Sunday both Morehouse HFC sponsored athletes Heidi Glovack and Randy Hadzor raced 2012 ITU Duathlon World Championships in Nancy, France.

• Heidi finished 15th in AG 30-34
• Randy finished 5th in AG 25-29 and was the first AG American overall, the elite course was the same distance but a different route so we’re not sure how the times compare…

more from the race(s) on youtube

Here is the top secret post race play by play Randy quickly recounted for his parents and coach:
Run felt good, went out pretty quick, I slowly moved up but still a handful back.. i wasn’t as fast as GB guys on the hairpins –
t1 pretty quick, i forgot to strap my shoes, another split second lost but i just strapped em up quick and was out… passed the guy that i came into t1 with while they were putting there feet in their shoes

Bike – I started catching a lot of people – there was what looked like an XC team from GB and a Belgian way off the front from the run, I reeled in lots of the GB’s and the Belgian (who i thought would be the strongest rider but wasnt) + a spanyard, ended up going back and forth with a GB guy, passed lots of disc’d TT bikes in my AG + fancy wheeled roadbikes with little bars..

the turns we practiced the other day were all different the put fricken sand and stuff to fill the potholes and barriers to “make it safer” but all it did was make it narrower and mess up the lines i liked.. so i was a bit slower through there actually as the race went on, faster at the begining then lap 3 I went a little sideways slipping on the sand and locking the rear brake.. left foot unclipped, stayed up right but lost all momentum and had a little climb that was thus a slower start than normal.. almost fell asleep a little on the bike but heeded dads FB words and Brents insistance on fuel so had a powergel thing and kept sippin accelerade and kept hammering … then forgot howmany laps i did so i thought i would just see if the GB dude went in but when i slipped on the turn he ended up gapping me quite a bit and he really turned on the gas so i couldnt use him as a marker…

i ended up using my watch – i wasnt sure if multisport mode was showing me ‘lap distance’ or total distance and since i had accidentally clicked it straight from t1 to t2 mode when i wanted it to be on bike after not being able to see if the belgian was going in to transition, i clicked the watch mode again to the run (even though i was still biking) and the distance didnt 0 out and was still at 40k (minus the 10k run = 30k = 1 lap to go) so i got back on the pedals and tried to make up some time..

came into transition, it was cobbles leading up to dismount, i unclipped a foot or 2 after the line  so i could be on the carpet and they yelled at me so i just took 2-3 steps back behind the tape line, then they were appeased, then went to go straight to my bike b/c it was right there but they made me run around some friggen tape that was barely a divider, then tried to get me to run all around it transition but i just informed them in frenglish that my bike was over there and they conceded .. wasnt sure if i was right or not.. then 3 official type guys hovered over me in transition making sure i put all my clothes in the little boxes they have there…

run 2 was tough to go faster.. felt like i was slipping into running too slow but kept telling myself that it was kind of like my little park and was thinking about the 2weeks i was here so i broke it into little segments.. didnt really know where i was but saw some of who i thought the fast guys were behind me at each hairpin.. a french guy caught me on the 2nd lap and i tried to hang but he slipped away, talked to him after – he had been in the penalty box for 2 min penalty.. so he may have been a little rested and pissed, i still wish i hung right with him i had a medium approach then the last straight i tried to give it everything to make sure no one passed, and no one did.. 5th i was told, going to go back to the place and check for results now probably.. and get a bottle of vin maybe some chocolate croissants.

Thank you to all those that helped this trip become possible! From those individuals that helped turn our collective pocket lint magically into plane tickets – to the companies who put their resources to good use to help us be on a near level playing field with the equipment of the other best athletes in the world in these duathlon competitions.

Super thanks to the Hadzor and Krisch families!! Morehouse HFC for fixing up the broken muscles and getting them workin’ in time to have good fitness for these races!! Syracuse Bicycle for making it possible to have a very competitive, reliable TT bicycle that not only helped traverse the long (powerman) and standard (nancy) distance courses but also the roads of Switzerland, the hills of the Vosges Mountains, the French countryside to be able to arrive at these races. (I’ve always though TT bikes make the best commuters) The CNY Triathlon Club, Shai+Ellie!, Paul Komanecky, Jamie Trevvett, Coach Joe + MU Hawks, Bryan Blake, Steve and Sara of Mello Velo Bicycles and Café, the Gilbertis, John Hartnett, David Bean, Marcus Lewis, Variety Studios, John Austin, Cazenovia Triathlon, Michael Brych, ATC Endurance, Eric Lankford and WoolSports – – hands down the best clothing material for endurance traveling… and everyone else – – could not have done it with out your help!!

Powerman Zofingen Long Course Duathlon World Championships:
open results: Randy Hadzor, 13th overall, 5th in age group : 3rd american finisher including all; elite+itu+open.

 5. Hadzor Randy, USA-Syracuse 7:21.55,0

 
copyright alphaphoto

The race was definitely a challenging adventure! Starting with a hilly, and fast 10k where I felt great, leading to a 150k bike with 3 loops of a pretty solid course, 2 real hills which I actually looked forward to each lap.. it’s the flat and into the wind where I need to improve.. and there was lots of that to give me some practice.. then transition and onto the last run, and equally if not hillier 30k consisting of two 15k loops, where you run up and around this flat area over looking the town, that was pretty cool but super punishing, into the woods, out, around that field again, around the turn around, into the woods back to the stupid field, down, thennn do it again on that second 15k.. I was super excited to get the wrist band marking that I was on the second (and final) 15k which meant just one more up and then I blasted it on the way down.. I think overall I did quite well, being able to beat some ITU guys from lots of different countries. It was definitely a tough race… I would recommend it to anyone that likes to suffer and feel strong for doing so. During the bike and run I felt like I couldn’t go much faster.. but I wasn’t completely exhausted or anything so I think with a little more training I could really get to like this distance – gotta learn to like flat I suppose and get some more miles in on the ol’ running shoes probably.

Since the race I spent a day checking out the art of Switzerland, visiting the Kunstmuseum of Basel and the Cartoonmuseum. Then I rode to Belfort from Pratteln. Belfort is nice, there’s some good weather over here, I keep looking north at the Vosgues mountains.. I’m tempted to take a day and ride around in them (without the backpack that makes the commuting from city to city less enjoyable) and then I’ll continue on to Nancy to prepare for Standard Distance World Duathlon Championships!