Former Mowi Upper Island Riptide soccer player Jaylon Grenier finished 24th out of 69 competitors in his first ever duathlon on the mainland.
A duathlon is a combination running and biking race, and it was held on March 7 at UBC where he finished second in his 20-24 men’s age category, while also posting the fastest transitions for his age group.
Grenier said his training for the event consisted of playing soccer multiple times a week to keep up his fitness along with cycling during workout sessions, and that it felt amazing to complete his first duathlon.
“After having done many triathlons before, I had a good idea of what to expect as far as how to strategically pace myself throughout the race,” he said, adding he was able to take away from the experience that no matter the weather conditions, “to always push yourself to do the best you can.”
Snow actually began to fall just 15 minutes before the race began at 8:15 a.m. and temperatures remained freezing for the remainder of the morning, which he noted was “the coldest I had ever been!”
With a goal time of under 2:00:00 hours in mind, he was able to successfully come in at an impressive 1:32:18 hours.
While Grenier had fun competing, he does not plan on racing again over the summer as he has steady work plans in place, however, he did say he will “continue keeping in shape for any upcoming events around Vancouver at the beginning of September.”
@NIGazette
editor@northislandgazette.com
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