THREE generations of one family are amongst those taking part in the Wellington REAL women’s duathlon at Cog Park, Evans Bay Parade on Sunday.
Chrissie Bell, of Napier, says her family is drawing on members from Napier, Pahiatua and Wellington to take part in the event.
“I did the duathlon last year and we thought it would be fun to do it as a family,” Bell says. “There’ll be six of us aged from 12 to 64 – a grandmother, her four daughters, and one granddaughter involved in two relay teams.”
The six will join around 600 other women expected to take part as individuals or in relay teams in the 15km duathlon. The event starts at Cog Park with a 3.5km run or walk, then 10km on a bike, followed by 1.5km on foot to the finish line. The course wends its way back and forth along the bays of Evans Bay Parade.
Event organiser, Jane Patterson, says while those taking part will require a certain level of fitness the course was designed to be achievable for women of all ages.
“It’s not a race and every woman is a winner for crossing the finish line,” Patterson says.
She says the duathlon is a chance for ordinary women to get out, get active, and experience the thrill of being part of an event.
“A duathlon provides an opportunity for women to take part in a multi-sport event if they can’t or don’t want to swim, or prefer not to get into togs,” Patterson says.
The Wellington duathlon is the eighth in a nine event nationwide women’s series organised by REAL or Regular Exercise, Active Lives. Women’s duathlons have also taken place in Mt Maunganui, Orewa, Rotorua, the Hawkes Bay, Ashburton and Queenstown. The final in the series will take place in Auckland on April 17.
It’s the fourth duathlon series organised by Jane Patterson and in that time some 30,000 women have become duathletes.
“We’re passionate about this event and its impact on women’s lives,” Patterson says. “Real women are not perfect – they don’t have the perfect body shape and most enjoy the occasional indulgence. That’s what makes a real woman a real woman, and that’s the type of woman who benefits from our series.”