Luke Harrop Memorial Gold Coast Triathlon Race Report

​Luke Harrop Memorial – Gold Coast Triathlon

Race – Aquathlon doubling as the Australian Championships
Date – 6th April 2019
Distance – 300m Swim / 2.5km Run
Result – Australian Champion U/14 Years Male
 
It was a nice cool morning on the Saturday ahead of the aquathon, perfect conditions for some fast racing. I was looking forward to racing this weekend as a good hit out for national schools in a few weeks’ time. I was quite tired the morning of the race due to an early rise, as well as attending the Luke Harrop Foundation the night before, which was an honour and a great night.
 
My wave start was at 8:00am, this gave me plenty of time to get some good nutrition into me as well as a quality warm up. This race was just a swim run, so as discussed with coach, this race was just a hit out to see where I’m at ahead of national schools.
 
The race plan was simple, a quality swim focusing on form and technique and then a controlled run doing just what I needed to so the legs are as fresh as possible for the tri the next day.
 
Swim
There wasn’t one ripple in the water, it was calm, clean and fast conditions. The Vorgee MKII were the goggles of choice as they offer a slight tint in them which covered the glare that was coming off the water, this allowed me to have perfect vision in the water. I was able to get a fast-clean start off the beach which allowed me to get out the front and lead around the first can which was only about 40m off the beach. It wasn’t my greatest of swims with some confusion on where to go at one off the cans, this allowed other competitors to gain some time on me but overall, I was satisfied with how I swam.
 
Run
Onto the run and it was exactly how I wanted it being able just to control it, I felt as if I had run well and ran in a nice rhythm.  Which resulted in a great race and was super happy to take the win with quite a comfortable race.

Race – Triathlon doubling as the Australian Championships
Date – 7th April 2019
Distance – 300m swim / 6.7km Cycle / 2.5km Run
Result – Australian Champion U/14 Years Male
 
Another perfect morning out and was looking forward to some fast racing. The legs had recovered well after the aquathon, with going for a short ride Saturday afternoon. Game plan for this race was get a really solid race under my belt and see where I’m at in comparison to the other boys. Race start was at 7:30 am, this allowed me to get a solid swim/ run warm-up. A long swim warm up was done with a lot of slower aerobic swimming, this was to get rid of any lactate that had built up from the day before.
 
Swim
I wasn’t able to get the greatest spot on the start line, so I really had to work the first can to get out of any traffic. I was able to do this and get to the front. I then had focused on my rhythm and was able to gap the field. By the end of the swim I had about a 10-15 second lead on 2nd, which was extended as I had used the long run to transition to my advantage. Overall this was one of the best swims I had in a long time.
 
Transition / Cycle
T1 was done fast and clean and I was mounting my bike in no time. At this stage I knew I had given myself a good lead on Sebastian who is a very strong cyclist behind me and the next goal was to not let him catch me on the bike, unfortunately for him he had punctured whilst in transition. This resulted in me being a long way out in front.
 
A key thing that was focused on during the ride was my pedal stroke and not buckling my knees in, this has been a major focus of mine and coach’s over the past couple of weeks and I was able to do it successfully. Overall, I had a great ride and was in extremely good spot to take out the race ahead of my strongest discipline.
 
Transition / Run
Off the bike and I was in a great spot. My legs had built up with a bit of lactate from the day before and my fairly tight and heavy but I was able to work around that and settle into my rhythm, basically from there I knew I had the race won as I had a large gap on the rest of the field and felt not too bad. It wasn’t the quickest run to date but it was enough to get the job done and super stoked to take the win with a great race and Australian Title

Luke Harrop Foundation Launch
I was honoured to receive an invitation to the launch of the Luke Harrop foundation for 2019. It was an extremely great night, listening to many stories of Luke and enjoying some nice food and drinks. It was a no brainer for me to accept the invitation as it’s for a great cause of assisting para athletes in their development of the sport.

This night taught me many things, as well as showing me how important this race is in memory of Luke and how important it is to many people within the sport. I have nothing but respect for the Harrop family and the foundation for giving so many people the opportunity and resources to succeed in the sport that they love. Overall it was a great night commemorating Luke as well as the launch of the foundation, it truly was an honour to attend.

Triathlon Australia Awards Night
A