‘Czech’ mates and a bronze medal at the World Cross Duathlon championships.

*Pictured above - the talented GOG duo of John and Michelle Farrell.

‘Czech’ mates and a bronze medal at the World Cross Duathlon championships...

Report by Don Hale. 

https://donhaleblog.blogspot.com

*The successful GB team pictured above at the championships.

 

Talented North Wales athletes John and Michelle Farrell were ‘Czech’ mates after competing well for Team GB at the World Triathlon/X-Terra age group competition during the Cross Duathlon championships, staged recently in Prachatice within the Czech Republic.

The talented and experienced pair, who are well-known GOG Triathletes were representing Great Britain after first qualifying to be part of the elite Age Group Team and last week travelled to the Prachatice Centrum, which is about a two-hour drive west of Prague.

The event included a tough trail run, closely followed by a very challenging mountain bike race, and when John first carried out a practice recce of the course, the day before the main event, he nervously commented: “What a route! Over 500m of elevation and a few gnarly bits, but beautiful single-track downhills to scare me! Let’s see if our legs recover for tomorrow.”

Fortunately, all went well on the day, and they both celebrated outstanding success in this elite competition, with Michelle even winning a prestigious bronze medal after finishing 3rd in her age category with a good overall time, despite battling a near 1,000m climb and extremely hot temperatures.

  

*John Farrell (*above left) is shown at the finish area, and (*above right), Michelle Farrell is pictured - far right - on the podium.

John also competed very well, and he finished in a worthy 6th place in his own age cat, and he was the 2nd GB athlete home. And as they both finished as part of the top three athletes in their individual age cats, they now automatically qualify to compete for the GB team yet again, in next year’s Euro Championships in Spain.
level, yet Michelle still walks away with a bronze medal! 

John was absolutely thrilled with their joint results and later confirmed: “What a special day, representing GB in a European Championships event! Probably the hardest thing I have ever done! These guys are another

“So proud of her! It was a proud moment too for us both to pull on the GB kit, and even prouder for me to see Michelle on the podium…again, not sure I’ll ever get used to it!”

*Michelle is pictured (*above far right) at the finish of her Duathlon event.

 

*John also praised the support of the Amourdillo bike box hire/ We Cycle, and the Conwy Talented Athlete Scheme, for the ongoing support they have provided.

*Michelle pictured above during a practice recce session.

 

And John has now provided an exclusive and personal account about their remarkable adventure in the Czech Republic...

 

The route was an 8km trail run followed by a 21km mountain bike race with close to 600 metres of climbing over varied Forrest terrain and descending through fast single track downhill mountain bike race trails. 

The final run was a 4km run back into the town centre. In total there was close to 1,000m of climbing steep terrain. It was 28 degrees on the day in unbroken sun and was extremely challenging. 

There are no official results yet, but Michelle finished in 2:47 and in 3rd place in her age group earning her a bronze medal. My time was 3:18. The whole few days with the GB team was an amazing and eye-opening experience. 

Being our first time with the team it dawned on us what a big step up competing at Age Group level was and racing fantastic athletes from all over Europe was a learning curve. 

The race was brutal in its climbs and challenging in the fast descents and involved every terrain available. Coming only three weeks after Michelle’s Xterra World Trail Marathon Podium, she was overjoyed at adding to her major race medal tally. 

We both found it incredibly tough and a real step up in competition standard as it should be. There’s no place to hide and you need to be in top condition to compete. 

I had only returned from injury recently and found the MTB leg gruelling and the missing fitness showed, whilst Michelle had been concentrating on her World Championship Trail race, so this race came a little too soon, although achieving another podium was an incredible experience. 

We both came in the top 3 GB athletes in our age group so will automatically qualify for next year’s European Championships as part of the GB team in Spain. And we’ll be ready!

*This is a link to Michelle's previous success at the World Trail Champs in July:

Don Hale Blog: North Wales athletes win podium places at the dram... https://donhaleblog.blogspot.com/2025/07/north-wales-athletes-win-podium-places.html?spref=tw