The first ever Men's Fitness Dirty Weekend saw lots of mud and some outstanding performances on both bike and foot.
The event was held at Margam Park in South Wales - which boasts some of the best mountain bike trails in the country - over the last weekend in November 09. On the Saturday, competitors took part in a duathlon (5k run/23k bike/3k) or a 5k run, and on the Sunday they were treated to a 44k mountain
bike enduro or a 10k off-road run.
Torrential downpours prior to the weekend ensured that all the courses were
thick with mud, and the duathlon tested competitors to their limits with a
mountain bike ride that was both steep and technical. In the end, top
British duathlete Lee Rankin won the race with a fast time of 1:38:40, five
minutes ahead of Ryan Evans who had designed the course.
An overnight deluge meant competitors in Sunday's 44k enduro rode straight
into churned up tracks and freezing winds. Peter Wood turned an early lead
into a giant gap between himself and the chasing pack, and at the finish he
was 20 minutes ahead of second place.
Other riders struggled with the conditions but everyone enjoyed the
atmosphere, the camaraderie and the sheer filth.
Men's Fitness would like to thank Scott Powell and his team for the
excellent organisation, OMM and Moti for providing the prizes, and all the
competitors who turned up in great spirits and made the event such a
success.
Rough Track Information
