WHO'S WORLD OF FANTASY WILL YOU DIVE INTO NEXT?

TRUTH BE TOLD, my schedule just got a whole lot busier, which will possibly be the case until around mid-December. Last week was one of the busiest so far, hence why the latest post was posted on Wednesday instead of Monday. Pole sana. Regardless, I will continue to strive to host you here once a week as has been the norm these last couple of months. Feel at home!

It’s super great to have you back here with us, and the responses from last week’s piece were overwhelming. Thank you so much to you who gave up some time of your day to not only go through the blog, but also comment and share your thoughts. Interestingly, I had expected a backlash from those who would have found the topic cringy… I suppose they must have read the disclaimer early on and backed out. Either way, I do promise that today we will no longer have need of a disclaimer – yaaaay! 🙂

This last weekend we successfully hosted the 2023/2024 KR-ITT Cycling Series #2 that was dedicated to the late Sean Cardovillis, the Voice of Sport. The turnout was impressive, especially since we had a special treat where riders who wished to ride without registration got a start time. The Most Valuable Rider was one Charles Mbugua of team VeloNos, voted thus for completing the race despite 5 punctures along the race route! It was a ride well offered up for the Voice of Sport.

By the way, you can view the current General Classification standings here, with the possibility of following the progress of our riders by viewing their athletic profiles :).

Brilliant! Now, runners, in case you were wondering when you would be attended to, this is your time. 🙂 And even better, the date has been scheduled for 20th October – Kenya’s public holiday dedicated to Mashujaa (heroes). The route is 4km long, waiting for new course records (in the respective categories) and personal bests! Fun, right?

The unique design of a time trial is to release runners on to the course at pre-set intervals (usually 1 minute), and the fastest time on the course wins. Due to its ‘individual’ nature, there are certain rules that must be adhered to:

One: You start solo, race solo and finish solo. Simply put, any attempts to draft another runner (running behind them to benefit from wind protection) without any effort to overtake could result in a disqualification or time penalty.

Two: Your time starts counting when your start time clocks in. In a time-trial, each participant has their allocated start time. For example, 0831h, 0832h, 0833h…. This means that if you miss your start time because you arrived late, the time you take to complete the course will also include the duration you were ‘late’ to start. Best to be punctual!

Three: Crossing the START line before the completion of your countdown could lead to a time penalty of a few seconds to a minute. For example, assume you are meant to start at 0831h and it is 0830h, the START official will be counting down to your start time – 50…40…30…20…10…9…8…7…6…5…4…3…2…1…GO! – to cue you for the perfect start. In case you start before the GO (say, at 2), you could get a time penalty for a ‘false start’.

Four: For this particular route, you must stick to the tarmac. Sneaking onto the island divide could either lead to disqualification or a time penalty of a few seconds to a minute. Don’t worry, though, the route will be marked. 🙂

An individual time trial is quite the interesting event, appropriately dubbed the ‘race of truth’ for its nature of testing a person against both the clock and the elements. How is this any different from a normal race, you may ask.

Well, for one, you race solo; second, it’s not necessarily the first person to cross the line who wins; third, it tests your pace-setting ability compared to a bunch race where you can match up to another’s pace; fourth, you are exposed to the elements – sun, wind, humidity – with zero chance of hiding; and fifth, it is arguably the safest race as chances of tripping on another’s legs or crashing (especially in cycling) are minimal to non-existent.

I would say that one of the best parts is that the faster you are (based on previous similar races), you get to start later, which then gives you the advantage of ‘chasing’ down your competitors. Of course, chasing is a skill that combines patience, pace-making and smarts; chase too hard and you could end up tanking out too soon…chase too easily and you could lose by that one vital second!

Which also reminds me about one of the most important (teaching/learning) aspects of a time-trial: 1 second could be the difference between winning and coming in second. Ever heard of the preciousness of time? An individual time trial sets the best scenario for this lesson.

The advantage of the chosen route lies in the presence of two (road) lanes for both the ‘to’ and ‘fro’ race course; one can use the entirety of the road to their advantage (while sticking to the tarmac) to slash off a few seconds and picking the best running line. Again, the route is undulating instead of flat thus favouring the varying strengths of different athletes.

All in all, I would think that it is quite the chance to learn and try something new! Although there is a certain comfort in running in (and with) a crowd, it can get quite tense during a race before it all settles down. In a time trial, you rule your pace, get to run alone, and possibly explore parts of you you might not have realised existed, such as your ability to self-pace yourself in a race scenario to a personal best time, if not a course record. 😉

Hey, and who knows? Perhaps it could work to increase your (declining) motivation to keep up the daily morning/evening jogs. It certainly is a chance to socialise with other like-minded runners/joggers, and have fun while at it. See you there?

Please feel free to complete your registration here. All the best!

Cheers!