The Delaware Valley Duathlon was my first ever race that included a biking portion. I was training for a triathlon that year and used this race as a warm up to get me used to transitioning from a bike to running. The race started with a 5K then a 15.5 mile bike ride and finally one last 5K.

This was an overall enjoyable race. It was held in a very scenic area north of Philadelphia known as Lake Nockamixon, roughly an hour north of Center City Philadelphia. This is a beautiful lake with miles and miles of trail on it. So needless to say the scenery for this run was amazing. Half way through the two 5K's you would up with a wide shot of the lake as you were running down a trail. It gave me time to take in what was going on around me and enjoy such a physically demanding race. For as beautiful as the scenery was, the 5K runs were rolling with a few hills. So the run tested me a lot physically. The first 5K wasn't as bad, however this was the first time I had ever run a 5K after biking such a long distance so the second 5K was difficult to say the least.

The bike ride was enjoyable as well. Unfortunately the bike portion was not held in the trails of the lake and was held on a main road. So you did have to race your bike alongside of cars whizzing by. And even at one point a car almost cut off a number of us racers. But it was also a physically demanding ride as well. There were plenty of hills to test you out.

I would highly recommend this race. Duathlon's are great races to test your ability if you ever think of one day running a triathlon. Triathlons can cost a lot of money to run. And what I have experienced is the swim portion can be one of the most difficult. Not only is it physically demanding, but you need separate clothing during this portion because you are going into water. So if you are toying with the idea of running a triathlon but not sure about it, I highly recommend a Duathlon to dip your toe in the water. And if you live in the Philadelphia area this is the Duathlon to run!