On Sept. 24, the Duathlon World Championships were hosted in Gijon, Spain. Debra Lindberg, an assistant professor of criminology and criminal justice at Portland State, participated in the race and placed 22nd in the world in her age bracket.
The duathalon consisted of a combined 9.3 miles run and a 23.9 mile bicyce course.
On Sept. 24, the Duathlon World Championships were hosted in Gijon, Spain. Debra Lindberg, an assistant professor of criminology and criminal justice at Portland State, participated in the race and placed 22nd in the world in her age bracket.
The duathalon consisted of a combined 9.3 miles run and a 23.9 mile bicyce course.
At age 59, Lindberg competed in the 55–59 female bracket of the course.
Lindberg’s interest in duathlons began with a goal her husband set after he retired.
“My husband started doing triathlons when he retired ten years ago,” she said. “And his goal has been to do 100 triathlons in ten years.”
To participate in the World Duathlon Championship, an athlete must compete nationally and qualify for the U.S. team.
“I felt I was in pretty good shape to go there and compete nationally,” Lindberg said. “We went there on a whim and didn’t expect to qualify for the U.S. team, but lo and behold we both did.”
Lindberg was fairly active as a child but didn’t participate in organized sports until she was much older. In her 30s, Lindbergstarting running as well as playing indoor and outdoor soccer, and she has incorporated both soccer and running into her weekly routine ever since.
To train for the World Duathlon Championship, Lindbergalternated between days of running and cycling. Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays Lindberg ran six miles, and on Tuesdays and Thursdays she would bike 10–20 miles in addition to taking a short run. She saved Saturday and Monday for resting.
When Lindberg arrived in Gijon before the race, she initially felt intimidated by her fellow participants. “The word peacock comes to my mind,” Lindberg said. “So many of these people lived and breathed this stuff.”
Lindberg claims that these psychological difficulties trumped any physical challenges she experienced in the race. Physically, Lindberg was very prepared to cycle Gijon’s hills.
Out of the 25 miles, which were made up by three loops, “there were two loops that I liken to hills climbing up into Washington Park,” Lindberg said. “It was about three miles that twisted and turned.”
Lindberg experiences hypoglycemia, and due to unexpected restrictions in the transitional zone (an area where participants store their food throughout the race), Lindberg lacked the nutrients needed to avoid a hypoglycemic state.
“At one point during the first cycling loop, my peripheral vision started to go black,” Lindberg said.
After Lindberg finished the cycling stage of the race, there was a little more than three miles between her and the finish line, which was crowded with rows of supporters, spectators and fellow competitors. She pulled through, and finished the duathlon in 3:56:40, placing 22nd in the race.
After Lindberg finished, she thought she would never do anything like that again—but she soon realized that she just needed to put some distance between herself and the next race.
“I wanted to do this before I got too old and these things become out of the realm of possibility,” Lindberg said. “I’m running out of time, how many more years of this do I have left?”
