AustrAliAn triAthlete | 39Tim Reed
Australia. A year on, he concluded that
self-analysis and control was probably not
the change needed in his training and he
employed Alan Couzins for guidance. Early
results indicate a successful pairing with a
win at Ironman 70.3 Vietnam and podiums
at Ironman 70.3 Daveo and the loaded
Ironman 70.3 Oceanside already in 2018.
When interviewing athletes, I look for
their key values, which quickly emerge.
With Tim, it is very clearly family is his
primary priority. Tim is now a veteran of
parenthood with two young sons, Oscar
and Artie, and another baby on the way.
The influence of and admiration for his
wife, Monica is abundantly apparent in his
perspective on life. There is a level of ‘life
balance’ uncommonly seen in many top
professional athletes, at least in mindset if
not in action. Reed not only acknowledges
sportspeople’s relatively minor contribution
to wider society but also condemns the
idolisation of them as heroes. His stance
- that running fast hardly confirms
someone a respectable person. We can
create role models from ropey human
beings and disregard the extraordinary
sacrifices of other ‘everyday’ professions;
being a good parent for a start.
‘My wife is the top of my hero list,
and I’m only partly saying this to
increase my chance of getting some
action, an ever-declining affair the more
sleep interrupting offspring you bring
into the world. I admire Monica because
unlike myself she copes with any
situation, no problem is too big, and her
life is dedicated to others - primarily, to
our boys and me. But also, as a Doctor,
she’s not really financially motivated at
all, spending much of her working time
working in Aboriginal health care for
much less money than she could make
in the private sector. I’m a big fan. I
guess that’s why I married her. Why she
married me, no one will ever know.
‘I think that when you bring these
needy, eating, sleeping, screaming
gremlins into the world, you don’t give a
second thought to the changes and
adjustments you have to make because
you love them so damn much. Far more
than your career ambitions.’
‘When I was looking after Oscar
while Monica worked, we built an
incredibly strong bond. In contrast by
2015, we had a nanny or daycare to look
GET DOWN LOW AND LET’S GO:
Ironman Australia, 2017.ENJOYING THE RIDE: Ironman 70.3 World Championship, Chattanooga, 2017.