A change of tactic mid-way through the first run was all it took for Dunedin's Jason Palmer to win the Otago duathlon title in Mosgiel yesterday.
Palmer (25), a personal trainer, originally planned to just cruise through the 10km run, 40km bike, 5km run championship course, building it into his training for the Wanaka ironman event next January, and as a bit of a blowout before next weekend's national cross-country in Waikanae.
"I felt so good on that first run, I thought I'd go hard and see how it went," he said.
Palmer went though the 10km run in 34min 10sec, but on the 40km cycle had to contend with wind that kept getting stronger as the race progressed.
He kept pushing hard into the wind and making good use of it when it was behind him over the top end of the course, mindful that, having made a break on the field, he was vulnerable to being overtaken.
Palmer had a handy 1min 50sec lead following the first run and a 5min 30sec lead going into the second run stage, eventually crossing to finish in 1hr 56min 49sec.
Second was Arrowtown's Darren Blackhurst in 2hr 3min 30sec, who was using the event as part of his build-up for the world championships in Edinburgh next month.
Blackhurst was made to work for his place by Oamaru's Tim Rush, who held him out until 32km into the cycle stage.
Rush held on to finish third in 2hr 5min 4sec.
After blowing out over the final 10km of the cycle stage, Wellington's Deborah Lynch overcame cramping on the second run stage to win the open women's title in 2hr 18min 40sec.
A junior age-group international, Lynch (18) is second reserve for the junior elite squad for the world triathlon championships in Budapest next month.
A feature of the championship race was the presence of Otago's young 1500m star, Rebekah Greene, who teamed up with promising cyclist ReubynBisschops to win the associated team section in a smart timeof 2hr 14min 30sec.
The shorter course options were all keenly contested in large fields, with Keegan Pullar and Lisa Rush victorious in the middle-course option of a 5km run, 20km bike and 5km run.
The short-course option of 2.5km run, 10km bike and 2.5km run was dominated by members of the O'Brien Group, with Steven Howden and Andrea McCheyne both victorious.
