BAPTISM OF FIRE

Eager to get a taste for multisport, Ben Clement takes on the duathlon at Xterra Matterley in Hampshire and discovers it's far from a walk in a park... 

-  BEN CLEMENT

Just one run lap to go. I’ve sectioned it out in my head – up the start climb and down into the trees for an interminable series of twists and off-camber turns, before a windswept gravel track. Then, mercifully, down to the finish. My feet are screaming and I feel like I’m going backwards. Runners power past me, mud spattered, appearing infinitely more animated than I imagine myself to be. This is the third time I’ve seen these people’s backs and, to be frank, I’ve seen enough.

FAR FROM IDEAL

I've raced plenty of bike events: road, MTB, cyclocross, time trials. I've had a few good races, thrown my hands in the air very occasionally and generally been at the sharper end of proceedings. But as I leave my early 30s behind and enter dad life, I drift further from the podium steps yet still feel competitive on the bike.

In contrast, the last time I put on running shoes to race other people I was driven to an athletics meeting by my geography teacher. Tasked with the 1,500m and the javelin, I placed higher in the field than on the track.

But every few years something inspires me to get out and run some trails. It's always the same - I enjoy it, I get faster, I do too much, too soon, tricked by my bike fitness into thinking I can cover ground like a genuine runner. These interludes always conclude with the crack of a rolled ankle and a sheepish return to my comfort zone in the saddle.