The venue for my first race was the Olympic park next to the velodrome in East London.

It was a sunny day although there was a strong gusty wind throughout.

The wind was so strong that during the race my supporters spotted a toddler being blown of her feet, sadly no one caught it on camera so I won’t be getting a cheque from Harry Hill any time soon.

On the day of the day of the duathlon I was really nervous because it was my first time racing.

Before we started my fingers were really cold but that was soon forgotten as the race got underway. The first run was a two lap circuit of a hilly track (I was thankful that I trained on Richmond hill). I finished the run in 4th not far behind the leader as I began the transition to the bike. I was particularly nervous about the transition but it went to plan.

Unfortunately, that’s where it all went downhill, on the back straight my pedal came off and I was forced to stop. I was off the bike for what felt like a year as the marshal came to my assistance. And once everybody had gone past not once,twice but three times my pedal was back on. I managed to pass three riders although they were already laps ahead.

I started the run still in last place with 600 metres to go, the wind was still strong and the final straight was directly into it. I managed to pass one person and so didn’t finish my first race in last place!

Having got that one out of the way, I came home and signed up to Hillingdon at the end of the month.

1. Always check your bike before the race starts
2. Keep count of how many laps/lengths you do
3. Don’t use all your energy in the first event

Race report by Freddie, Optima Tristar