2nd City to Surf

Damn...I think the photo sums it up....I was hoping to add the title of City to Surf Winner to my resume and for 10k it looked good...unfortunately in the last 2km I was passed by a British athlete out training/racing in Australia and he was finished on stronger to take the win 37.44 vs 37.55....I was probably too aggressive early in the race and was maybe fading ever so slightly in the later stages which he capitalised on over the final long hill....regardless I was happy that my legs are coming good again after a tough couple of weeks and the time was 1 minute quicker than I have done for the course previously....there are alot of positives despite my dissapointment at not taking the race I have dreamed of winning since I was a boy...at the end of the day though running is the fairest of sports- the strongest person always wins and that reflects training/sacrifice and dedication over a sustained period...if someone beats you in a running race it is as fair as it comes in life....I will cop it and 4 weeks to World Duathlon Champs.

Well done to all the Front Runners and thank you very much to everyone on the course for their support and cheers, it was really appreciated

Finally, massive thanks to RGIS for their sponsorship. It was very nearly a great quinella in the 1/2 and 12km. Your support is greatly appreciated and hopefully we can move forward to more mutual success in the future

Running Regards
Radar

Training Camp

Howdy Folks,

It has been very busy since returning back from Europe and it is important to be honest with how things are going and make the necessary adjustments in training. There is a definate need to get away for 5 days or so and focus solely on training and visualising the race plan for the World Championships.

With Lianne, Seb and Paul Mackay we will head down to the forrest near Pemberton between September 10-14 and train very hard, eat well and rest alot. This location is perfect for training and I just love the fresh air and rolling hills.

The City to Surf should be a good hit out this weekend and will be great to see the every increasing crowd of "Front Runners" doing their best and achieving their goals.

All the best for race day!

Regards
Raf

Tour De Freedom

Thanks to Kari at Broad, I am going to be part of a huge fundraiser for Teen Challenge WA- the Tour De Freedom, this coming October. We will be riding from Esperence to Perth and covering around 200km a day. I love any opportunity to assist in a broader context and this is a genuine chance to get involved in positive, successful programme for young at risk youth. Below is an extract from the website http://www.teenchallengewa.org.au/

"Teen Challenge is a Christian based organisation which started caring for troubled youth in New York City in 1958. The program now has over 500 autonomous locations in 90 different countries worldwide.Teen Challenge strives to help the 'whole person', not just the substance abuse. The Teen Challenge approach is to teach a whole new way of living by addressing family relationships, work attitudes, self image, peer pressure, temptation, community relationships and a variety of other life skills.With a documented success rate of 86% of those who complete the program, Teen Challenge is regarded as one of the most successful drug rehabilitation programs in the world"

More details soon about the event and how you can help

All the best
Raf

2nd National Duathlon Championships

Unfortunately the National Crown will have to wait another twelve months.....................The National Duathlon Championships were held today in Canberra and I had to settle for 2nd place after being out raced by Daniel Green from Canberra. He raced well and on the day I couldn't match his performance. On the first run he opened up almost a minute on me and I waited to make my move on the last lap of the bike/start of the run to close to within 100m 1km into the second run. Victory looked possible but he managed to find his running legs and maintain the gap over the next 4km of the run. While I was hoping to claim the title, I didn't quite hit the race perfectly and was beaten by a better athlete on the day. Onwards we go....next stop City to Surf

Running Regards
Radar

HELENA VALLEY/ KENYAN SECRETS

This Sunday run has been a regular for Perth's elite long distance runners ever since Rob DeCastella lived in Perth during the early 80's. Rolling hills, soft pea gravel underfoot and beautiful fresh air. Today, we had no less than 14 runners- including Joel and Gilbert from Kenya who are here for the City to Surf Marathon- but more importantly, junior runners in their late teens who represent the future of middle and long distance running in WA.

I have been fortunate to come through an era where running 23-30km with Ray Boyd and other members of the Club Helena pack was the weekly Sunday norm. Unfortunately, since the late 90's I have noticed our top up and coming juniors have never followed the right of passage and been initiated into the hard yards and massive benefits of running at Helena. The fact that this is changing is going to result in a watershed of improved distance running in years to come.

Running with Joel and Gilbert is also a classic example of the work required to be a world class runner. Too often, runners from East Africa are viewed as having some genetic advantage over the rest of the world. While altitude may assist, I think it is far from the secret to their success.
The secret is HARD WORK. No where else in the world will you find as many athletes (we are talking thousands of athletes) willing to run160k-240k per week/every week, rest after training to ensure full recovery (Often in racing periods abroad barely leaving the house) and following a strict high carb and protein diet with little or no saturated fats.

At the end of the day, distance running is a simple sport and the simple things in life take the most dedication and commitment to excel at.

Till next week

Running Regards
Radar

www.duathlon247.com features rafaelbaugh.com as site of the week

The crew behind the UK’s biggest Triathlon website www.triathlon247.com have expanded their product range with the creation of a new global Duathlon site www.duathlon247.com

Their aim is to boost the profile of Duathlon both in the UK and abroad. Basically, transfer and availability of information has been a big problem for Duathlon with a lack of support from the regulatory body, the ITU. At a regional and national level, the sport is run very well but unfortunately at the highest levels of governance, the sport is largely neglected.

This website takes a huge step in providing information, race schedules and international news on the sport of Duathlon and with such a strong and informed team behind it, I am sure it will be a great success and groundswell for duathletes.

The site was launched this month and my site was recently picked as website of the week.
Check it out for yourself and make it a favourite on your browser

Running Regards
Raf

Getting out the Slice

Well today was a chance to get on the Cannondale Slice and do the ATTA 20k TT around Champion Lakes. I was not a huge fan of the sand along some of the path but it was the same for everyone and it was an otherwise perfect day for racing with little wind and a cool, crisp morning. Some alterations to the course meant comparison was not possible with other races on the course but I finished in 6th and was quite satisfied with the effort. The equilibrium between bike and run is always a delicate balance and I am happy with where I am at leading in to the National Duathlon Championships in 2 weeks time.

Regards
Radar