Race report: Asics TuffMan Race - February 4, 2012

Sub-zero temperatures greeted the 450 hardy souls who converged on Pippingford Park, East Sussex for TuffMan, the fourth event in the Asics Off Road Race Series

Competitors taking a variety of different measures to keep out the cold made for a colourful start line with lots of layers being the order of the day.

Once the starting hooter sounded things soon got a lot hotter, however with a frantic pace from the start as the leaders threw caution to the wind as they took on some challenging underfoot conditions.
As the first leg, a challenging eight kilometre run, wound its way through the singletrack paths of the Pippingford Estate, Asics Series points leader Richard Stannard looked to be finding the pace a little too hot to handle as fellow series regulars Matt Chapman and Philip Westoby built what looked to be a commanding lead. Perhaps sensing the need to build a lead over Stannard to combat his speed on the bike, a group containing off road specialists Jim McConnel and Jez Cox along with Colin Dixon, Dafydd Hollis, Paul Davies and Chris Panayiotou followed hot on the heels of the two leaders through T1.

As they took to the bike for an extremely technical 13 kilometre bike leg it quickly became clear the minute and a half advantage Chapman had built wouldn’t be enough to keep a flying Stannard at bay. The 2011 British Cross Triathlon Champ took the lead towards the end of the first lap and began building his advantage with Jim McConnel the only athlete able to stay on his wheel. Early frontrunner Paul Davies was unlucky to be forced out of contention after losing a contact lens while others struggled with the steep climbs, technical singletrack and frozen underwheel conditions.

In the women’s race Kate Robson was once again mixing it at the sharp end of the race, coming into transition well inside the top twenty overall. Behind her Aileen Anderson dug deep to minimise Robson’s advantage and give herself hope on the bike while Faye Cripps looked strong less than a minute behind Anderson in third.

Back in the men’s race, Richard Stannard and Jim McConnel entered T2 not more than 30 seconds apart and Stannard held the gap over the hilly final 4 kilometre run to finish as TuffMan champion in 1hr 27mins 46secs. McConnel came home in second place with a 1hr 28min 24secs and Triathlon Age-Group World Champion Colin Dixon rounded out the podium in 1hr 28min 54secs.

Straight after the race, Stannard gave an insight into the conservative, by his standards, first leg run; “I’m a swimmer, so I’ve got floppy ankles, which means the frozen ground and grassy bits were absolutely hell for me. I just decided to keep them in sight, be sensible and try and take the lead on one of the tough climbs on the bike - which I did.”

McConnel was delighted with his second place finish, especially given the near miss he had on the bike, “I went to overtake one of the back markers where I thought there was a gap but it turned out the gap was actually a totally frozen puddle! The back wheel went right, my left leg was off the pedal and I just about managed to stay on the bike. I backed off Richard (Stannard)’s wheel at that point! I’m well happy with that result, especially being so close to Richard as he’s a different class.”

Stannard himself had glowing praise for the race, and the bike leg in particular. “The course was brilliant, I wish every event could be that good to be honest. Technical, lots of fast downhills, perfect. I’ve just got to do it all again at TrailMan and I’m Asics Series Champion!”

Back in the women’s race, Robson extended her lead over the bike leg and final run, coming in 21st overall in 1hr 42min 24secs and continuing her clean sweep of wins in the Asics Off Road Race Series. Behind her Aileen Anderson continued to keep her honest, finishing second in 1hr 47mins 36secs and ensuring the race for the title of Series Champion will come down to TrailMan on Saturday 10th March. After pushing the two frontrunners hard on the run and first part of the bike, disaster befell Faye Cripps as she crashed, ending up in the frozen lake. Despite bravely remounting and attempting to continue, Cripps eventually succumbed to the already brutal conditions leaving the consistent Farah Arizar to take third in 1hr 56min 43secs

Robson was as relieved as she was delighted at the finish, saying “I did this event last year and to be honest it was so muddy and I struggled so much I was dreading coming back! This year though the ground was hard and that made it easier for me. I was leading all the way round but as with the other three races I’m always scared Aileen will catch me on the bike so I’m really happy to win. I’ll be back for TrailMan as I want to win the Series!”

Alongside the duathlon the 8k Trail Run saw some competitive racing over a challenging course, with the top three finishing within 30 seconds of each other. After running a smart tactical race Joe Croft, winner from IceMan the first race in the Series, eventually broke away to take the win in 29mins 6secs. Behind him Alex Juggins took second in 29mins 19secs and James Buckley came home in third in 29mins 25secs. First woman was Sara Al-Kadhimi in 35mins dead with Olivia Ross-Hurst second in 37mins 18secs and Cherly Holder rounding out the podium in 39mins 35secs. Behind them the rest of the field pursued a rather chilly-looking Sumo wrestler, with those lucky enough to grab a ribbon from his belt picking up a prize generously donated by Hilly.

Men's duathlon results - 8km Run, 13km Bike, 4km Run

Women's duathlon results - 8km Run, 13km Bike, 4km Run

Men's trail run results - 8km

Women's trail run results - 8km

Click here for full ASICS TuffMan results and gallery

The final race in the Asics Off Road Race Series is the TrailMan on Saturday 10th March at Eridge Park near Royal Tunbridge Wells.