Regional triathletes Greg Watson (Newark, Del.) and Desiree Ficker (Potomac, Md.) turned in strong performances last month to secure victories at the Blackwater Traverse Duathlon in Cambridge, Maryland.
 
This 10k run/41k bike/5k run, in just its second year, featured a competitive field with close to 400 entrants from 35 states. Although overcast skies led to some wet roads late in the morning, overall conditions were good.
 
Watson led the men’s professional race from the start, finishing the 10k in 31:54, just ahead of Travis Kuhl (Carthage, N.Y.) and Todd Wiley (Doylestown, Pa.). Age-grouper Tim Kitching (Baltimore, Md.), posted a 10k time of 31:56, just two seconds slower than Watson.   On the bike, Watson was the only competitor to break one hour, posting an impressive 59:37. That gave him a two minute lead over Wiley coming out of T2.  Watson extended his lead over the final 5k to finish in 1:50:06 with a 2 minute 36 second margin of victory. Wiley finished second and Kitching, the fastest age-grouper, finished third overall.  Kuhl finished fourth in the men’s race in a time of 1:54:26.
 
After wins at Dannon Florida and Powerman Alabama, Ficker was going for her third win in three duathlons this year. Her 37:38 opening 10k made her the first woman to reach T1. After recording the fastest bike split of the day (1:05:26), Ficker came out of T2 with a 1 minute lead over Marjan Huizing (Montgomery Village, Md.). Ficker ended up winning the race in 2:04:26, with Huizing finishing second in 2:05:46. Cecily Tynan (Philadelphia, Pa.) in just her second duathlon, was the first age-grouper and finished third overall.
 
Complete results can be found at http://www.lin-mark.com/results/search.asp?race_id=66.