WINNER: Professional triathlete Tim Reed crosses the finish line first to take out the long course event at the 2013 Pearl Izumi Huskisson Long Course Triathlon Festival. Photo: EMILY DALE
LORD Howe Islander Tim Reed has taken out Sunday’s main event at the 2013 Pearl Izumi Huskisson Long Course Triathlon Festival.
Reed finished the grueling two kilometre swim, 83 kilometre bike ride and 20 kilometre run in three hours and 35 minutes in front of Sam Appleton (Blue Mountains), Ben Allen (North Wollongong), and Olympian Brad Kahlefeldt (Wagga Wagga).
Following the race, a victorious Reed said he had enjoyed the huge crowd that encouraged all the competitors.
“Running is my strength, so I was able to go hard for a bit at the start then relax and enjoy it,” he said.
“It was fun to enjoy the crowd,”
The 27-year-old has competed numerous times at the Huskisson festival, but this was his first win as a professional triathlete.
“It always seems like a challenging course, but I love the undulations on the hills during the bike leg, and I love how the whole community gets behind the event,” he said.
“It made the run so much easier because there were a lot of people on the course cheering you on.”
While a lot of the Shoalhaven experienced sporadic showers over the weekend, the conditions in Huskisson were perfect for yesterday’s race.
“It was really calm in the water, no wind on the bike, and it was cool for the run,” said Reed.
The win caps off a couple of successful months for Reed who took out the Canberra Ironman 70.3 last December.
More than 4000 athletes descended on Huskisson from Friday to Sunday, competing in a number of events from an enticer event for first time triathletes, through to the long course event tackled by some of the country’s leading triathletes.
