to leave competitors with a smile on their faces.

This year's event saw the most newcomers to the team for some years and this injection of fresh blood is undoubtedly a great thing for the sport. Equally pleasingly for me personally was the ever increasing number of young athletes in the team who see Duathlon as their primary sport and this can only be a good thing as the sport continues to grow.

With 21 medals in total it goes without saying that the medals ceremony was peppered with athletes draped in Union Jacks (ok, and the odd Saltire!). The GB athletes, aparently famed for being the brainiest athletes on the world circuit were as calculated with their medal count as they were with the training in that the 21 was made up of 7 Gold , 7 Silver and 7 Bronze medals.

It does have to be said that despite a great men's team performance it was the ladies that had the upper hand with golds coming from Danielle Stewart (25-29), Gillian Palmer (30-34), Christine Howard (40-44), Hillary Ross (55-59), and Elspeth Knott (60-64). Stewart was second overall in the whole race and was only prevented from being the overall winner by an outstanding performance from the American, Gail Kattouf who had relegated Esther Evans and Julliette Minter to the still highly prised silver and bronze spots on the 35-39 age group. Silver medals were also taken by Lucy Commander (25-29), Louise Bardsley (30-34), Mel Varvel (40-44) and Jan Farmer (60-64). Taking the final podium steps for the ladies were a delighted Becky Glover (25-29) and two very popular team members, Penny Edwards (55-59) and Barbara Law (65-69).

The men were no slouches themselves with 'the Ross's' Fawcett and Landon taking Gold and Silver respectively in the 18-19 category leaving Stuart Hall's super fast 1:51:30 time to give him the other male gold medal. After a build up plagued by injury Pete Wheddon took a defiant silver in the 55-59 category and 'uber-bikers' Richard Wilder (35-39) and Robert McLean (50-54) rode through the field to take Bronze medals in their age groups. Finally, for the men, the ever reliant Arnott Kidd added to his medal mountain with a bronze in the 75-79 category.

The build up to the event was not the smoothest for quite a number of the team who's airline had decided that perhaps it was best to fly them out without bags or bikes but if anything the kit-swapping and bike borrowing in the days proceeding the event just seemed to make the team cohesion even stronger on race day.

Mud and Mayhem surprise

noreply@blogger.com (jez cox) — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 09:49:00 +0000

I had the very pleasant surprise of being emailed by Guy Travers of Go Beyond Ultra yesterday to say that I had won the Mud and Mayhem series overall this year after my win at Thetford in the Spring and then my 2nd place to Cedric 2 weeks ago in Swinley. It's great to see an organiser who has truly embraced the world of off road multisport as Go-Beyond have and I know they have big plans to keep expanding their off road Duathlons in 2012. Keep an eye on www.gobeyondultra.co.uk for announcements of their 2012 series and if you are in the area I'd seriously recommend a crack at their Brentwood off road running festival on the 29th and 30th of October. I did the 10k there last year and it was a really rewarding morning. They also do a half and full marathon also off road in the park for the truly mad!

Essex Duathon. Beautiful sunshine and a 1st Place

noreply@blogger.com (jez cox) — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 09:34:00 +0000

Hylands Park in Essex is just the perfect place for running and riding with its mix of wooded singletrack trails and flowing open parkland. The day once again reminded me how much I like Essex. It's a county with so much to offer the outdoorist and yet so often it gets a certain type of press which seems unfair. Having said that, the Essexians do seem to encourage it: After the race I commented to one of the locals about how lovely the park was to which he replied "The only way is Essex!". He had a shaven head, tatoos, fake tan, a Staffie and he drove a lowered Ford Fiesta which actually had...... (please don't think I'm joking) but it actually had.... his name and the name of his laydeee (colloquial) friend (at least I hope she actually exists) on the window above their seats. It was just perfect. Almost too perfect. Mr Essex man (let's call you Dale) We Salute you!
Back to the race. It was something of a shock to have to scrape the Ice from the racking which had been up all night in order for the bike to stay put when racked. It really was a jolt like change from the warm weather of late. Having been beaten by about 3 seconds last year I was determined to push hard and make it stick this year and Graham Lee's (multisport-management.co.uk) idea of setting off the Ladies first, then Vets 6 minutes later and then then my group, the seniors, at 12 minutes down actually worked out well. Everyone ended up pushing so hard to catch those in front that there were PB's all around for the course.
As it drew to a close coming up the final long climb through the park I could see First Vet, Jamie Bishop in 1st place and then the lead two women just behind him and I just could not catch them. The format worked really well and I ended up taking about of a minute off Hugo Hocknell's course record from last year. Well done to Ross Welton in second place as well. I went for a jog with Ross afterwards and got to hear about his adventures on the Ironman Circuit. It's always good to see guys like him coming over to the dirty side. Good lad.

Mud and Mayhem Cross Duathlon, Swinley Forest, 2nd

noreply@blogger.com (jez cox) — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 16:14:00 +0000

Last year I was beaten by my buddy Cedric Lassonde. This year I was beaten by my buddy Cedric Lassonde. Doh! In fact, I've never beaten Cedric in the 3 times I've raced with him so I'll have to work on it! He is super fast on the mtb and we're fairly well matched on the run. I won't bore you with the details but I had to post the fastest final run split in order to make up places and get back into 2nd having missed a turn on the bike leg. Some dastardly mountain bikers had decided to take home course arrows as souvenirs you see.
I do hope they don't trip and fall onto the pointy bit on their way home. ;-)

Anyway, I felt like a sack of spanners on the bike and a Gazzelle on the final run such is the unpredictable nature of the human body.... Next up, the Essex Cross Du and then the brand new Black Park Du. Hope to see some of you there!

Boneshaker Duathlon. 1st Place, (New course Record)

noreply@blogger.com (jez cox) — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 14:46:00 +0000

I first competed in the wonderfully unique 'Boneshaker' Duathlon back in 2006 and was immediately struck by how little I knew of the Oxfordshire end of the Chiltern Ridge. It's such a beautiful part of England and the little village of Ardington where it takes place is just the most wonderful place in an Inspector-Morsey way.

The organisers are great and the course has always suited me well being fairly non-technical and mostly off road with some nice long climbs in it.

This year there were some excellent relay teams that I knew were going to push me all the way if I was to win and the first run showed this as I came in third and fighting to keep the leader in my sights but I did feel really good on the bike, having not long been back from the Alps and the Pyranees and I set about working my way back through into the leda up and over the chalk hills of the Ridgeway. I actually enjoyed the final run for once and felt quite fresh. I'd have to put this down to having a running injury all summer which has prevented me from overdoing it while in France. It was nice to start my winter cross Du season with a win and beating my 2007 course record by about 40 seconds was a surprise too so all bodes well for the winter season! Check out the race ahead of nest year. I'd seriously recommend it: www.bone-shaker.co.uk Even if you are going to watch, the fresh pig baps make it outstanding!

Summer Update

noreply@blogger.com (jez cox) — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 14:08:00 +0000

Summer Update: It's been another long gap since my last update so here's another late one just before I head off to the Alps for a few weeks!

It's been a fairly routine June and July of Mountain biking, getting over achilles tondonitis and doing a wee bit of Road racing ahead of some Crits I am riding in France the next few weeks (mainly so that I don't get a serious hiding out there!) Before that there was the Glorious victory for my team in the Hellrider 8 hr Enduro Duathlon, the first of its kind in the UK.

Here are the results from recent races:

Thetford mud and Mayhem Cross Du 1st
Lotts Wood Cross Du, 2nd
Lanzarotte 1/2 Marathon 1st
Beastway XC 5th
Summit Lotts Wood XC 4th
Beastway XC 4th
Hellrider 8 Hr Enduro 1st
Summit MTB XC DNF (punc)
Areyoutoughenough? XC Enduro 6th

Early season 2011 update

noreply@blogger.com (jez cox) — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 17:15:00 +0000

April Update : It's been a long time since I updated so here's a quick one! Mud and Mayhem, Thetford - 1st.       1st point Du, 2nd
March has been a good duathlon month with a win in the Thetford round of the Mud and Mayhem series and then a second place in the 1st Point Cross Duathlon in Amersham behind a good buddy of mine, Sylvain Garde who's in my crack team for the Hellrider this year. The third member of our team will be a long term athlete of mine and a big dog on the Duathlon circuit, Carl Ferri.    Be Afraid Hellriders, be very afraid..... (we're doomed now aren't we!)

March News:    I'm really pleased to announce that I have been appointed as the GE Great Britain Duathlon Team manager for this year's World Championships in Spain in September. It's going to be a great adventure and I look forward to helping GB come back with hopefully the biggest medal haul yet.

Thanet Cross duathlon, Kent. 1st Place and 60th Duathlon win since starting out. (crikey.. I feel old...)

One of the best athletes I coach and something of a revelation on the UK Duathlon scene in 2010, Carl Ferri had to drop out of the Thanet race on January 2nd and very kindly gave me his entry in exchange for a manky old gear leaver (don't ask...!)            And so I found myself, parked up in a car park overlooking the North Sea lighting the fire in my autosleeper and contemplating the race ahead which innovatively combines a tarmac first run, boggy mtb bike leg and a killer boggy long final off road run. the runs were a formality for me as I am running really well this winter but the bike leg was a real scrap with a couple of the VC Invictica guys on their cross bikes not only catching me but giving me a really hard time. It was great because we all pushed it so hard on the bike. I had a really pleasing final run to take the win and put some more really hard racing into my prep for the Iceman which is in just a few weeks.
It was great to see so many people enjoying a new year event and with the customary good cheer and eyeballs out attitude that is common of du and tri the world over.   It doesn't matter where you go the world over for multisport events there's always the feeling of a collective sense of not just purpose but a sharing. A sharing in the suffering and a sharing in the satisfaction that we are all taking the path less travelled and challenging ourselves to do something many would never dream of.   there's me banging on about winning but Here's top Thomas Flitch who came last. He was 90 minutes behind me but you should have seen how far he was ahead of the millions of able bodied people who wouldn't have dreamed of even starting. Miles........ This new year, if you are reading this and thinking of challenging yourself then go for it. You only get one body and you only get one chance. Enjoy it!

Asics Mudman Cross Duathlon series rd 2 DNF (mechanical)
Is it on? Is it cancelled? These were the words on everyone's lips as the Mudman approached. But no. This is the race series that prides itself on being crazy tough so there we were, racing on slowly melting snow and as we'd have it, it was actually pretty cool.
My race was simple: Colin Dixon, Jim McConnell and I got away on the first run with Colin then pulling away on the slippy descents. Jim and I ran together and exited T2 together in 2nd place and that's when my race ended. As soon as I started to pedal my chain slipped and wouldn't grip in any gear. I had replaced the chain the day before but because of the snow hadn't been able to go out and try it. Race over. I should have checked it so it was entirely my fault.
As a result I've lost my series lead and it's now looking like it will be a best 3 results count series which means the final two rounds will be a big head to head between me Jim and Paul Davies. May the best man win! And may the best man be me! hee hee. Should be fun. If you haven't a clue about the series check out the video below. If you're still not tempted there's an excellent face-plant crash in the middle. here it is :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_profilepage&v=0Mf579z5kbM

Asics Wildman Cross Duathlon series (humanrace.co.uk)   Mission Accomplished! 1st.
I'll spare you a report just yet but to suffice to say it was very hard and very hilly. I ran well and rode quite well on too down on the sandy hills (and really, I mean HILLS) of Hankley Common near Guildford this was probably mostly due to having been stuck in the sand of Lanzarote earlier this year when the glorious ash cloud struck. I knew all that running and riding in the sand would have a purpose. It was a shame to see Paul Davies puncture whilst the pair of us were leading on the bike and I genuinely mean that. A good fight is always a fair fight.    There's some pics in the 2010 gallery (click gallery tab above) which depict the suffering and the glory!

so- I'm leading the series and next up, my chance to defend that lead at the Mudman. Hope to see some of you there.

2010 Season Archive

noreply@blogger.com (jez cox) — Fri, 31 Dec 2010 18:05:00 +0000

Cirencester Cross Duathlon 4th.
I have to say, I had underestimated the quality of both the field and the race here. With over 400 people racing it was such a great advert for Duathlon and cross duathlon at that. It has to be said that if an event like this can attract more entries than British Triathlon's national series then they are doing something very right....
It was a great race with Dave Roper absolutely dominating and although I wanted to get one over my old sparring partner Lee Rankin he came 2nd and looked like he was flying too. Nothing too much more to report though. A solid performance if not quite sparkling although I have to say I am still munching my way through the remainders of a packet of antibiotics as we speak so I was never going to be absolutely pinging. Great mud, good hills and I have to say, absolutely spiffing to see see the plonker who tried to knock me off on the bike dq'd for illegal helmetry in transition. Far be it for me to break my golden rule of never using my site to chastise others but if you will,...you're an elephantine muppet. I thank you.
next stop - the Wildman...
Go Beyond Ultra Brentford Trail 10k 1st place and a new course record.
I had a great time today doing a super hard off-road 10k in Weald Country park in Essex and won in a new course record so it was a pleasing outing all around. Andy Reeves from Serpentine kept me on my toes always not far behind but I resolved to use the middle 1 of 5 laps to really put the pressure on as we wound out way up and down the wooded valley in which it was held to open up a gap of over a minute by the end. It was a pleasing outing and having finished I headed out for another hour or trail running but still in my spikes which is always a challenge! Weald country park is a real Essex gem with beautiful lakes, rolling hills and secluded woodland not to mention it's own resident herd of deer. Do deer come in herds?.... I think so... Anyway. Here's a pic of me coming through the woods on my last lap.

Mud and Mayhem Cross Duathlon, Swinley Forest, Reading.  2nd
The following diary entry is taken from my blog at my sponsors www.sportbeans.co.uk
I'd never been to Swinley Forest before but I did know it has a great reputation for mountain biking as one of those 'must ride' trail centres in the South of England and having done the Mud and Mayhem there I can now see why. The race course and transition were deep into the forest and in the centre of the 'Expert' riding area which seems to have been put safely beyond the reach of newbie riders by putting it as far from the car park as possible and I can see why. There are some pretty gnarly trails and a million roots to catch you out should you relax for a millisecond. It reminded me very much of the course for the Torq in your Sleep 12 hour race I'd done in the summer which was not far away from there.
Warming up, I immediately recognised the face of Frenchman Cedric Lassonde who, as I write will be in Maui for the world Xterra champs. I was fairly confident that I could match him on the run and the bike... we'd have to see.... Well, we were together for most of the opening 5k cross country run until he pulled away from me just before transition to gain about 15 seconds on me. All was going to plan but I simply had no answer to his superior skills off road. He put a big gap into me in the twisty, rooty single track on the mountain bike and try as I might I just couldn't get anywhere near him. I'm still working damn hard trying to keep learning to be able to rdie with the very best in teh technical stuff off woods and I'm getting there, root by root, berm by berm..... the final run was a formality of pace maintenance (as always in Duathlon) and I was pleased to see Dean Rickets who I've known for years in really good form and coming in to take third place. It was a good day out! I was then persuaded by some training buddies to head out with them for a couple of extra road hours in the afternoon. It was a ride on which in my post race haze I forgot to take a few packets of Sport Beans and I promptly blew up after 90 minutes and I mean hollow, pale, empty, can't feel the pedals, want to curl up and god to sleep on a bed of fish and chips type of blowing-up. Those of you who've been there will know exactly what I mean and those who haven't....... keep popping those Sport Beans.
With my desire to further push myself to keep improving my mountain biking skills, a week later I headed off in my campervan to the Quantock Hills in north Somerset to ride some of the amazing exposed single track there. To my delight I crashed heavily when my front wheel dug into a crevice in the hill side. this is always a good thing where no breakages are concerned because as I keep telling the cyclo-cross riders i am currently coaching "it's only by periodically exceeding your limits that you know what your limits are!"
Next up, a couple of smaller Cross Dus, one in Dorset and one in Gloucestershire in the build up to the Wildman exactly a month from now.
September Cross Duathlon update.  2nd at Chelmsford Cross Du and 3rd at the XTD (again....doh!)
The Winter Cross Duathlon season has started in sunny fashion with both Chelmsford and the XTD at the Xtreme Terrain festival being run in glorious sunshine.
My aim at Chelmsford was to beat my course records and unlike last year where I was out front by myself the whole race, this year I had a head to head with Hugo Hucknell of team Spiuk which actually resulted in us both smashing the course records on all legs. much as we kept trying to break each other it came down to a sprint finish and Hugo deservedly beat me by 6 seconds. It made for a good, hard race, not least when Hugo has attacking me on his cross bike. With me being on my Cannondale Flash I was forced to make the most of the technical stuff in the woods and so it became a great battle.

The XTD was equally tough with Julien L'Homme and Iain Payne in teh field and although Julien and I got a far way ahead on run 1 it didn't stop Iain catching bth of us on the bike before he then went on to come 2nd. Once again it was a great day, another cold but sunny one and yet another demonstration of what awesome trails and forests the army have hidden within their surrey heartland. I've put some of the photos in here.
Next up, back to the same army territory for the Mud and Mayhem Duathlon in Swinley Forest.
13th September. Chiltern international Aquathlon. 1st! (with Leda swimming!..)
Another win for team Cox! We're bound to come unstuck eventually. This race was a great opportunity for both of us to get in some quality lung-time ahead of the Xtreme terrain festival in two weeks where Leda is challenging herself and having (fun) by doing the 1500m open water swim and I am doing the off road Du. It was held at the wonderfully serene outdoor pool in Chesham, Bucks on a gorgeous sunny morning and Leda's swim was a massive boost to her, going 2 minutes quicker than she has ever swum for the 400m before.   The fact that this was on the 1 year anniversary of her second spinal surgery operation was a cause for celebration in our household as it is genuinely only by God's grace that Leda is able to swim let alone walk so it really was a great morning.     Once she had tagged me, the run went up the hill to Old Amersham and then back down again to total 5k. I felt crap but on the plus side was nearly sick when I finished which is always a good sign for me! I managed to hold it in though and actually, my time and the time I took back on the other runners meant we had well over a minute's lead by the end. We were cheating though as the others had to do the whole thing by themsleves but still, it was a good day out.
It's Tuesday morning now and I'm about to head out and do what my clients know as the 'continualhills' session in Stanborough Park, Welwyn. That basically means running non-stop up and down the escarpment by the lake for 40 mins in a 90 min run. My clients love it...... hmm... Anyway- next stop, this Saturday at the Chelmsford mtb Duathlon in Hylands Park with the aim of hammering my course record now that I'm on a top end mtb and not a late 90's ex-soviet scud-launcher. Should be fun!
6th September racing update     Welsh nationals, 1st team. St Ives cross Country MTB 5th (elite). Torq in your sleep 12 hr MTB XC 5th (mixed pairs)
I've been really bad at updating of late so here's a quick one. The Afan race, which was the Welsh National champs actually turned out to be a bit of an epic. The course was awesome and it hacked down with rain which always makes for a good one. It was great to be able to race as 'team cox' with Leda doing the swim. The only thing we hadn't banked on was the fact that the rules dictated she had to run from the pool down the hill on the road and to the valley bottom in order to tag me so that I could start the mountain bike leg before the xc run. Leda swam really well and thankfully her spine survived the jarring run down the hill and into T1! The bike course was absolutely wicked, taking in all the best bits of the Afan forest trail centre with the zig-zag decent and some brilliant climbs. I felt strong and rode to the fastest bike leg by about three minutes before finishing off with a fairly flat xc run in the valley bottom. We did what we set out to do which was to enjoy a great part of Wales and became national team champions in the process! Its just a shame we aren't Welsh. Tri and Enter put on yet another great race and it was a good example of why they simply ARE Triathlon in Wales.

With Daz Parker (current world Amateur Xterra champ and Bike and Run team mate) and I entered for one of the UK's biggest 12 hr enduro mountain bike races I decided to enter the St Ives XC races in late August and waas pleased with my form coming 5th in a good field so everything was going in the right direction.   The following week was the big 12 hr race at Minley Manor, the 12:12 Torq in your sleep enduro. Daz and I started hard (maybe too hard) and we made the most of the daylight hours. Both riding our 2010 Cannondales from Bike and Run we headed into the night hours with our lights on and ended up finishing 5th by midnight. Sorry if my write up sounds boring but looking back it really was one long 12 hour slog. there was certainly some gnarly bits and some really techy stuff which kept me alert all the way through but as I suspected it would be it became a lot like the stage races that I became used to riding as a roadie - you just settle into a rhythm and keep going.
Next up, I do at last get my teeth into some run-bike-run action with the start of the off road duathlons.   I'm doing the Chiltern International Aquathlon with Leda this Sunday (and yes- she's swimming) before the Chelmsford Duathlon and then my nemesis, the XTD Duathlon at the Xtreme Triathlon festival in Hawley, Surrey. I hope to see some of you guys there.

26th June 2010     Off Road Update
Although it's been quiet due to a distinct lack of off road duathlons my preparations and training races have been going well and I'm starting to feel the multiterrain form that should at least see me enjoying the course at the Afan race next month. I thought I'd put an update here with a couple of pics of my lovely new steed that my sponsors Bike and Run www.bikeandrun.com got for me this year. they've been a Cannondale main dealer for a long time and the Flash 4 is the lightest and stiffest carbon frameset in the world. It's certainly made a big difference for me having been using my trusty old GT Zaskar previously. there's also a pic in there of me on the Zaskar for the last time while the 'Dale was being built up and Bike and Run in North Finchley. It was a few weeks ago at the Beastway MTB race at Hog Hill.

yes- it's tasty, I know..... Now to do it justice. It.......Her......Him........ It's red and blue. I can't decide!
14th May 2010      My  2010 Race Programme:            Target: Cross Duathlon Domination. (very cross......)
May:  Gower Monster XC 10k./ Beastway MTB XC / Wheathapstead 10k XC / Herts Mid week RR league

June: Hawridge International duathlon / Herts mid week RR league / Beastway MTB XC Herts mid week RR league

July: Sounthern MTB XC series / Hillingdon draft legal du / Herts Mid week RR league / Beastway MTB XC Milton Keynes Trail Half Marathon

August: Cymar Afan offroad Tri (with a swimmer as relay) / National tri Team Relays / Southern MTB XC Beastway MTB XC

September: Either: First Monster Iron Monster 40k/80k Duathlon, Loch Ness or / Moreton Worrel Cross Duathlon Hillingdon draft Legal Duathlon / XTD cross Duathlon.

October: Abbots wood Cross Duathlon / Mud and Mayhem cross Duathlon / Chelmsford Cross Duathlon. / (possibly racing in Australia ï¿½ Duathlon at end of October)

November: Ballbuster Duathlon / Cirencester cross Duathlon / Wildman Cross Duathlon

December: Mudman Cross Duathlon / Rempstone Roast Cross Duathlon

January: Iceman cross Duathlon

February: Tuffman cross Duathlon.

20th February 2010
Coxy's 2010 UK DUATHLON SEASON PREVIEW:
Click here to read my UK Duathlon season preview with all the best races and my tips for the 'inside line'.... oh. Actually, its here:

2010 UK Spring Duathlon Season Preview.

In association with www.duathloncoach.co.uk

The evenings are just starting to get lighter and all across the country people are starting to feel that racing itch having suffered a winter disrupted with snow and cold weather. Before you know it Spring Duathlons will be blossoming all over the country and the ever growing mix of newcomers, old timers and Triathletes looking to taste the greener grass of Duathlon’s pastures will be donning their lycra and pinning on numbers.

This spring promises to blossom early than ever in Duathlon’s history with the national Duathlon Championships being held at the Clumber Park Duathlon on the 6^th of March. Knowing the large number of athletes that want the chance to test themselves against the best nationally this will mean that many will be revved up and ready to go from March onwards so I have chosen 6 must-do races this spring and some of my inside tips on how to get the most from them.

With this year’s European Championships being in Nancy, France on May 1^st and then the Worlds at the other end of the season in Edinburgh many Duathletes will be thinking of trying to qualify for Age Group teams for one of or both and the qualification races are:

ETU European Duathlon Champs. Nancy, France:

Clumber Classic Duathlon 6^th March

Stirling University Duathlon 28^th March

Steyning Duathlon 5^th April

ITU World Duathlon Champs. Edinburgh, Scotland:

Clumber Classic Duathlon 6^th March

Stirling University Duathlon 28^th March

Big-Cow Emberton Duathlon 11^th April

Cambridge Duathlon 2^nd May

For more information on applying for the age group teams and the qualification process click here: http://www.britishtriathlon.org/age/index.php

I’ll start by previewing 3 big Classic races:

1) 6^th March. Clumber Classic Duathlon. Notts. BTA National Championships.

10k / 40k / 5K

This is not one of the oldest Duathlons on the UK scene but has rightly gained itself a reputation amongst the best UK races. With a rolling run on closed roads within the park it provides an ideal competitive testing ground for running form before heading out onto the bike. Classic distance athletes find themselves doing two out and back runs on the first run and this is an ideal platform for seeing where you are in the race and where your rivals are too. Just make sure you practice the “I’m gonna catch you even though you’re 3 minutes ahead of me” look for the second lap when the leader comes past. Either that or be the leader…..Your choice!

The bike leg is a strong bikers dream. I went from 7^th after a bad run up to 1^st with a minutes’ lead by the end of the bike leg in the 2007 race and this was proof that if you have a bad run (and I was crawling by the end!) you can still make good inroads on this course. It’s the sort of bike course that suits strong efficient bikers that can hold a good rhythm and if that’s not you then my top tip might just help:

Top Tip: The bike course takes in a long main road before you head back into Clumber Park and on this there is a painted white or yellow line which appears intermittently along the edge of it. When it does, try to ride on it and stay on it. You’ll find it’s much smoother and faster that the standard tarmac. Just make sure you keep focussed on the road conditions around you and take care if it’s wet because the lines can become slippery.

2) Big-Cow Emberton Duathlon. 10k / 40k / 5k

The Emberton race is a classic which has become a mainstay of the national series and has hosted a number of National championships. It’s a course which has rarely changed and as a result many of the competitors this year will have raced there before so, if you haven’t, a drive around the bike course in advance would be advantageous so that you can see where the hills are and get a feel for the course overall. The run course is utterly pan flat as it uses multiple laps of a series of lakes on a service road. This could be seen as a blessing but that would depend what kind of runner you are. Being pan flat means that it becomes what I call a ‘rhythm run’; meaning that your rhythm should hardly ever change save for the occasional speed bump on the way round. This can be some people’s downfall though. Where Clumber has an early hill to force athletes to back off a bit and pace it Emberton Park has none of that and so it can be easy to run too fast over the first 5k and then suffer badly over the second half as a result. Careful Pacing is the key on the first run. The bike course is open and exposed and has two climbs of note on it. They are longer rolling climbs and again, when paced out correctly shouldn’t leave you struggling to recover too much after them.

Top Tip: After your second transition, going out onto the final run, aim to have a lighting quick transition but then run just within yourself and holding back for the first 30 seconds. That will allow you to get beyond transition and onto the road having crossed a narrow section of off road trail. Running within yourself for those 30 seconds will just allow for your body to adapt without risking cramping before you unleash the beast on the final run. Oh- and never EVER look back. It serves no purpose…..

3) Steyning Duathlon, Sussex. 5^th April

Steyning has long been held on Easter Bank holiday Monday and this has always been a mixed blessing in the past. The fact that it is on a bank holiday means that the town centre run course and transition area become packed with people out to watch a good race and as such the atmosphere is excellent. The fact that the bike course for many years has snaked close to one of the main trunk roads down to the coast has been the source of problems in terms of traffic bunching up. The organisers have stuck with the date and now seem to have found the perfect all round bike course which has a mix of fast stretches and some testing hills. This is a race to do for the atmosphere on the run course, the slightly shorter first run (which suites the strong bikers!) and the fact that it’s the ideal opportunity to take family and friends so that once the race action is over you can go and sample the coast (at spring time) which is just a short drive away.

Top Tip: I’d say the majority of people overcook the first 3k of the opening run by going too fast. It starts downhill and has a great crowd spread along the main street which your ego will want to dash along but trust me, once on the quieter back road you’ll be paying for it before you turn back onto the high street again. Even pacing and tunnel vision might just help you stay on track on the first run.

Now I’ve chosen some smaller races which really deserve a big reputation.

These are my Hidden Jewels:

Maidstone Duathlon, Kent. 7^th March.

Course: A rolling country lane first run followed by a rolling (mostly) A-road bike course which is fast and exciting. The out and back nature makes it ideal for measuring your effort. A straight up and down two sides of a hill makes the short final run. Lovely people, nice atmosphere and easy to get to just off the A2 in Kent.

Top Tip: For your warm up, run right out of the car park and up what will be the hill for the final run so that you can run the length of it and know how to pace it at the end of the race.

1485 No Frills Duathlon, Market Bosworth. 21^st March. 5k / 14m / 5k

Course: A pan flat run around a picturesque water park followed by a rolling country lane bike course. The bike course is a great blend of testing rises and fast windy lane sections. The final run is another flat fast run out to a turn and back.

Top Tip: Wear trail shoes for the run sections if you have them. You could even wear cross country ‘spikes’ just whack some elastic laces in them to save time.

Knockburn Duathlon, Aberdeen, Scotland. 4k / 17k/ 4k

Duathlon is set to be a big part of Scotland’s sporting landscape in 2010 with the World championships being held there in September. The Knockburn Duathlon is the final round of the Aberdeenshire winter series and comes not long after the Stirling world championships qualifier so it’s an ideal time for Scottish Duathletes to polish their form on a beautiful course.

Course: A loch-side first run gives way to a hilly and exposed cycle section before doing exactly the same run again.

Top Tip: The bike course has some tight and fast turns on it. Always remember: try to take these bends by going wide, tight, wide by clipping across the apex of the bend and staying low on the bike to maintain a low centre of gravity. Obviously make sure that you ride safely within the lane though.

Gower Duathlon, Wales. 15^th May. (Welsh Championships) 10k/40k/5k

This young but ambitious event has gained the status of a Welsh Championship this year which should be the start of it growing into being one of the all time great British Duathlons. It deserves it with a course like that!

Course: A slightly rolling cliff top run overlooking Rhossili beach will take your breath away before you head out onto a hard but exhilarating bike loop which takes in most of the Gower peninsula and really shows off the landscape before heading out and back to another stunning view which you could easily have missed on the final cliff top run. The views are so good you’ll feel guilty for not stopping!

Top Tip: Make sure your tyres are well inflated. If it’s wet you would be better leaving them at your standard pressure that letting any air out for better traction as it’s a rural loop with often gritty roads and you don’t want a puncture to ruin a great day out. Soft tyres deform more easily around a piece of grit or a thorn and welcome it into it’s rubbery clutch. A hard tyre says “Oi! Thorn! No!” and leave’s it sitting upright for the next person behind you ;-)

2009 / 2008 Archive

noreply@blogger.com (jez cox) — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 18:12:00 +0000

12 December. Thanks for your votes!

In my recovery from injury I was really pleased to see that I have been shortlisted to the final 5 for 220 Triathlon magazine's 'Duathlete of the Year' Award along with some illustrious competition in the shape of Paul Amey, Ali Brownlee, Lee Peircy and Adam Bowden.
If you get a mo, you can vote here for all your favourite tri/du things here: or click on the awards logo above...
http://www.220triathlon.com/webform/220-triathlon-awards-2010-stage-2
18th November. SNAP goes the Ankle!
There I was, leading an XC running session in Aldenham Woods in Hertfordshire with my 17-18 year old XC runners and showing them the way (don't laugh!) when after only about 5 minutes of an interval I stepped on a tree root and the tree root bit back. My ankle went straight over and there was a not entirely pleasant but none the less crisp, cracking sound. It now turns out that this was my lovely ligaments saying goodbye to my ankle. I had to be carried like a baby from the wood by a colleague. I didn't cry. Don't believe what you've heard. I didn't cry. Man! It hurt.
Anyway, I've been in plaster since then and now have an inflatable splint around my ankle. It's getting better slowly and I'm (as I always say to my clients) ticking the right boxes to recovery. Massive love and thanks go to Leda who is just about well enough to look after me whilst she is still recovering from Spinal surgery (it's not an entirely mobile place, the Cox household at present!) Here's my current training position:

18th October: Chelmsford Off Road Duathlon, Essex. 1st Place and course record.
Well. That was my last race of the year and another really enjoyable off road event. I really am loving them at the moment. The course in Hylands Park, the venue for the annual 'V festival' was a really good testing one with a mix of twisty-windy singletrack and some wide open plains. As last week the race was split up into waves and although this makes it hard to have an overall picture of the acurate palcings it does make you go harder due, if nothing else to the uncertainty. I was feeling great on both the runs and the bikes actually. Knowing I had my last race coming up I made my key midweek running session a long series of 80m sprint reps on the track and as always it did the trick. It's a great way of building dynamic and explosive muscle memory feel which transfers well into a close event. It's a great 'sharpener' for this time of year. I loved the bike leg today and if I'm honest I was pleased to find myself locked up and sliding into at least 3 of the corners in the wooded section. As I told one of the 17 year olds that I took out for a coached MTB session in the week: "you don't know your limits until you go beyond them" and they certainly did that (no one died!)
13th October : Friston Forest Off Road Duathlon.  Near Eastbourne, Sussex.   1st place and course record
This was a race I had entered last year but had been unable to do due to having a cold so I entered this gp triathlon promotion well in advance and I'm glad I did. The course was awesome. I can remember going to the Friston Forest when I was young and my Nan was living in Eastbourne and it certainly hasn't changed. Both the runs and bike were on a mix of wide gravelly fire roads and narrow rutted forest trails and it was hilly which was great. The bike leg pretty much started with a 3k climb straight off which suited me perfectly. Tactically it was a strange race as I'd figured out before hand that my main competition for the win would come in the shape of young Henry Jarvis of Bodyworks XTC who had come 2nd to Jonny Brownlee in the national Duathlon champs earlier in the year. The problem was that he was starting in the later wave and so although I worked my way ahead of my wave by the end of the run I had no idea how he was doing. Maybe in hindsight that's a good thing though because even when out front by yourself it makes you push harder not knowing where you are in the race.
I have to say- I'm REALLY enjoying my late season focus on the offroad scene. It's just so much more fun than road duathlon. A few days later now, I went for a hard 90 min ride around the woods near me in Nomansland near Wheathampstead and I was just smiling the whole time! It's so much fun ducking in and out of the trees, jumping logs and ditches and generally pushing the limits of my tyre grip. It reminded me why I started all of this at the age of 13 when I first got on a decent MTB and started carving up my neighbour Tilman's garden in endless circles, I love it! Who needs tri-bars and tarmac when you've got 2 inches of travel and dusty trails. Oh, and dog shit. Yes, that's right- I stopped on the dusty trail this morning to push the only bit of mud off the underside of my downtube to find it wasn't mud.                              IT WAS WARM!!!!!!!!!!!
Next stop, the Chelmsford Off road du which is my last Du of 2009!

26th September XTD Extreme Terrain Duathlon. Camberley, Surrey. 10k xc/ 24k mtb/ 5k xc. 3rd
                                What a great race! In 7 years I am unbeaten in off road Duathlons but I knew today I would be up against it with the Xterra Elite specialists Paul Davies and Jim McConnel in the race with me. Tony, ace mechanic at my sponsors Bike and Run in Finchley had fitted a plush replacement pair of Marzochi forks to my (very) old faithful GT Zaskar mountain bike and so I was a bit more comfortable about all the bumpy stuff because my last forks, which I have to say died 4 years ago somewhere over Eastern Europe as I flew with it to a MTB race in Pakistan were utterly useless. Thanks Tony!
The first run which was a technical, sandy and lumpy affair was actually great fun. Scott Cousins was racing again and was as impressive as last week on the first run. Heading towards T1 Jim McConnel had taken the lead and although we were fairly close we didn't see Jim again! That was it! Exiting T1 on the mountain bike he showed his true class on the technical off road course. I moved up into second having caught and passed Scott and stayed there until Paul Davies caught me and passed me with a move that seriously showed up my distinctly weaker off road prowess. The final run was a formality and by then the sun had come out and the lakeside setting was just blissful. After a warm down and my usual Maximuscle Recovermax drink I sat on a rickety old fishing pontoon looking out across the glass still lake dreaming of........well, fishing actually...... but being devoid of rod and possibly fish as well I took the time to say a few Prayers of thanks for Leda's slow but continual recovery, wiped the dust off my old Zaskar and headed home.   A great race and I was beaten fair and square by two great blokes as well. I swear I felt some form coming from somewhere in there too so lets see if I can add add a 1st to the 2nd and 3rd I've had the last two weeks in the coming race this weekend up in Yorkshire.
20th September .  2nd, Ipswich Duathlon.
                                 Well, I'm chuffed to say I AM still alive and that maybe because I didn't get to do the Derby triathlon in the end. As many of you will know by now, me wife, Leda went in to hospital 2 days before it for major spinal surgery and so of course it was out of the window. She will be in hospital for some time now as she starts the road to recovery right from the basics of learning to walk again. She's an extremely tough cookie and is massively positive. I've decided to attempt to finish my season and carry on racing for a few weeks if possible but of course, looking after Leda has to be my priority. I managed to get back to it at the Ipswich Duathlon, a race I have never done before even though it has been running for years.   The 5k/23k/5k course was surprisingly lumpy for what I thought was a flat area! The first run was taken out hard and my tiredness was evident as I couldn't quite stay with the leading 3. I always had them in sights though and it was young Scott Cousins who was setting the pace at the front. I'd rarely raced Scott before and as it turns out he's a strong biker as well. I worked my way through and caught Scott by the end of the bike leg and we came into T2 together. Scott went hard as we started the final 5k run and opened a gap which was 30 seconds by the time we finished. It was a good win for a really strong up and coming Duathlete and a nice morning out before getting back to Leda in hospital.
7th September 2009  1st, Hillingdon Sprint Duathlon. west London.
                                 Having punctured in the national time trial champs yesterday Monday's final final non drafting Summer Duathlon was my chance to get a bit aggressive and make up for recent mishaps. As it turns out I set what appears to be an unofficial course record for the 1mile/10mile/1mile distance. I felt good actually and it's made me feel back on track. This coming weekend, on the 13th I'm competing in the Derby TRIathlon. Yes- I said TRIathlon! I have to do one TRI on the calendar this year in order to qualify for the national Duathlon league. I was originally under the blissful illusion that all I had to do was finish it but as of today I now know that my points from the tri are added to my du points for the overall. ARGHHHHH!!!! So. I'm off swimming this evening in the hope that I can....well.....swim? Watch this space.           And if there are no more entries in a week or so then can someone please inform my wife and family.
3rd september 2009. Wondering where to race this Autumn and looking for the inside line on some of the best UK Duathlons? If so, have a read of my article on duathlon247.com   just click here:  http://www.duathlon247.com/article_5606_UK+Autumn+duathlon+season+preview.html
1st september 2009      Powerman Austria and UK racing update.     1st Place Bedford Multisport MTB Duathlon

It was a strange Powerman Austria with a strong run and start to the bike and then I was sick on the bike and.....well.... it's probably best to read my column onwww.duathlon247.com where I give a full account of what happened after that! It should be live on the site there very shortly. I returned to the UK determined to make amends for the hardest Duathlon I've ever done by doing (although I didn't know it would be quite like this) the easiest Duathlon I've ever won. It was like two different sports really - from the crowds and television cameras and helicopters of PM Austria to the 8 competitors (yes- I said 8) and I at the Duathlon at Box End Park in Bedfordshire on Saturday. Actually - I didn't really care. I had a great time. I love racing off road and made sure I pushed it really hard especially on the MTB course. I loved the slopes and tight turns; it took me back to me cyclo-cross days as a teenager. Except there was no mud and I could feel my hands. I thought I'd post a couple of pics from PM Austria here instead of spill the beans on how it went. have a look at my 2009 gallery above. Coming up I've got lots of exciting UK races including Helwith Bridge, Ipswich, Friston Forest and Sandy Balls. It's going to be fun.   I hope to see lots of you there (like, more than 8!)
9th August 2009 - Powerman Vlaanderen, Geel, Belgium. 10k/60k/10k.   32nd. (pictures are from the actual race)

                                          It's now Tuesday, two days after Powerman Vlaanderen (Flanders in Flemish) in Geel and predictably, as always with Powerman my legs are killing me and I'm walking downstairs 'crab style'! It's funny because it's not hideously long but the long final run and I suppose the world class field make it so much harder tahn anything else.         Anyway- I'm not exactly over the moon with the result. It became it bit of a survival act once I started the final run. I went into the race seeded 19th by the international powerman association so my goal was to at least live up to my seeding and finish top 20. To be honest I never felt great and I came off the bike in 25th but i was in a group and due to cramping I finished last of that group (except for a couple of guys who dropped out with even worse cramp.) I still came out of the race as best Brit but I have to say that as such i kind of feel like I let the guys down as the womens race saw a British 1-2 with an awsome performance by Emma Dews whio in doing so enters a very Elite group of Powerman winners and then Michelle Parsons who I was so pleased to see finishing in 2nd after such a long comeback from injury. the two of them were awesome so my 32nd, as best male brit in comparison to that is.... well...... crap. The times looked shocking when i saw them as well, seeing that I'd done 36 minutes for the opening 10k but then when i saw that Joerie and the others in the front group had done 33's it made sense. He would usually put 3 minutes into me such is the amazing class of his running so the course was certainly long. I'd say it equates to a 30 something for him and therefore a 33 something for me which is at least some comfort. it would have been the hardest 36 min 10k i'd ever run in my life otherwise! I have to say though - when ever I race in a world cup, particularly in Belgium the standard is SO high. anywhere inside that top 30 the standard is so fast that you can be chewing the bars with effort and yet still making no inroads at all.
               I've got to say a big thank you to the Gillis family in Lembeke who I stayed with before and after the race. Freddie and Karin are awesome and they understand athletes which is so important. An then there's Capilla and Schluba who are..... well,   just mad! While I'm saying thank you's I must also say a massive thanks to Dan McCarthy's brother who handed me up the most beautiful water i jhave ever tasted in all my life and without which I would have died oh and also to teh random family outside their house on the outskirts of the Geel bike course who I shouted "WATER!!!!!" at in a demented way and who nest lap duely obiged. I love you all. Now check out the pictures here. In the one above this report I look in control in the bike (even though I wasn't!) and then below I am lapping a few of the back markers on the run and looking....... well........ the picture speaks for itself. Try a Powerman! You'll love (finishing) it!!

Saturday 18th July The FRF Mazda Gower Duathlon, Wales . 5 / 20/ 3 miles. 2nd place.  (1st Dan McCarthy, 3rd Lee Rankin)
                The Innaugural FRF Mazda Gower duathlon was met with perfect weather to top off the quite spectacular scenery surrounding this breath taking venue. The route to the village of Rhosilli gave a hint of the views and landscape that you would be racing amongst and as there is only one road that winds itï¿½s way out to the tip of the peninsula you knew on arrival exactly which way the bike course would come out and back before winding its way round the hillsides.

Being fairly long in the Duathlon tooth Iï¿½m always keen to try out a new event and Iï¿½m pleased to report that this Duathlon had all the makings of an absolute classic. All too often now the older ï¿½classicï¿½ duathlon courses in the UK are being replaced with ï¿½saferï¿½ options such as closed road circuits and motor racing circuits. The Gower Duathlon is quite different and without ever feeling unsafe you always felt very much amongst the wilderness. Along the bike course there were sheep crossing, horses and their foals wandering around and I even had to slow down for a family of duckings hurredly scuttling across! OK - Iï¿½ll stop waxing about the venue because Iï¿½ll never do it justice. Suffice to say : It has to be seen.

The Longer Duathlon was the first event to start and Leading from the off, Dan McCarthy was clearly running stronger than anyone else as he took a lead. Within the first few metres Lee Rankin and I looked at each other and knew we would have to try to catch him on the bike as he was running far too strongly and so it was that he lead into T1 having done three loops of a run which took us along a cliff top path and around the observation hut at the far end of the cliff face and back. By this stage Nicky Russell of BAD tri was already into a lead in the womens race and this was a lead that she held throughout the race, setting the fastest splits in all three legs before going on to win in 2:03:32 which gave her a near minute victory over Claire Weldon in 2nd place. Such was the standard of these two performances that they also finished 12th and 16th overall respectively. Once out onto the bike it has to be said that there weren't many upsets as the tough bike course reinforced the strength of those who had come to the fore on the first run. The bike leg took in 4 main climbs. Normally, when I read in the pre race bumpf that you just cant help but take in the view during the race I'm inclined to think "no way- I'll be racing too hard!!" but in this instance you just couldn't help yourself. The final run proved just that as it weaved it's way back along the cliff top going in a South Westerly direction and revealing the gem of a view in that direction just as you turn to head back to the finish.

The prize presentation was held at the Worms Head cafe with equally stunning views across the beach. This gave me the opportunity to take in the equally impressive performances that had been turned out in the sprint race where Phil Holland and Lucy Morris had won. It had been a great morning of Duathlon and as one of the few Mid Summer full distance Duathlons I'm hoping it heralds a new era for the sport where organisers continue to provide top quality Duathlons for the ever increasing number of seasoned Duathletes.

Sunday 12th July  Harefield Duathlon. 1st place.
               Today was the final round of the Harefield series and I took what has to be said was an easy win but along the way I enjoyed a battle on the bike with some of the triathletes who were out on the same course.
Saturday 10th July.  getting Busy!     I'm just entering the final phase of my powerman prep ahead of My August powermans in Geel and Austria. All going well it seems. I've got the final Hillingdon Harefield Duathlon tomorrow and then the Gower Duathlon in South Wales next weekend. I'm really looking forward to that actually. I love doing a new race that I've not done before.
                      In the mean time I've added some pre 2004 pics to my gallery. have a look HERE
also- In other news. I have been asked to be a columnist on the much anticipated www.duathlon247.com which is due to be launched very soon. I've already written my first column and it should be there when the site goes live. I must say - I'm massively humbled to be part of the contributers which include Annie Emmerson (editor), Tom lowe, Joerie Vansteelent, Cat Morrison and more.... it's quite some line up and it all adds to what will make the site the premier home of Duathlon online worldwide.


Tuesday 9th June Hawridge International Duathlon. 1st Place
                I was so pleased that I took a late entry to this great event. Last year it was won by a good mate of mine Dan Corner and he'd filled me in on what a hard course it was. It really took me back back as much of the course took in my old training roads across the Chiltern hills. Without sounding big headed my training has gone really well of late and so it was a case of executing things and getting a really hard work out out of it. The run was a classic rural chilterns affair - You passed a farm with barking dogs and a gaggle of squawking Geese along silent evening lanes before running into transition on the Village Cricket Green in Hawridge and to top it off the entry fee included the price of fish and chips which were delivered to the finish area for athletes to devour as they sat around the transition and finish area. Now that's how to do it!
Monday 1st June    Hillingdon summer Duathlon series. 1st place
                Tonight probably had the best field of the series so far with Nick Sasha setting a blistering pace on the first run that I simply couldn't live with. I managed to reel him in and pass him on the bike but it took longer than it has before. his biking has certainly come on. Then I had a bit of a dual with Roger Fowkes on the bike before breaking clear on the final run to win comfortably. I really enjoyed it. I'm enjoying the bike a lot at the moment. Diadora uk have worked hard to help me find the right shoes to fit me perfectly and I have never felt more comfortable than in my Yellow infinity carbons. They're so stiff and yet still really comfortable. check out the whole range at Diadora uk who can be found at www.bob-rock.com or click on the pic below.
       I have to say. It's nice to be winning and I'm really enjoying my racing at the moment but I am really missing my wife, Leda. She's been away for ages. She rode in the 10 day Tour de l'aude in the south of france and is now in Canada where she came 29th in the Montreal world cup on saturday and then is now racing in the tour of Grand Montreal. She's doing really well but boy do I miss her. She's been a continental pro for all 6 years of our marriage but it never gets any easier when she's away in the season. here's a pickie of her in action:
    Have a look at www.ledacox.co.uk for more on her amazing career and where its taken her!
May 24th Harefield Summer Duathlon series round 1 : 1st Place and 50th career duathlon win!
                Admittedly the field was small and there wasn't any great strength in depth but It was great to have one of my own athletes that I coach Carl Ferri up there with me on the run and running well. It was a lovely day: hot and sunny and the lake, woods and Harefield itself were just a joy to behold on a day like that. i was pleased to se that i set the fastest time I've ever done around the two lap bike course. I've been tweaking my position on the bike recently and it's paying off. that's the probelm with being a bike fitter - I never stop tweaking!   Afterwards I went for another couple of hours on the bike with Carl and then stood 9n teh lovely cold lake for 10 mins to cool my legs down and aid recovery.   the funny thing was i was asked not to walk into the shallows of the lake without a life jacket on! Health and safety eh! what is the world coming to? I looked a right plonker standing there with the water up to my thighs in a life jacket. Then again - maybe the guy had heard how bad my swimming is!? hmm...
May5th  New pictures added to my Gallery for 2009.    CLICK HERE....
May 3rd.  Hillingdon May Day Duathlons. 2 / 10/ 1 miles. 1st Place.
               Well, it's nice to be back winning again. I ran well on the first run and then rode really well before running VERY badly on the final run and nearly being caught. It's just one of those things I think. it was my third race in 7 days and the tiredness started to creep in on the final run. It did feel great to be back winning again. it's been hard having to accept being below par this spring but the great thing for Duathletes is that we have two seasons each year really. Come September I have 8 weeks iof great races in the uk which I will aim to be at my best for including the final round of the national series in Cheshire.
               Before then however I have my two biggest goals of the year, Powerman Geel in Belgium and Powerman Austria in August. Here begins the 3 month build up to them. It's a nice time now though as I get to do some other races such as a few road races, some TT's and also the chance to do some more running races. There's still some du's in there as well. At least two a month. ROLL ON SUMMER!!

April 29th  Hullavington Airfield Duathlon 5 / 20/ 2.5 k wiltshire. 2nd
             On a beautiful sunny evening which, for me seemed to hail the start of summer I went head to head with Lee Rankin who had beaten me to the win at the Marlow du earlier this year. Knowing that my form is now getting better all the time I decided to try to do to him what he had done to me at Marlow and put him under pressure on the first run. It was really windy on the airfield and we started down wind so I went hard and three of us got a quick gap. As we turned back into the wind I tried three hard bursts to try to drop Lee and each time he clawed his way back on and although he was breathing hard (we both were) after the third time he cleverly sensed it was his turn and he attacked. having made three attempts I then had no answer and that was the race won there. Once on the bike I went hard to close him down for a lap but was very nearly sick and so had to then go into survival mode. Lee was flying anyway and the best man won in the end, no doubt.
April 25th Oostende Duathlon, Belgian Series.   5k/ 20k/2.5k. 12th
             My second weekend in a row in Belgium and Holland I am out here to do the oostende Du and also to catch Leda in a few races that she is riding with the Great Britain cycling team. Today was a typical day in our lives: up, feed face with fruit and fibre, drive like a maniac from gent to oostende leaving leda to be picked up by team gb. realise I am going to be late and drive faster, arrive with 20 mins to go not having pre entered, enter, rack and warm up all in the same movement and arrive on the line with some of the worlds best duathletes. Start run along seafront, realise that the wind along the seafront is so strong that I have to treat the run as a bike race and form an echelon in the wind, start the bike and start working my way through to 9th. After the bike, get beaten by 3 guys in the sprint at the end of the run, jump in car drive like mad again over the border to holland to see Leda in the Omloop Van Borsele. Ride around the race course and realise that the wind is a lot stronger than I had actually realised, have a glimpsing conversation with Leda after she finished 19th, leave her to drive to our friends, The Gillis's in Lemebeke where I am currently writing this while sipping red wine (recovery properties). It's a hectic way to spend the weekend but I love it. Tomorrow - a long run in the woods in the am and then drive to watch Leda race in Roeslare whist riding around the course, late ferry home to england, crash out, sleep.
April 19th : Powerman Holland (european champs) 21st, Pro Race.   15k/60k/7.5k
I decided to run cionservatively on the first run considering how badly I've been going of late but actually felt better and managed to finish quicker than last year some how. At least I didn't twiost my ankle this year! I had a pretty smooth race. that was until I reached a milestone in my Duathlon career: my first crash in 6 years of duathlon! Well, it wasn't so much a crash as a sliding wipe out as I came into transition landing with the bike on top of me and a pedal in my face! What a plonker. I was soon up though and made up a couple of places on the final run.
April: The rough Patch comes to an end.......... the start to this season has been particularly bad for me. now that legal proceedings are out of the way I can explain why:      Results wise It's been the worst start to the season for years with a 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 8th, DNF and DNS set of results that tell their own story!! Thankfully things look set to improve now.

What has happened is that in January my wife, Leda who is a pro cyclist was suddenly suspended from racing by the French Cycling Federation (she races for a French team) who told her that she had a dangerous heart complaint and that she could die at any moment. The first month was spent going mad trying to see how we could prolong her life, the second was spent seeing various doctors and it was during this time that every single expert cleared Leda as having nothing wrong with her heart and then the last month has been spent fighting the French Federation to overturn their ban on Leda as she had obviously been misdiagnosed. At the end of last week it took us to start a legal case against them for them to admit there was nothing wrong with her and sign her licence saying that she can now continue with her career. During this time she missed many of the monuments of the cycling calendar including the Tour of Flanders two weeks ago.        The bullying tactics of the FFC have taken a toll on both of us. The scary thought is that another rider who perhaps wasn't so wise to the way things are may well have quit and begun living of beta blockers at they told Leda to (we've subsequently found that this could easily have killed her.)
30th March: Hillingdon spring duathlon.   2nd.
                  I'm starting to sound like a grumpy git and would once have been happy with a 2nd place but alas no more! I haven't been able to do this early season Hillingdon circuit race for a few years now and so was looking forward to it. I had a good first run coming in in 1st place and then lost one place on the bike where my poor bike form of late continued. Hillingdon regular Roger Fowkes caught me and then as we got caught in the ground we were lapping I managed to partly loose him and partly just drop back. My lack of drive in the race and general weakness on the bike at the mo is annoying but I put it down to stress I suppose. I've had a lot on my plate recently and haven't exactly been sleeping well but hey ho! At least I'm well and out there enjoying it I suppose. I was pleased to learn on my return that my Avia team mate Dave Mitchinson had come 3rd in the first round of the ITU Duathlon world cup in Thailand. Go Dave!
next weekend is the Nationals at Emberton park. Time to rub the bike form Genie lamp and see if I can rustle something up. I'm off at 7:45 am. ahem... excuse me but....    AAAAAAAAARHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!
26th March: Marlow Duathlon : 3rd.
                  The wheels are turning (slowly) as I start to find my racing legs! I came to the Marlow Duathlon with the dual intention of getting back to winning ways and beating my times from when I won the event in 2007. Well, even below par I went faster but I was beaten by Lee Rankin and Andrew Mercer fair and squarely. I have to say I felt solid throughout but as I have been a lot recently I was seemingly stuck in third gear. Lee was awesome. He was really flying and looking in good form and he took to race lead from the off.   The run and bike sections were picturesque and challenging as always and the varied terrain on the run is something I always like. It was nice to see an old team mate of mine, Fiona Ford winning the womens race to.   The weather turned out perfect again and it made my training ride afterwards all the better as I retraced old ground where I used to train when I was younger up and over Stokenchurch.   If you've never ridden the Chilternc limbs of Stokenchurch, Bledlow Ridge, Monks and Kopp then you should. I discovered them all in my late teens when I first rode the 'tour of the Chilterns' classic road race and boy are they hard. They're hard in a 'lets build a road that goes straight over this hill' kind of way as opposed to the far more sensible continental style of zig zagging roads up hills. Either way - by the evening it's safe to say I was pooped!
               As for this weekend it's along ride Saturday as part of my Powerman prep followed by a crazy short sprint Duathlon at Hillingdon and some more bike miles afterwards on Sunday. Good luck if you're out and about! Enjoy!
9th March: Clumber Park National Duathlon series round 1: 8th Place

In the week since my 1485 win I came down with a cold. I had gone out and done a hard bike session straight after the race on Sunday and who knows - maybe I pushed it to hard? Anyway, by Friday i thought I was better and so decided to get up at 4am on Saturday and drive the 3 hrs up to Clumber park in nottinghamshire and see how I went in the Clumber park Duathlon. I was 2nd last year having been leading until late on in the final run and so this year I decided that anything less than first was a failure. I ran sluggishly having done nothing all week with the cold, Biked solidly but slowly with only the 4th fastest bike split and then ran just as poorly on the final run so as you can probably tell I was not happy with it but still.....
        The next day I went out for a long ride with Leda and Darren Treadaway and we headed over to the Chiltern Hills for some hard miles. It proceeded to plie down with rain and we got drenched and VERY cold and so now I'm suffereing with an even worse cold! boo hooooo. Anyway- there were some good pics from saturday's race which are here and I should say a massive well done to Matt Moorhouse who won and Lee Piercy who was absolutely flying. well done guys - i could only look on in discomfort. Great racing. I must now go and attend the cheese factory in my head.

1st March: 1485 Duathlon, Market Bosworth : 1st Place

          1st Duathlon and 1st win of the year!     Yesterday's 5/21/5k race up in Leicestershire was great. The course was great and the weather was perfect. I've never raced there before and one of my aims this year is to do as many du's that I haven't done before as possible. I had some fast company on the first run which traced it's way around the picturesque lake (above) and things were a bit too close for comfort after what I felt was a disappointing 5k from me so I got out my can opening and set about opening a can of woop-ass on the bike section. I enjoyed the course and went on to win and beat Maltese national champion Dermot Galea's course record.   The 1485 tri club put on a great event in the sun and showed that sometimes simple events are actually the best.       Next stop Clumber Park and my aim is to get revenge for missing out on the win having been leading until the last kilometer on the final run. We'll see. It's early season yet and form is.....unpredictable..... could be awesome....could be awful.....
22nd Feb: North Road Hardriders TT.
               I like to use the North Road hardriders TT as an early season marker to he how my bike form is. The conditions this Sunday were perfect. Nice and mild and everything was in place for what I had hoped would be a top 10 ride but an off day coupled with one of the strongest hardriders entries I have ever seen mean I finished down in 19th which I have to say was disappointing. Still, I can take consolation from the fact that I was the first multi-sporter but even still I never actually felt on top of things in the event. It was won by an old mate of mine, Simon Gaywood who races for the Corley Cycles team. i had the pleasure of riding alongside Simon in a composite English team in the Tour de la Manche in the 2002 season at the end of my road racing days and he's a top bloke so I was pleased to see him win. I'm entered for the 1485 Duathlon up at Market Bosworth this Sunday so that's the start of my Duathlon season. Not sure how it will go. It's always a bit of a guessing game untill a few races down the line.     Here we go - another year of crazy early starts, pain, sweat, victories, defeats, fun and memories. Bring it on!
17th Feb: Clocking up the miles in the Black Mounatains in Wales.          Leda and I are staying in a hotel in an old mining town called Blackwood about 20 mins drive from Newport. It's gorgeous and the training is ideal if a little bit too steep in places. It's great for running but I am on my TT bike and so I've been climbing crazy steep hills on my TT bike which should be good practice for the North Road hardriders TT this coming Sunday!                          On the way down here we stopped and stayed a night in Birdlip in the Cotswolds. It was a hotel that Leda had booked on the spur of the moment without really having a clue where it was but as soon as she said 'Birdlip' I knew EXACTLY where it was! The climb up into Birdlip has been etched on my mind (and lungs) ever since I rode the 120 mile Tour of the Cotswolds road race as a 19 year old. The climb is about 2 k long and is viciously steep. To make things worse it came 5 miles into the 120 mile race. Needless to say the first 5 over the top were the first 5 across the line 115 miles later. It was nice to re-acquaint myself with an old foe and to it on my TT bike too! Here's a tip. If you're planning to ride it - Don't.
9th Feb:  220 Triathlon Awards 2009: Thanks again to all those of you that voted for me. On the day I came 3rd behind David Vaughan and the current world champion, Paul Amey. It was great to catch up with loads of buddies from the world of tri and du and I was lucky enough to be sat between the future of women's tri and the current Queen of women's Tri with 13 year old multiple national champion Sky Draper to my left and Ironman world champion Chrissy Wellington to my right so I was in good company!
27th Jan:  Announcement:  Cycling Shoe Sponsor: Diadora UK

This season, Bob Rock ltd in Battersea who are the sole importers of Diadora cycling wear to the UK are supplying me with some world class and might I say rather sexy footware. I will be racing in the Speedracer Carbon R (see below...)which although not a tri specific shoe is remarkably quick to get into and is super stiff and light. Much more importantly though they look COOL. see www.diadoracycling.co.uk for the full range.
              I don't want to get them dirty though......
20th January:     Many Thanks to any of you who voted for me in the category as 'Best Duathlete' in the recent 220 Magazine awards. I've been told by the magazine that I'm in the top three and am therefore going to the awards at Sandown park as part of the TCR show there in 2 weeks.  www.tcrshow.com for more info.
Whilst at the show I'll also be promoting my run sponsor Avia on their stand so feel free to some over and chat (so long as you bring good esspresso....!) I'm also down to do the 10k on Sunday morning. I'm not expecting anything special. It's more an early training session. I'm coming with my Avia team mate Dave Mitchinson. He will win. No pressure Dave...

11th January:  loads of new PHOTOS added from previous years.....     click on gallery above or click here...
9th January:   Take Aim!  I've decided my main goals for 2009. They are:
To aim for top 10 place in: Powermans: Holland (Euro Championships), Luxembourg, Belgium (Geel) and Austria. Then top 10 overall in world rankings.
and : Podium in British national Duathlon Champs.
There are a few smaller goals and I could tell you but then I'd have to kill you!     It looks liek it will all be kicking off properly at the Clumber Park Duathlon again having done a few smaller dus in the build up. This year I will be aiming to win rather than losing the race in the last kilometre as I did last year!
6th January:  I'm delighted to say that Body Limit Gym in St Albans have agreed to support me again in 2009 with free membership. Abs and Danny at Body limit run a gym that is well equipped enough to cater for the truely hardcore gym user right through to the complete beginner. Their advice, facilities and above all price can't be beaten in St Albans.    Thanks guys.   Coming to the gym knocks heaps off my ego every time I come in as I am officially the puniest guy there by a long way!
   www.bodylimitgym.co.uk
2nd January 2009:   Happy New Year! Here's hoping all your sporting and personal dreams come true in 2009!
15th December:             I've been shortlisted as a finalist in the 220 Triathlon awards as 'Duathlete of the year' but of course, I won't win it unless people vote for me so in a shameless effort of self promotion - vote for me! The category is about 5th into 20 categories but it doesn't take long. Thanks for your support,     jez    (just click on the link below to begin voting)
http://www.originpublishing.co.uk/questions.asp
29th November: I'm working on a UK Duathlon Forum to bring together the Uk Duathlon community. No wet suits or goggles allowed! Check it it's fledgling roots here...www.britishduathlon.com
26th November: My New and up to date Sponsors page! I'm so blessed to be involved with such a great bunch of companies who support me. Click on the 'Sponsors' tab above to read all about them and how I use them to further my cause and theirs. ok... I'll save you the hassle....Just click here....
20th November: In 2009 my feet will be graced by AVIA running shoes.
AVIA are in the middle of a massive revival in the UK having been one of the foremost running shoe companies in multisport history. In 2009 I will be mostly wearing the AVIA Bolt racing flat, The AVIA Trail and the AVIA Avi-trainer. Here they are:   Nice......


7th November: New sponsors and shiney new kit to come.... oooooooooooooh.......
      I'm pleased to announce that Fisher Outdoor Lesiure will be supplying me with some funky new gear in 2009. Fisher, who import Look, MET and Sram to name just a few of their top brand are based just around the corner from me in St Albans and I'm really looking forward to benefiting from the quality of their latest products including wheels, helmets and glasses. Check out all the goodies which they not only import but also sell through their website at www.fisheroutdoor.co.uk

11th October: Well. Carsington may well have been the end of my 2008 season! Since then I've developed a cold and here we are 6 days later and my head has become a green cheese factory. Not nice! So I wont be racing tomorrow at the Fast and the Furious Duathlon in Kent. Instead I've been invited by my sponsors Bike and Run london to go to the bike show at Earls Court in London to check out the Bianchi's that they are displaying there.
Meanwhile yesterday to pass the time I started adding more pictures to my gallery section. Click gallery above to see more...
5th October: Carsington Duathlon- 2nd. In honest truth I was well and truely beaten by a good mate, Joel Jameson of TFN race team who beat me by nearly 3 minutes overall. It was a horrible day in Derbyshire with hammering rain and blustery winds. As always the weather felt different up on Middleton Top and the decents were lethal. Anyone who knows the Carsington/Ashbourne course which is probabaly now the most famous course in British Duathlon will know that the descents are pretty rough and the surface is bad. To make it wose this time they were wet and the worst of them was like a mine field littered with conkers!       It was great to have one one my best buddies, Mike Jubb pushing me on on the first run. we came into T1 together and it was great to be running with him as well as to see him back in the Duathlon fold after quite a few injuries and a season build around Ironman. Despite the weather and Joel wopping me I really enjoyed the race. It's one of those races thateveryone would love to win. If you look back at the names that have won on that course over the years then you would see why. Even the late great Vansteelant is on there. As for Joel- He beat me to into 2nd place at my first event of the year and now again at the end so it somehow seems fitting but even still, in an entirely sporting manner-"next year you're meat Jameson. You're going down!".
28th September: My third win in one week! Today I won the Stanford Hall Duathlon near Loughborough by leading from start to finish. The form seems to be coming on nicely. It made me look look back and see how many duathlon wins I have now and I was staggered to see that it's 47! The question is, can I make 50 with the 4 races I have left this year: Carsington, Fast and the Furious, Friston Forest and Sandy Balls. It's a big ask but it'll be fun trying!
25th September: Another win! my second of the week! I won the Silverstone Duathlon on the Porche test track on wednesday night after a 2 mile 10 mile 2 mile battle with some strong runner bikers. I was pleased because I have really improved my final leg this year. All those sessions of running hard off the bike are starting to pay off! Report coming...
22nd September: A Win! Nice to be back in the habit yesterday when I won the Maidstone Duathlon in Kent for the third year running.  Click here to read more.....
16th September: London Duathlon (Elite race) : Absolute failure. I ran like a muppet and pulled out on the first run. No good. Just one of those days. In reality it was probably a bit early after coming back from my cold to be running so fast. Don't click here and don't read anything......
15th September: 2 Updates in one with a round up of all my summer racing and then a sneak look at my new kit which might just arrive in time for the end of the 08 season! Click Here........
31st August 2008: Well! That's quite some gap since my last installment! Since then I've had another website which didn't quite work out and I've had a lot of racing, training and ups and downs. Click here to read my update.
25th June: Check out my new bike from Bike and Run (www.bikeandrun.com) Ouch! She's nice isn't she. Unraced as yet but soon to be broken in. It's an Orbea (how could you tell!?) Orca and it's so much lighter and stiffer than any TT bike I've ridden before. Nice eh?

5th June: Recovering from the Benny Vansteelant memorial World Duathlon Cup Race in Belgium. I was 20th in the pro race.
                       Click here for my report on it and some terrible pics!....
26th May: Building towards the Duathlon World cup in Belgium next weekend......
25th May: Welcome to new site! Those of you who saw the old one will appreciate just how much better this looks! Anyway- It's taken me all afternoon to get this far so I'll start adding more as the week goes by...... (bet you can't wait!)
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