Duffy conquers duathlon test
Wednesday February 17 2010
WHEN Dromiskin athletics club St Peter's AC was re-established in 1986, one of the founding members was Maria Mackin, a leading young heptathlete and hurdler.
Now known as Maria Duffy, she is still active in the sport and in the club all these years later. Ever one to seek out a new challenge, last Sunday she made her debut as a duathlete.
The occasion was the first in a series of duathlon races organised by Dundalk-based Setanta Triathlon Club, and consisted of a 3.2km run followed by a 19km cycle and finally another 3.2km run.
The course was quite a challenging one, as the event was held in the hilly terrain around Ravensdale. However the competitors were fortunate to be favoured by benevolent weather conditions.
Maria completed the race in an overall time of 1 hour 13 minutes 14 seconds. This was an excellent performance and resulted in her being the first woman home in the 40 to 49 age category.
She completed the first 3.2km run in 15:19, then cycled 19km in 38:52 and finished off with a 16:17 for the second run.
When interviewed after the race Maria was very pleased with her performance, although she remarked: 'I found the jelly legs so strange when having to run again after the bike ride.'
