Track and Field Blogs - RunDMC

I did a “Summer” Biathlon (Run, Shoot) this weekend. That is a cool sport. The course was in a desert like setting at about 5500ft on a 35 degree F morning with some serious wind chill. BRRR! Shorts were completely out of the question , although my friend, John, wore shorts - crazy. In fact, I wore tights, a short sleeve, a long sleeve and a thin fleece with gloves and a thin fleece hat and never felt overheated. The run was approximately 1 mile with a big hill for the first half followed by a half mile downhill. Pretty tough, but at least the easier downhill was just before shooting. Getting the heart rate under control after running hard is a challenge that I failed miserably.

After my first mile I shot prone (laying down). This is supposed to be the easier shot because it is easier to steady the rifle with your elbow on the ground. However, the target is also only 4.5cm in diameter vs. the 11.5cm target for standing. I hit inside the 11.5 but missed the 4.5 on ALL 5 of my prone shots. Ouch! That means a penalty lap of 150m per missed shot – 750m of extra running. Next lap I ran a little more conservatively and hit 3 of 5 for the standing shots. This time only 300m of extra running.

I finished 4^th overall, 4 sec from 3^rd and just under 2min from 2^nd. The winner had me by 4min, so even with better shooting that would have been a tall order. But I need to cut down on the 1050m of extra distance. Maybe I’ll become one of those gun toting NRA enthusiasts.

My wife walked the course and hit 8 of 10 shots. She had never fired a gun before! Just makes you want to quit. She was also 2^nd in the walk division.

It was amazing fun and I’ll be back for a Winter Biathlon on skis. Unfortunately, I am not as good on skis as I am running so I expect a lower finish, but the fun factor beats the whipping I will receive.

I had taken 3 days off prior to the race for an achy knee. It still ached for the race, but it did not get worse. Hopefully I can start running again without turning it into a chronic problem over the next few months. Gotta get back on those strength runs!