Oddman Duathlon in NJ: can I do it?

sloutre

Barefooters
Aug 7, 2010
324
5
18
Hi,



I know nothing about triathlon or duathlon but I found this race nearby, on March 26th, and it looks like a lot of fun (see description below).

It's [font="Arial, Helvetica"]5K trail run - 10 miles mountain bike ride - 5K trail run[/font]

My question is how much bike training would I need to complete the race and have fun? I don't mind finishing last. The 2010 winner finished in 1h20 and the 54th and last one in 2h57.

I have a bike. It's a little small for me and I need to replace 1 brake handle. It's a pretty cheap 15 speed mountain bike (I paid $12, so I have what I paid for I guess).

As far as running goes I run 10 miles on my long run on weekends, but mostly on roads, not much or trails so far.



If the duathlon is out of the question I can always register for the 5k...but I think I don't like that distance, 5k is what it takes me to warm up.

http://www.oddman135.com:

The whole idea here is to do something off beat, fun, and to try to get away from the over-structured, flat, fast courses and races that we all see so much of. Don't plan on setting a PR on this course; the only thing you can truly plan on is getting very wet and very dirty!

Race Course
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5K RUN - Cross country run (1 loop) with a few difficult climbs, streams and brooks, assorted paths, wildlife, rocks, logs, and lots of mud. We recommend strongly that you wear shoes with good support.


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10 MILE BIKE - Two 5-mile loops. A combination of fire roads, single track, and at least two really tough climbs (can you say "The Wall"?, lots of mud, streams, lakes (one with a bridge, one without). You MUST wear your ANSI/Snell helmet on your head AT ALL TIMES on your bike. Your helmet will also serve as a flotation device in case of a water landing!

 
Not very much, you could

Not very much, you could probably get away with riding once or twice a week till the race. Do a couple low gear rides up hill just to get a feel for it. There is a big difference between road riding and trail riding. So do some trail rides when you can. I would kind of train the way the race goes, or run then jump on a bike, or vice versa. It does look like fun though.