ok - the photography skills need work - i blame the camera (ahem)
but i think the scene of occasion has been captured quite well
this is up-and-coming triathlon star (and godson) elliot brown at work
competing in an event at huskisson on the south coast of nsw
myself, his father and elliot headed out of sydney at 5 a.m.
all quite pleasant cruising out of sydney at dawn
though still a lot of traffic and people about at that time
spotted quite a few obviously on their way home
mixing it with their opposites as fitness freaks struck out
a quick escape combining the cross-city tunnel and m4
meant we were travelling south past wollongong in no time
as per the plan we arrived at huskisson around 7 o'clock
the place was already buzzing for this big annual event
competitors, support staff, families, fans everywhere
i've not attended a lot of sports events in my time
so for me it was quite a new and interesting experience
this actual event is quite big on the triathlon calender
an event running all weekend with many different races
there was also the promise of some big names competing
so good for competitors and observers alike
the race we were most interested in was due to start at 10am
so a few hours to kill waiting for that time to roll around
time spent indulging in breakfast and fresh-brewed coffee
and without knowing letting the excitement build for the race
huskisson itself is a pretty little town with a great beach
and it is from there that the race starts with the first leg
a 400 metre swim out to some buoys and back again
hard to tell one competitor from another in the ocean
then it's a scramble out of the surf and a clamber up the hill
transition on to the bikes and 5 laps of a street course
our man came out of the swim well and was not far off the pack
bearing in mind this is an open age event he was doing very well
then 10km later it's another transition for the run leg
a 2.5 km run at at a very fast almost sprint pace
i'm exhausted just watching the athletes at work
and dashing from one good vantage point to the next
then by an unusual but special arrangement at this event
they do the whole thing all over again - swim/bike/run
i think it's called an enduro - i.e. the test of endurance
elliot brown has that by the spades and does very well
comes in 6th in the under-23 age group
which is brilliant for a 16 year old
stay tuned
