Race report: Asics Off Road Race Series - IceMan, Saturday November 19, 2011

With a sold-out field and some well-known names on the start list, the first race in the Asics Off Road Race Series was hotly anticipated, and the action certainly didn’t disappoint

Before the main event kicked off in the form of a 10k/18k/5k Duathlon there were Trail Runs of 11 and 16 kilometres to get underway with the former featuring an assortment of excitable dog runners starting just behind the main field. In the 11 kilometre race Stuart Archer took the win in 50 minutes and 46 seconds with Kieron Ross a close second in 50mins and 53secs and Alan Rolfe a further minute back in third. A happy Stuart Archer said “I really enjoy the challenges that come with an off-road run. It's definitely more interesting having to plan your route around the uneven surfaces and muddy puddles!”

The fastest time over the 11k course was actually set by the flying ‘man and dog’ team of Canicross Trailrunner Mark Dunbar and his two canine companions. A great time of 49 minutes and 09 seconds even included a bit of a mishap at the start, according to Dunbar; “We had a bit of a dodgy start as the dogs were a little keen and pulled me over but we must have recovered well. We tend to do 10km runs normally so this was a little further than usual but it’s nothing they can’t handle, they’ve have had a great morning and they are loving munching away on their prizes!”

In the 16k event Joe Croft took the lead from the 6k mark and never looked back, taking the win in 1:09:55 to repeat his success from the WildMan event in last year’s Asics Series. Second place went to Adam Moore in 1:10:43 with Benji Byrne finishing strongly to take third in 1:13:58. For the women Christina Jenkins crossed the line first in 1:24:06, a creditable performance given her usual choice of terrain, as Jenkins herself explains. “It was great to be out here today, it’s a beautiful course and great to run through such different scenery. As a Londoner concrete roads are my usual training grounds but I managed to tip-toe my way round all the muddy ditches and I thought I'd got away with quite a flat run until we got to those zig-zag hills on the last two laps - they were never-ending!”

Shortly after the Trail Runners got underway the Duathletes took to the start line with a mix of Xterra athletes, triathletes, fast age-groupers and long distance specialists looking to get off to a strong start in the series and stake their claim for the title of Asics Off Road Series Champion. From the gun a select group containing National Cross Triathlon Champion Richard Stannard and series regulars Colin Dixon, Jim McConnel and Jez Cox along with some other notable names broke away with Dixon making short work of the hills to come into T1 with a healthy lead. Behind him Rory Maguire (Serpentine RC) and Phil Westoby (Army Tri) headed the pack with Stannard, McConnel and Chris Panayiotou (Torq Fitness) in close attendance.

On the bike Richard Stannard made his move with a storming 44 minute leg that saw him reel in Dixon and enter T2 in first place with a commanding lead over the chasers behind. In his wake competition was still fierce for the minor places with Jim McConnel using the second fastest bike of the day to take back a minute from Colin Dixon, who entered T2 in second place. A dominant performance from Richard Stannard saw him stretch his lead on the final run leg to finish in 1:50:51, almost four minutes ahead of a consistent Colin Dixon in 1:54:20. A fast finishing Chris Panayiotou just ran out of course in his bid to catch Dixon, finishing third in 1:54:34. Behind him Kate Robson (BRAT) put in a dominant performance across all three legs to come out the clear winner in the women’s race with a 2:10:29. Second place went to Aileen Anderson (Bath Amphibians) in 2:14:39 with Marah Van Deventer third in 2:22:09. Robson was pleased with her morning’s work, if not with the course designers! “It got pretty hot out there for a name like IceMan - the last run in any duathlon is hard but those continuous hills brought a whole new meaning to the last run!”

After the race, a happy Richard Stannard made his intentions for this winter clear. “There is no better winter training than these Off-Road events. There really are tough and I do feel that they set me up in good shape for the Triathlon season in the year ahead. Plus I’m going to be competing across the whole series this year because I want the title of Asics Off Road Series Champion!”

The next event in the Asics Off Road Race Series is the MudMan on Saturday the 3rd of December. Featuring an 8km/16km/8km completely off road Duathlon along with a 12k Trail Run in the gruelling grounds of the MOD facility at Camberley, it’s an event not to be missed.

2011 ASICS IceMan 16km Run

Men's results

Women's results

2011 ASICS IceMan 11km Run Results

Men's results

Women's results

Dog runners

2011 ASICS IceMan Duathlon Results

Men's results

Women's results

Results from the IceMan, current standings in the Series Leaderboard and full details of how to enter MudMan and the other events in the Asics Off Road Race Series can be found at www.humanrace.co.uk

The ASICS Off Road Race Series

For more information on the Asics Off Road Trail Running Series check out the official website at www.humanrace.co.uk/events/trail-running