Contrino, Foustok shine in Riyadh Triathletes duathlon race

Last weekend the Riyadh Triathletes club hosted their second duathlon of the season. Thirty-nine competitors took part in an event that consisted of a 5km run, a 20km bike ride and a further 3km run.
Although the club’s duathlons are always hosted at the same location, this race differed from the first because it opened with a 5km-running route that shared the road with the initial section of the cycling circuit. The course led runners through a one-kilometer tree-lined avenue followed by a short steep climb before it opened out to a gentler incline towards the 2km water station. At this point, runners turned and wound their way back to the shelter of the lower valley and unlike most races, runners ran through transition and continued for a further two kilometers. Despite very hot temperatures, the top three runners all managed run times of less than 20 minutes. (Mo Foustok 19:04, Gaeton Contrino 19:13, Gary McGregor 19:25). Once back at the transition area, where their bikes were primed and ready for action, participants mounted and started on three laps of the cycle circuit. The route began with a long, fast straight with a very tight left hand turn, which lead into a leg-sapping short climb. Any power that was left in the cyclist’s legs was steadily drained on a constant climb to the turning point at the top of the hill. The return, downhill-section allowed speed to be gained by those who were skilled, and brave enough to throw themselves around the sweeping blind bends, which often revealed weary riders still suffering on the climb.
At the end of three circuits, everyone except the club chairperson, (who took a tumble at one of the turns), survived the 20km ride and had begun the final three-kilometer run while trying to shake off their “jelly legs” (a feeling brought about by the use of different leg muscles between riding and running). Gaeton Contrino was first into transition two (33:14), with Carola von Skwarczinsky (34:41), partnered with Gary McGregor, finishing in second place over a minute later, and Nasser Almutrad (35:14) improving on his fourth place in run-leg one to finish in third place, exactly two minutes behind Contrino.
Mo Foustok showed his prowess in the run by completing leg two with the fastest time of 10:33, with McGregor (10:48) moving up to second place, pushing Contrino (11:14) into third place. Although there was a lot of high-speed action at the front end of the race, a special mention goes out to the persistent warriors who kept going as the day heated up and recorded a finishing time in excess of two hours. Congratulations for completing this challenging event go to Jane White 02:00:07(F-V), Jean Pierre Lagedec (M) 02:05:52, Raul Romani (M) 02:06:31 and Gavin Lee (O) 02:08;01.
Riyadh Triathletes would like to thank their sponsors Carrefour @5 Le Mall, for their support during the season. Join Riyadh Triathletes on Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/RiyadhTriathletes, Twitter: @RTriathletes
Results:
Category A: 1st: Gaeton Contrino (V) 01:04:45, 2nd: Gary McGregor/Carola von Skwarczinsky (O) 01:05:29, 3rd: Nasser Almutrad (O) 01:09:48, 4th: Gerd Mueize (O) 01:12:17, 5th: Dave Wright (O) 01:12:53
Category B: 1st: Freda Gocian (V) 01:30:37, 2nd: Fiona Nichol (V) 01:32:14, 3rd: Jane White 02:00:07