Sport	Off Road Triathlon
Event	Xterra Lite Buffelspoort
Date	27 January 2013
Where	Buffelspoort, South Africa
Distance	23.4 Km
Finishing Time	02:07:48
Race Number	1492
Result	199/665
Top %	30%
Pace	5:28 m/km
Speed	10.99 km/h
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My experience at the event:

Curtis and I decided to take part at the Xterra (a brand that does offroad triathlons all around the globe) triathlon by Buffelspoort Dam, around 90 minutes from here.
After the last triathlon, which I enjoyed even with a terrible swim section, it was nice to try something different.
The Buffeslpoort Dam area, unlike Germiston,  provided a great backdrop for the race. The water in the dam was lukewarm (26 degress), so no westuit needed. The Mountain Bike developed in the hilly range around the dam, with technical parts and dangerous downhills on the rocks, while the final part, the run, was on a splendid trail course around the dam, which we had to cross.

The day was fantastic, and I did a very strong race. After 2 months of training, my swimming improved and instead of finishing at the bottom, I got out of the water still surrounded by people. I then managed to pass quite a lot of competitors in the mountain bike. Curtis managed to keep a good rhythm (he's a better swimmer and cyclist than me!), and I passed him only in the trail run, when my fitness level (quite high at the moment), managed to overcome tiredness. My final result was great, 199th out of 665 who finished the race (around 1000 started!). Curtis finished only 8 minutes behind me, which was also a great result!

I can't wait for the official pictures, in the meanwhile here are some that I took before and after tha race:


Before the race


This is where we will come out of the water


All set!


After the race!


The dam


The other side of the dam


A beautiful medal

(you can find the full collection at this url: http://www.flickr.com/photos/olafmeister/sets/72157632631829512/ Back to sports

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