Two-time reigning European duathlon champion Catriona Morrison calls herself a natural at the sport. But natural talent is only part of the formula for her success. She’s currently training up to three times a day for the World Championships in Edinburgh, and says that at 33 years of age, she is in her prime.

“In duathlon and long distance triathlon that I’m now doing you see most of the women out there are around about my age,” says Morrison. “Between 30 to 36 seems to be a great window. That’s what’s great about endurance sports. It’s not all about the young bucks.”

The World Championships in September will bring thousands of the world’s top athletes to Britain and let amateurs up to 80 years of age compete. “It’s really humbling for me to see someone in the 75 to 80 year category,” Morrison says. “You look at these people and you think “that is fantastic.” If I have that in me at 80, then God help me.”

Despite the wide age range, duathlon is relatively unknown. It is not an Olympic sport nor are there many duathlon nations. The sport can best be described as a triathlon minus the swimming. Duathletes must run, then bike, and run once more consecutively. A competition can last anywhere from an hour to 4.5 hours, depending on the course. Morrison will be competing in the standard distance which takes around two hours and consists of a 10K run, 40K bike ride, and a 5K run. The event is longer than most people’s workouts for a week, but Morrison says the first half is a warm up.

“I actually like to run after I’ve been on the bike. For me I think, for whatever reason, my body tends to warm up quite nicely on the bike. I’m nice and crisp for the run. And quite often you’ll find that my personal best time for running 10k stand alone isn’t that much different from running 10k after I’ve been on the bike. So, it’s almost as if I use it for a warm up.”

Training

Morrison didn’t always think of a 40K bike ride as a warm up. She took up bike riding when she was in university after she injured her knee running. She ended up needing knee surgery and bike riding helped her to recover and rest the knee. She joined her university’s triathlon team, which had a larger following than duathlon. The transition to duathlon, she said though, was fairly easy.

“People train for triathlons by doing duathlons and the equipment is exactly the same. Duathlon I think is a little bit harder because doing two runs is quite difficult. But it’s really dependent. I find triathlon quite hard because I find I have to work really hard on my swimming.”

It’s easier to understand why Morrison can now call a 40k bike ride a warmup, when you consider her training regimen. She does anywhere between one and three training sessions in a day, which include swimming, running and biking.

Training for and competing in duathlon is literally a full time job for Morrison. She’s got her eye on the World Championships’ 75,000 EUR prize money which is to be awarded to the top 15 athletes in the Senior Elite races. Considering the championships are on the same course where she won the 2007 European title, she’s got a good chance of walking away with a handsome part of that.

Taking Part

One of the best aspects of duathlon, Morrison says, is that it can be done year-round. Since there’s no swim portion like in triathlon, the winter weather doesn’t stand in the way of competitions. For those who want to take up duathlon for the first time, Morrison suggests starting on the sprint course, which is more manageable than the standard long distance courses.

“As long as you have a road worthy bike and a helmet and a pair of running shoes, you’re good to go,” Morrison says. “Also to be honest there’s usually such a wide spread of people getting involved that you’re not going to be dead last.”

“In triathlon if you’re a good swimmer, you can get yourself quite a nice lead going into the run. And similar in duathlon, if you’re a strong runner you might find yourself a little bit ahead going into the biking element.”

She also suggests heading up to Edinburgh for the World Championships on September 3-5. The event is free and situated in Holyrood Park. The biking portion loops around the spectacular Arthur’s Seat, making for easy viewing. By seeing an event first hand you will really get a feel for it and hopefully get inspired!

All duathlon and triathlon events are listed on the British Triathlon Federation website www.britishtriathlon.org ^[1]

After the Race

Even though Morrison is in her prime, she knows it won’t last forever. “I would like to be involved until I get to the stage where I think I’ve maximized my potential. That’s really what inspires and motivates me every day,” she says.

Once her competition days are over, she’d like to spend more time promoting sport, a cause to which she already dedicates her spare time. She adds, “I’d really like to be involved in promoting physical activity. I do a lot of work right now in going into schools and explaining what I do as an athlete and explaining the health benefits and also the personal benefits you get from being competitive. I’d like to continue to do that.”

Danielle Sellwood, Sportsister
The Women’s Sports Magazine

More info on the 2010 Edinburgh Duathlon World Championships can be found at: www.edinburghduathlon2010.com ^[2]