Sport	Triathlon
Event	Midlands Ultra Sprint Race
Date	02 March 2014
Where	Midmar Dam, Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa
Distance	25.6 Km
Finishing Time	01:34:09
Race Number	161
Result	69/206
Top %	33%
Pace	3:41 m/km
Speed	16.31 km/h
Click here for details about Midlands Ultra Sprint Race
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My experience at the event:

What a glorious weekend! Thanks to Shari's hospitality (she is the manager of a nature reserve in Howick so she allowed us to stay with her, just what we needed after a long trip - 500km - to another province) we spent the day before the race just soaking up and enjoying Howick chill vibe. Compared to Johannesburg all seemed slower, and people were way more relaxed (I'm sure the proximity of the beautiful Midmar Dam and the nice surroundings help!)

The race, which started very early (6.50 in the morning, you can imagine the effort to wake up and get there by 5.30 and to setup the transition area...), was very well organized. My swimming as usual wasn't too great (600m in  22 minutes...) and I came out of the water with the last group. Luckily my cycling was way better, and the circuit (around the dam, from Mandela's capture place to the dam falls), allowed me to push and pass around 100 other athletes. The final run was quite hard, due to hilly sectors, but I managed to complete it in a decent 1:34:09, and finished the race 69th (I was probably around 200th out of the water...).

Overall it was a fantastic experience that I cannot way to re-do in November. The Midlands Ultra organization was spectacular and it was definitely the road triathlon I enjoyed the most (the Xterra remains the off road one that I love).

As usual, you can check on connect.garmin my splits (not super precise since once again I forgot to press the correct  button!):

• Swimming: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/454012323
• Cycling:  http://connect.garmin.com/activity/454012334
• Running:  http://connect.garmin.com/activity/454012342

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