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.