RETURN OF THE MACC
HAVING TRAINED IN AND AROUND THE AREA, ADRIAN FULLER DECIDED TO TEST HIMSELF AT THE MACCLESFIELD FOREST OFF ROAD DUATHLON, WHICH TAKES IN MANY OF HIS FAVOURITE TRAINING SPOTS...
MACCLESFIELD OFF ROAD DU Macclesfield, Cheshire 4 Feb ’17
Some races are tough, others are brutal… this one was definitely the latter! The setting was the magnificent Macclesfield Forest, possibly my favourite training area in the North West due to the fabulous trails and epic views across Manchester and beyond. Race director Anthony had devised a course to really test both the fell runner and mountain biker. As a duathlon age-grouper preparing for the European Championships in spring, I saw this as ideal prep.
I set off eagerly from the gun, only to be faced with an extremely challenging 300m climb from the visitor centre to the summit of Shuttlingsloe, infamously known as ‘The Matterhorn of Cheshire’!
After this lung-busting ascent through the forest, the run route heads out onto the open roads that, on this occasion, mean ice and dustings of snow lining the tracks. I reach the final ascent and, literally on all fours, scramble to the summit before heading across boggy moors to return to the transition area.
The bike leg is a big test mentally, technically and physically. I’m mostly a road biker but see MTB as a different challenge to build strength and improvement in my bike handling skills, and there are plenty of chances to do this today. The main theme again is up, up, up, with 800m of climbing over just 16.5km.
I start by battling up a short, sharp hill on the granny ring before heading back into the forest for a three-lap section.
I’m not the best at descending, so the downhill sections are challenging for me; the rocky, muddy trails aren’t for the fainthearted. The quick guys fly past and quickly we’re back onto a long steady downhill to the base of the forest. An extremely steep section to the summit of Nessit Hill follows; yet as the early morning mist has now cleared, I’m greeted with some truly stunning views across the Cheshire Plains that make it all seem worthwhile.
The final run of any duathlon is always about pure survival and is inevitably going to be hard. But again this route in particular takes no prisoners, and is even tougher than most! I run through the forest section trying to hold my form, and I’m relieved to see a short descent on the way up to the finish line. My time is 2:09:57, which puts me in exactly 50th place overall and 13th in the 40-44 age category.
This was a memorable day in Macclesfield, and thanks to Anthony and the Crazy Legs events team for putting on such an epic event, complete with a decent goodie bag and plenty of motivational marshals lining the route throughout. See you next year!
MACCLESFIELD FOREST OFF ROAD DUATHLON STATS STARTERS 82 FINISHERS 77