Powerman Asia Duathlon Championships 2016 created an achievement in the Malaysia Book of Records record with 2,645 persons crossing the start line for its race on March 6th, 2016.
In this year’s race, 2 distances were offered with the Classic run-bike-run of 10km-60km-10km and the Short of 5km-30km-5km. Many categories were open to both genders, including a relay format for teams in both distances.
In the Elite category, Thomas Bruin (Australia) and Emma Pooley (United Kingdom) won their respective categories in the Classic distance.
This duathlon encourages many running and cycling enthusiasts to challenge themselves to combine both sports at the same time in a race. Some runners braved up to cycling, and vice versa. Many friends and family members were seen alongside the racers, giving encouragement, support and also a kiss in their race to the finish line.
Cash prizes were offered to the Classic distance, and lucky draw prizes were also up for grabs. We caught up with various participants to get their take on their experiences at the recent race.
Gan Heng Chye finished 22nd in the Classic for Men’s 35-39 category:
“Competition was tough although I don’t have rivals, I just had the target of finishing strong, no jelly legs after. I’ve been training for 3 months, according to a downloaded training programme from triathlon magazine, 6-7 hours a week. Here I am with my first ever Powerman medal and 22th placing in my age group, that’s an awesome feeling.”
“The bike lanes are a bit narrow. Some cyclist hog the right lane a bit, have to shout a bit to ask them to move aside. The route was challenging, especially the last 10km run because the uphill drained all my energy out. Weather was hot at the end, and more ice water at the stations would help.”
Agnes Yew, a familiar face in the racing scene finished third in the Short distance.
Strong runners overall in my category. Duathlon is a running game, so if you train hard and you will reap success in your race. Great race atmosphere and it’s great to be back experiencing the ‘heat’ of Putrajaya.
Alicia Teoh participated in her first duathlon in the Short distance:
The race was well organized with ample signages, marshals and aid stations. However I find the single road lane for bikes too narrow. The post-race provisions for the racers were excellent with sufficient food and drinks and I throughly enjoyed the free massage.
Samuel Teh participated in his first duathlon in the Short distance:
It was my first ever virgin Powerman and Dualthlon and I was impressed at how proper it was organised from race pack collection to water stations. Only setback was how the lucky draw was run where participants had to stand under the hot sun for at least 30 mins. Will I come back again? Maybe.
Cereal Killer after a long hiatus from duathlons, participated in the Short distance:
Powerman 2016 came back with a vengeance with a lot of new casual cyclists joining this round as the event venue close to KL. Kudos to organiser for a well planned event from the online registration till the result announcement. The t-shirt design could be better though.
View more photos on Tough Asia’s Facebook album.
