Kincardine 2017 Race Reports: Julie’s Story, #kwt2017

by Julie M

Reflections on my first duathlon ever are mixed and embedded with my own approach to life of not necessarily reading the directions! 

I was not that committed to the race but I was up and it was paid for and what else was I doing on a Saturday morning, right? So off we went for the 2 hour drive from home to arrive at the registration tents at 8:20 am. (Just as a note the cut off for registration was 8:30 so in my world we were there with plenty of time.) 

The women staffing the tent seemed distracted and handed me my number and sent my tag to be ripped for a prize draw. I was quickly passed a bag and a shirt and almost dropped it all on the ground. These facts will be important later. After this I went and took my bike to the place marked ‘Bikes In.’ 

I then went to the washroom where I realized there was some organization to the bikes and I was in the wrong place but no worries. I moved my bike to the right place and tried to figure out where to go. Then I realized something was missing … chip yes the chip! As well everyone else was marked up with numbers and I was not and it was now 8:45 – 15 minutes to race time. 

No worries I figured I was here and I had my t-shirt and this is half the battle. A kind woman assisted me in getting my chip which after a great deal of back and forth and then the MC announcing and calling for chips and more back and forth I was chipped and marked. I thanked the kind woman who assisted me and we talked for a bit. She was originally from London and had 3 children who were all present to cheer her on. She was wanting to stay fit for her children and to be a good role model and she asked me if I was ready, trained and prepped…my response ‘well it’s just a 3 k run and a 12 km bike, that’s doable’ and she mentioned another 3 k run but I was unclear as the announcer came up to state the race was about to start.

The weather was cooler than I expected and I was grateful for opting out of the swim. Lake Huron is a force on a good day and today it was choppy, lots of white tops, the wind was my friend. (Again, this will be important later.) The run started good I held back and did not want to make the error of other races and blow my energy in the first km! It was a quick and beautiful run along the lake the water, trees, birds, butterflies and locals all out to cheer you on. 

I finished my run strong and started the biking and there is a quick uphill and you are off on a long cool out and back. It was amazing the ride was nice going to the ‘1/2 way mark’ and at this point I thought they made an error as it should have said ‘3/4 of the WAY’ but it was good. I saw a sign that said ‘Pedal to the Medal’ and figured these are just things I need to let go funny errors in spelling and comments are par for the course as you race away. 

As I turned back the wind picked up but as I stated the WIND IS YOUR FRIEND perhaps the kind that you don’t always want to hang out with but I was embracing the unexpected and just seeing what came with, no judgement. I saw the trail run as I headed back and thought ‘wow there are a lot of people on that run’ and then I started to ponder the comment of the woman who assisted me with the chip and the 1/2 way mark and as I headed back the last couple of km of the bike ride expecting my medal and my banana I realized as I came off my bike that there was another 3 km run. 

So SURPRISE but everyone was cheering and telling me to hurry and I, like a teenager suffering from severe peer pressure, looked to Steve and said ‘I think there is another 3 km run’ he smiled and said ‘why yes there is’ and Charlotte had her sign and I was dumping my bike and now I was running passing the chip marker on the final 3 km run.

So I think there are times that it is good to read the directions of putting things together and knowing what to expect is good; however, in this case I think this was good. All races are like lessons. Some are amazing and you surprise yourself and others surprise you with another 3 km run! I embraced that as the women that ran past me with their age numbered legs at 53, 57 and 60 were inspiring and defeating but I was amazed at their stamina. I felt a bit better with the early 30 somethings going by but I embraced my marked 43 with pride.

Overall, I highly recommend this race for anyone at any level. The energy and the challenge are amazing. Small towns are a gift of community that I miss coming from London and afterwards when I ordered breakfast the familiar ‘Are you’se guys ready to order?’ reminded me of my Grandmothers home