MOORESVILLE, Ala. — Nathaniel Pierce and Cynthia Mitchell sped to the top spots in the annual Heel & Crank Duathlon on April 27.
Pierce, 37, of Huntsville, finished in 1:19:50 and won by nine minutes to defend his title from 2023. Thomas Farias, 31, of Madison, was second in 1:28:55.
Mitchell, 46, of Athens, won the women’s title and was 16th overall in 1:42:44. Xuan Huang, 41, of Birmingham was second (17th) in 1:43:51.
The course consists of a 3-mile run, 16-mile bike ride and 3-mile run. The runs are done through Mooresville and onto a portion of the Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge gravel roads. The bike course is through a portion of Limestone County.
Pierce combined runs of 17:18 and 18:06 with a ride of 42:47, which was a 22.4 mph pace. He had transitions of 53 and 45 seconds. He is no stranger to the podium, claiming second in 2022. His finishing times have improved over the last three years by almost five minutes.
Mitchell had runs of 22:56 and 23:58 along with a ride of 53:50. She had transitions of 1:02 and 55 seconds.
Daniel Hopkins, 47, of Harvest, took Masters honors. He finished fourth in 1:31:36, with runs of 20:46 and 21:21 and a ride of 47:50.
Brenda Henderson, 65, of Somerville, won Women’s Masters honors with her time of 1:55. She had runs of 26:53 and 27:39, along with a ride of 58:04.
The field had 92 finishers. It is put on by the Team Rocket Triathlon Club of Huntsville. Donations are made to local ALS and Muscular Dystrophy Association chapters.
See all the Heel & Crank Duathlon results here.
Event photos were shot by We Run Race Photos. See all of the images here.
