Resolve was needed in spades for the 25th edition of the Winter BallBuster, with chilly wind and hammering rain battering duathletes on Box Hill in Surrey last Saturday.
Advertisement
Athletes struck up a rendition of ‘Happy Birthday’ on the start line to mark the occasion, with 220’s Matt Baird arriving just in time after meeting heavy traffic on his way there. Other athletes lining up included Mark Kleanthous, who took part in the first ever edition. Racers set off at a steady clip in calm but cold conditions for the first run – a 12km loop of Box Hill.
Andy Greenleaf led the way into transition after finishing the first run in 43mins, giving himself a lead of almost 2mins over nearest rivals Andrius Jaksevicius and Dan Gaffney. The heavens then opened for the 38km bike, a three-lap loop of the run course.