Barkin' Dog Duathlon
Denver, Colorado
Saturday, May 12, 2007
5k run, 29k bike, 5k run
Complete Results

Joshua Merrick set a new course record and Sunny Gilbert repeated as women's champion last Saturday, leading a record field in the 9th annual Barkin' Dog Duathlon held at Cherry Creek state Park in Denver. Perfect weather conditions brought the crowds in the traditional season-opener for Colorado multisport athletes.  For the first time in the event's 9 year history, it filled to it's 500 participant capacity during the week before the event.  Fortunately, 50 additional spots were added at the last minute so no one was turned away.

Merrick came into the duathlon scene 2 years ago with blazing fast run times but less than impressive bike performances that left him shy of the podium.  With 2 years of work, however, Merrick's bike splits are now solid making him a legitimate elite competitor.

After leading the first 5K run with a 15:47 performance, Merrick rode to the 3rd fastest solo bike split in a loaded field.  It wasn't enough to retain the lead, as Josiah Middaugh and Greg Krause led the way into transition, but with a 5K run remaining, they were within striking distance.

Merrick posted the fastest second run of the day (17:26) to catch both Krause and Middaugh, claiming a new course record in the process.  Middaugh held on for second,  with a hard-charging Krause only 12 seconds back.  29 seconds separated the top three men's finishers.

On the women's side, Sunny Gilbert continued her winning streak after sweeping all three races in the 2006 Mile High Duathlon Series.   Gilbert entered the first transition nearly 30 seconds behind Jocelyn Petrella, the runner-up in the 2006 series.  Once on the bike, Gilbert pounded out the fastest women's bike split of the day to hit transition with a one-minute lead.  While Petrella would hammer out the fastest second run of the day, it wasn't enough to catch Gilbert who finished in 1:29:45 to Petrella's 1:30:25.  2004 series champion Lindsay Krause rounded out the top-3 in 1:34:58.

The Barkin' Dog Duathlon is the first race in the 2007 Mile High Duathlon Series, which continues on June 9th with the Big Sky Duathlon.  Top elite performers split a $3,500 series prize purse, and top age group series point winners will take home a gift certificate from Excel Sports in Boulder (www.excelsports.com ).  Participants who enter all three series events will be entered into a special drawing for a pair of Zipp 606 race wheels valued at nearly $2,000.

The series is sponsored by Excel Sports, Hammer Nutrition, Zipp, Rudy Project, Shuttle Pack, GoLite, Boulder Running Company, and Koobi.  For more information on the series, please visit www.racingunderground.com.