For more than 30 years, the Powerman Zofingen has been the biggest duathlon event. The classic is the undisputed number 1 in the international duathlon competition calendar. What began in 1989 as the idea of a small team is still alive more than 30 years later.
Athletes come to Zofingen every year from all over the world to compete for Worlds Champs.
Karen Walker will be tackling the toughest duathlon event for the third time on the 4th of September, 2022. Making this dream a reality and how challenging this race truly is. It’s a 10km run and a 150km bike ride with another 30km run thrown in for good measure.
Preparing for a feat like this is no easy task. Karen has been focusing on building her endurance and fitness levels with indoor training on the Wattbike and Air Runner at her trusty Virgin Active club. This has helped her focus on technique and mental stamina. Karen has also added GRID classes and functional/ movability training to her training regime too. Once the weekends rolled around, Karen took to the outdoors with the SA team to help them prepare for the cold weather that might face them on race day when they were in Switzerland.
To qualify, Karen participated in the CTTA (District) Duathlon Championship, placed 2nd in her age group and was selected for SA Duathlon Champs, going on to place 1st in that event.
When we asked what inspires her to keep going, without skipping a beat Karen attributed her husband Gordon and children, Tatum and Caleb as being her biggest inspiration. They keep her motivated to stay fit, and healthy and have the energy to enjoy time with them.
You can catch the live results on the Data Sport website, and the race will be televised from 08h00 on Triathlon Live on the 4th of September 2022.
We at Virgin Active wish Karen all the best on her adventure! We can’t wait to hear all about her journey when she’s back in the office!