Hometown Unicorn

My next event is the February Ballbuster Duathlon .  I've never done a duathlon before, but I like a challenge and this is a biggie.   An 8 mile run, 24 mile bike, and then another 8 miles of running to close it out.   The key thing about this very popular race is that each of the 5 8-mile laps includes a climb of Box Hill in Surrey. Box Hill has a bit of an iconic status as a "challenge" but it's basically a pussycat in road cycling hill terms.  There are far more aggressive, far longer climbs in the North Downs (looking at you, Ranmore), and even I've been able to climb it out of the saddle, in 42x16 on my single speed - and I'm no monsta. The stats don't lie : the road is a steady climb of 120 metres (390 ft) over 2.5 kilometres (1.6 miles) but won't have you hallucinating. What it does have is fabulous views on the way up, a couple of "pretend we're on Alp d'Huez for a moment" hairpins, and a decent tea and cake stop at the top