Kim Loeffler Racing

Desert Classic Duathlon

The 2009 season is finally underway and I am happy to report I won my first race of the year! It has been a few years since I raced a duathlon, so when I heard about the Desert Classic Duathlon only 2 hours away from my winter training base, I had to hop in.  I headed up to Scottsdale with John and Kelly and of course her kids.  I told Kelly this is the last time she watches me race, next race she’s in!  She agreed and said spectating is harder than racing (see photos!!).

The race was a total shock to the system, yet it felt really good to blow out the cob webs!  The race started with a 3.5 mile trail run. I entered T1 just a few seconds behind the top 2 women and after a quick transition, I hit the 21 mile bike course in first place.  Having done zero speed work, I knew I had to bike hard to hold onto the win.  I entered T2 with about an 80 second lead and managed to keep that gap throughout the second run to take home the win.    It’s always nice to win the first race of the year and definitely gets me excited for the upcoming race season!