Lack of sleep has been the order of the day for new father Ben Allen recently but the Figtree endurance triathlete still found the energy to win the main race of the Tri TheGong Festival on Sunday.
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And in winning the men's triathlon in a time of 1 hour 52 minutes and 18 seconds Allen also set a course record in his first time racing his home event.
"It was quite surprising because obviously in the lead up to it, I hadn't really done much training and had limited sleep with a newborn bub. I did however do some good training in the months prior to it and I think that led me to having a good performance on Sunday," he said.
"Funny enough, I've never been able to compete in it as it has always clashed with other events or I haven't been in the country at the time.
"With the birth of our son Kai on April 4 this year things worked out well and we were able to be here at home for this event.
"It's a fantastic event and over the years I've always wanted to do it and never had the opportunity.
"To be able to line up against all the competitors and race around the streets and run around the beautiful scenery that is Wollongong Harbour is probably one of my most memorable wins because there is no place like home, and having my family there and my newborn son made it extra special."
...it is probably one of my most memorable wins because there is no place like home, and having my family there and my newborn son made it extra special.
- Ben Allen
Allen and his wife Jacqui Allen are well known triathletes.
The birth of her first child has seen Jacqui take a back seat in recent years although she is still a member of professional women's cycling team Roxsolt Liv SRAM.
Her husband has continued to race during this time and in February won the National Marathon Mountain Bike Championships and the National XC Championships in Thredbo.
"I just tried to do as many events as I could before Kai was born. It's been really good. At the moment I'm just enjoying spending as much time as I can at home with the family," Allen said.
Having recently bought a new house in Figtree and working full-time at Appin mine, Allen is also training hard for the National Mountain Bike Championships in Wagga in five weeks time.
"I won that last year and I'm hoping to go back and defend my title," he said.
"I also have the Redbull Defiance in August and then the National Off-Road Triathlon also in August in Townsville."
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Agron Latifi
Wollongong born and bred. I love reporting about the Illawarra region and have been doing it for more than 20 years. I've moved into sport recently after covering the education round for the last five plus years for the Illawarra Mercury. It's been a great pleasure.
Wollongong born and bred. I love reporting about the Illawarra region and have been doing it for more than 20 years. I've moved into sport recently after covering the education round for the last five plus years for the Illawarra Mercury. It's been a great pleasure.
