Triathlon tike
ADAMS TWP — John Reed was a boy among men, not the other way around.
And he did just fine.
The eight-year old Adams Township resident competed in the second annual Willow Creek Triathlon Aug. 4 in Allegheny State Park and finished in 1 hour, 46 minutes and 51 seconds.
The finish was good for 57th place out of 64 competitors in the event, which skirted the border between Pennsylvania and New York.
The next youngest triathlete at the event was 15. The vast majority of the participants were between 20-and-45 years old.
For his efforts, Reed received a special medallion for being the youngest competitor and finisher in the race, as well as the Braveheart Award and the Blaise Ziegler Memorial Sponsor Award.
Reed's first triathlon came last summer in a youth event at North Park, which he won.
But youth events involve a swim of 50 yards, a 1.5 mile bike ride and a half-mile mile run.
The sprint triathlon he just competed in included a 300-yard swim, a 15-mile bike ride and a three-mile run.
"I was very confident he would finish," said Reed's father, Greg, also a triathlete. "Earlier this summer, we completed the distances of the three events on our own and he did well with it.
"It was just a question of finding an event that would take him," Greg added. "Most triathlons have a minimum age to compete."
John finished the swim in 7 minutes, 15 seconds, the bike ride in 1 hour, 4 minutes and 8 seconds and the run in 32 minutes, 1 second. His two transition times — between events — totaled 3:27.
John is a member of the Pine-Richland Aquatic Club, but the Willow Creek Triathlon's swim event doesn't take place in an indoor pool.
"I didn't like the swim because it was in a lake," said John, an incoming third-grader at St. Alphonsus in Wexford. "My favorite part was the bike ride."
For the younger Reed, an active lifestyle was something he was born in to.
"I've been competing in triathlons for about 15 years," said Greg, who, with his wife Chantal, have two daughters, Caitlin (7) and Corrine (3). "Caitlin will be competing in Saturday's youth triathlon at North Park, along with John. Corrine is a bit young for that, but she sees her older sister and brother doing these things and you can tell she wants to do what they're doing."
Along with being a triathlete, John also plays soccer, tennis, basketball and runs cross country.
"We're just a very athletic family," said Greg.
Greg is pleased that his son is excited about something that lends itself to a healthy lifestyle.
"He certainly wouldn't be doing it if he wasn't enjoying it," Greg said. "It's a lifelong sport and it's really thrilling for me to see him enjoying the sport and being successful at such a young age."
