MONMOUTH Tri Club duo Trish Chalk and Gareth Jones recently completed the epic Dragon Duathlon. The race covers Wales from coast to coast and takes in three mountains along the way.

Starting in Swansea at 5am, the race took the form of a relay with Trish doing the cycling legs and Gareth taking care of the running. The team was supported by Gareth’s Mum, Flick, who played the vital role of support car driver and athlete re-fueling.

The four bike legs meant that Trish had to cover a total of 160 miles and with a total ascent of 13,779 feet; the bike stages were unrelentingly tough and hilly.

Whilst Trish was having a well-earned rest between stages, Gareth took on the challenge of the running stages, which meant running up and over Pen-y-fan, Cader Idris and Snowdon.

The weather was particularly challenging on Snowdon with rain and strong winds adding to the mental aspect of the challenge.

A crash on the last stage left Trish nursing a fractured wrist for the last few miles which took grit and determination to get through.

The team completed the race, in Beaumaris, Anglesey, in a total time of 14 hours and 25 minutes, finishing second in the process, finishing behind a very strong team from Hereford by only 44 minutes and beating last year’s course record by 14 minutes.