BY ALEX TIGANI
If you were up early on Sunday morning there was every chance you were competing in the latest Singleton Triathlon Club event.
Participants of all ages were spotted shuffling up and down Combo Lane after swimming and cycling.
For some, like 13-year-old short course winner Lachlan Jones, it is a chance to perfect the craft of the triple sporting challenge ahead of national events in the upcoming years.
For others, like Singleton Roosters defender Mitchell Gaffney it allows extra training ahead of his seventh AFL Hunter Central Coast season.
And for well-known footballer Stuart Plant, goal-keeper for NPL side Weston, it marks the finish line of rehabilitation only eight months suffering temporary paralysis from a neck injury.
“We’re getting a number of new tri-athletes almost every event coming in and either giving it a first go or giving a Singleton event a first go,” Singleton Triathlon Club president Andrew Speechley told The Hunter River Times.
“We think we have one of the best courses in the Hunter Valley as we have a flat bike road to run and to cycle on.”
Speechley, who moved to Singleton from Western Australia in 2007, admits he took 12 months to muster up the courage to try an event after seeing a newspaper article.
Now he looks forward to competing in the next event on February 5 followed by finals rounds held on March 5 and April 5.