Endurance athletes push the pace at duathlon

By Cayman Sports Buzz
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Updated: 19 September 2016

As many relished the opportunity to sleep in on Sunday morning, around 100 athletes were gathering at the crack of dawn for the Cayman Islands Duathlon.

Taking on a new route this year, the race began with a two-mile run along Yacht Drive, followed by a 12-mile bike ride on a route along the Esterly Tibbetts Highway, and ending with another two-mile run.

The field was made up of 67 individuals and 13 teams. One of the teams, Breakaway, lived up to its name to cross the finish line at Cayman Islands Yacht Club first in 52 minutes, 40.7 seconds. Matt Volkwyn did the running, while Daniel Cummings did the cycling.

Volkwyn ensured Breakaway led from the start.

Daniel Cummings kept the lead for Breakaway.

“I tried to get a head start while it was still cooler – the sun hadn’t come up – so I tried to get as good a start as possible. I started very fast and tried to maintain the pace to give Danny a good lead,” said Volkwyn. His first run was more than a minute faster than anyone else.

“I knew from the start nobody was catching Matt. I just tried to push it,” Cummings said. “I just keep a consistent effort. There were a couple of guys coming up behind, so I pushed the last leg and we were a bit more comfortable coming in.”

Stuart Bray, who has had a good run in recent months, continued to show good form, being the first solo athlete to finish, trailing only the Breakaway team to the line. He finished the course in 55 minutes, 36.2 seconds.

Stuart Bray was the first solo finisher.

“It was much quicker than I did it last year. There are a lot of good athletes here, lots of good runners and cyclists, so I’m pleased to come first,” he told CaymanSportsBuzz.com.

Next across the finish was Your Pace or Mine, the mixed team of Olivia Shanks (running) and James Smith (cycling). The duo completed the race in 57 minutes, 23.6 seconds.

“I think coming third across the line overall was a big win for us,” Shanks said shortly after the finish.

“Olivia put me under pressure by doing a really good time. So I did my bit and handed it over to her and she finished it off, said Smith, who switch to the team event this year after trying a solo effort in 2015.

Nadine Gray won the women’s race.

Nadine Gray finished more than a minute and a half ahead of her nearest competitor among individual females. She accomplished the feat despite not spending too much time training recently, as she just moved to the island a month ago. Her reaction afterward? “To state the obvious: very hot. I just moved to Cayman, so I’m still coping with the temperature.”

Conrad Proud was second in the men’s individual event. He finished the first running leg ahead of Bray, who then separated himself on the cycling course. Jerome Ameline was third in that category.

Veronique Poirier was send in the women’s solo, with Michelle Bailey third. Defensive Duo and Butterfield Team were second and third in the men’s team event. The Rocket Racers and Team Jenga were the second and third placed finishers in the mixed team event. Turtle Two were the only female-only registered team and came home in a time of 1:03:10.0, good enough for 15^th fastest overall.

Click here for full results.