1st in Mellieha AC Sprint Duathlon

Hi Everyone,

On the 19^th April I was on the starting line of The Sprint Duathlon which was organised by Mellieha AC at Dingli cliffs and consisted of a 5km run, 20km bike and a 2.5km Run. I was looking for a strong performance as I wanted to make my intentions of challenging for honours very clear victory, particularly in the quest to win back the forthcoming National Duathlon Championships

I went immediately into the lead by setting a very fast pace. Nobody could match my pace. I wanted to open a good gap which I managed to do so however I was closely followed by a British triathlete Richard Backstorm. I came in first in T1 covering the 5km in 16.50 with only 10seconds lead on Richard Backstorm. I did not know anything about Backstorm but kept calm. I wanted to test him to see what his potential was on the day. I went to tackle the 20km at a very high pace trying to open a gap between us. I managed to do so as I was increasing my lead. However it was being threatened by club team mate Wayne Spiteri who was having a storming Bike segment.

I came in T2 with 20seconds lead on Wayne Spiteri and 1mins on Backstrom.   However none of the two could match my fast running pace as he covered the last 2.5km in 8mins to win my 3^rd Race of the season in 58.31 which is a new course record by 7mins. Wayne Spiteri managed to hold on to 2^nd position to finish the race in 59.13 to complete a one –two for Birkirkara SJ. Backstrom came home in third place in 59.40

I am really satisfied with my performance. Duathlons are not my forte but this result shows that I am in a very good shape and am looking forward for the Duathlon Championships and get back the title I  lost last year due to an injury . The fast pace I managed to sustain throughout the whole race and the 7mins course record make my intention of challenging for the honours very clear.

A big well done goes to my athlete Anatoly Gatt for setting a new personal best on this course by a massive 12mins. Well done mate. So happy for you. Keep them coming!!!!! For this race I had a new running racer shoes. I used the Scott Rocker Racer for this race. I found it very light and comfortable. Although its a racer shoes it has a good cushioning to avoid the impact which is very rare in racer shoes. Although it has a good cushioning it is still very very light. I am pleased to have bought such a good running shoes and in fact found it so good that managed to set the fastest running splits in both runs.

I would like to thank my brother coach Dermot Galea, my swimming coach Catalin Stan, my parents and my wife’s parents for their support. Thanks so much to my sponsors Garmin Malta, BBB bike Parts Malta, Jaycee Malta, Malta Challenge Marathon, and Starbene Shop of Mosta for their support, and my club Birkirkara St Joseph for their support. Last but not least, big thanks go to my wife Elizabeth for being by my side all the time leading up to such an important event for me. Here support is fundamental for me and without her I cannot produce such a great performance as I did. Here presence during races gives me so much comfort and strength that I will be able to express myself to the best of my abilities in races.

That’s all for now

Yours in Sport

Keith