I raced in the King of the Hill Duathlon today. If you live in the New York/Philadelphia area, it is a challenging race that is worth checking out. The race takes place at Round Valley recreation area, one of the best parks for mountain biking in the area. There are big climbs, fast descents, singletrack, doubletrack, rocks, and roots. They also have an X-Terra triathlon that takes place at the same time. Some of those triathlon dudes are pretty fast.The race started out with great sunny, cool weather, but clouds moved in and it started to rain lightly after I finished. The course was a little wet from the rain last night, but it has hardly any mud because the trail is rocky and drains well. The race started on the beach with a 1.7 mile run up some small hills, on roads and gravel. The pace of the group was quick with a couple of guys taking off right from the start. After the transition I hit it pretty hard on the bike leg; my plan was to stay consistent and not burn out on the long climbs, smooth and powerful on the flats, and really bomb the downhills. Over the last few years I've gotten faster and more confident on descents and that paid off. I also was with a group of fast triathletes on the major climb; they kept me moving.
The last leg was a 2.2 mile run up the brutal "Tobaggon Hill". This thing is so steep that I didn't see a single person running it. After a while, my quads started to seize up and I had to walk. After that, I had a strong finish and ended up placing. It's a fun race with a very hard course; if you want to try something different I recommend checking it out.
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