Our friend Shawn Bostad, who runs the PAC (Pure Austin Coaching) came out to the Sweet & Twisted Duathlon a couple of weeks ago and was kind enough to send us a copy of his race report. Shawn is an amazing athlete (he was the overall winner!) and we hope you'll enjoy reading about his race experience!
Sweet & Twisted Duathlon
09/13/2009
Let me first start off by saying that the Sweet and Twisted Duathlon put on by Red Licorice Events is the most fun that I’ve had at a race in a long time. The event and the venue were perfect, not to mention that there wasn’t a spec of rain. This is truly phenomenal considering that only 100 miles away in Austin; they were getting 6+ inches. It was torrential in Austin.
The race weekend actually started a day early for me. My plan was to head out to Flat Rock Ranch and camp out the night before the event. The drive out to Flat Rock Ranch takes you through some really pretty hill country territory and was very peaceful. It’s only about 95 miles from Austin.
I left sometime after 4 and made it to Flat Rock Ranch about 5:45. When I reach the ranch, I was immediately impressed by the facility. There were plenty of campsites to choose from, the views were spectacular and the plumbing was tip top, which meant hot showers for everyone.
I set my tent up next to some fellow racers and Red Licorice Brand Ambassadors. They were great neighbors and very welcoming.
While setting up my gear, I came to find out that everyone who had gotten to the pre race events on time were actually finishing up with the festivities down by the start and finish area. The festivities consisted of a judged Dress in Drag and bike race competition, a slow ride race. Slowest rider from point A to point B wins, without track standing and then they capped the evening of events off with a Beer mile and the winning time was just over seven minutes set by Ron Perry. For those who aren’t aware, you have to drink a beer for every 400 meters that you run. That’s 4 beers in 1 mile. Nice job Ron!
It was a great party atmosphere, but was completely professional and organized.
As the evening wore on, I got sleepy and went to bed. There was racing to do the next morning at 9:00am.
The next morning was an easy rise. A 9:00am start is late and was right up my alley. As people were driving in and unloading MT. bikes for the race, I slipped on my Pure Austin Coaching racing gear. Check out the pictures at Jake North Photography. The race was an Off Road Duathlon, which would consist of a 4 mile run, 12 mile bike, followed by another 4 mile run.
There were two races taking place, the Syk Bastard and the Sweet Course. I would be racing the Syk Bastard course.
I was excited to get out and test my legs. I hadn’t raced in a while due to an injury suffered to the old knees.
The race started off pretty quick for me and I was immediately running pretty hard. The run was raced completely on trail, which is right up my alley and I knew that as the trail became more technical that I’d be able to accelerate a bit. I love technical trail.
I was eventually able to pad a gap between myself and the second place runner about a mile into the course. At this point the trail began to climb a bit and I was running hard, but still controlled. However, I did wonder how long I’d be able to maintain my pace since I hadn’t raced in a while.
The run continued on and was very beautiful. It twisted you around a small hill on the ranch and eventually spit you back into the start finish area where you would perform your first transition.
I came into the transition area in first and an unknown distance ahead of the second place runner. I was headed off to start the Mt. Bike portion of the race, which would only be my second time on a Mt. Bike and my first time racing on one. I was lucky enough to have an amazing bike to ride that I borrowed from Beto Boggiano, the owner of Pure Austin Fitness.
The bike course started off with some climbing, but nothing too long. It elevated my HR, but I eventually regained control as the course became more technical and my handling was not up to par with my fitness.
During the bike course I was smiling for the majority of it. I was truly having fun and enjoying the amazing scenery being offered up by the Hill Country and Flat Rock Ranch. The course was hilly and technical and offered up a multitude of fun and hair raising descents. I’m definitely hooked.
I finally made it through the bike course in under an hour and transitioned onto the second run
of the day. It was the same course as the first four mile run so I was already familiar with what was in store. I almost matched my time on the second run and came through the finish line in just over 1:55:00. It was a blast. This was my first off road Duathlon and will certainly not be my last.The day came to a close with the awards, beer, cupcakes and amazing BBQ.
Red Licorice Events really know how to put on a race. I must say that everything was very professional. The entertainment was entertaining. The food was great and the venue was spectacular. I would definitely recommend racing in any and all of their future events.
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