Jeff Buhr


I got burnt out running cross country in high school and came to Kentucky with no real desire to continue running in any form. I quickly realized that the college life led to a lot of down time and met some friends who were into triathlon…now that sounded fun. I had always thought that riding a nice bike with the funny shoes would be fun and I guessed that I could struggle through the swim to get to the bike and run, so in the March of 2003 I bought a bike and started on my adventure to complete my first triathlon. As have many before me, I thoroughly enjoyed training and racing and knew that this was my outlet for life. It provided variety and most importantly a challenge to improve in all three disciplines.

It only took until January of 2008 before the desire to improve in swimming hit me. That year, I started swimming more regularly and learning to do the simple things that swimmers do, such as flip turns, streamlining and, heaven forbid, working on another stroke. After a couple weeks of consistent swimming and increasing yardage, I noticed that instead of trailing in my master’s lane, I was actually leading that lane and was not too far behind the next lane. Swimming was now becoming almost fun for me so I became dedicated to going to the pool. I also started cycling with a purpose and a plan. The running was progressing as well with all of the fitness I was gaining through cycling and swimming. I was now a more complete triathlete mainly because of my new swim “prowess”.

In 2008, I had my breakthrough year. That one year, I set a PR in both Olympic and Half Ironman distance triathlons, and at every running distance from 5K to the marathon. In August, I qualified for the 70.3 World Championship in Clearwater, FL. That success carried over the next couple years as I again qualified for 70.3 Worlds in 2009 as well as Age Group Olympic Distance Worlds in 2009 and 2010. I didn’t go to either of the Age Group World Championships, but I can at least say that I qualified.

I have a BA in Kinesiology and Health Promotion and MS in Biomechanics, and a love for helping people to reach that same enlightenment I did in 2008. I have coached several people to compete in their first triathlon, trained athletes to improve their performance, and allowed them to find the confidence they needed for success. I look forward to working with the half ironman teams to get you to the start line fit and ready to have that breakthrough race that we all desire.

Triathlon Coach Jeff Buhr