February 27, 2025 • 14 mins
At 65, this Jervis Bay triathlete has just clocked his 20th Huski Triathlon Festival, and he's challenging other seniors to get out there!
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
And if you happen to be facing the twilight years
of your life here in the shoal Haven, my guest,
this episode might just be enough to inspire you to
have a crack at being the fittest version of yourself,
even if you're more into spectating than competing. The Shimano
Husky Triathlon recently celebrated its twentieth year, attracting six thousand athletes.
(00:24):
It's one of the biggest long course events in the
Southern Hemisphere, and there's just one man who can proudly
claim he's completed every single Husky event over those twenty years,
and that's Rob Duffy from the Jervis Bay Triathlon Club.
Sixty five year old Rob was a late comer to
triathlons when he realized in his mid thirties his lifestyle
(00:45):
wasn't probably the greatest for longevity, so he decided it
was time to make a change. Rob discovered triathlons and
he took to them like a duck to water, although
these days he sometimes admits to feeling more like a
lame duck. After completing the grueling bike, run and swim event,
he says this year's race definitely felt the most challenging,
(01:06):
and there's no way he could face each year without
the support of family and dedicated training buddies.
Speaker 2 (01:13):
I must say it's still a bit sore that I'm
back in the pool this morning and feeling okay.
Speaker 1 (01:20):
So your sporting background did it start with triathlons? Where
did you start your sporting background?
Speaker 2 (01:28):
Like a lot of people, I was reasonably active as
a school kid, but in my twenties mid thirties, I
wasn't so sports active. I was working long hours and
my health was starting to deteriorate a little. And in
about ninety nine I made a commitment to get healthy
(01:52):
and that started with literally running from telegraph pole telegraph pole,
and then I started to do some swimming shortly thereafter.
If you're swimming and running, you might get a bite.
And I started tracklon towards the end of nineteen eighteen nine,
(02:15):
and I started doing smaller events and graduating over the
time build up capacity to go longer. And I started
doing Ironman distance events about twenty three or four years ago,
and I'm still on that path. Now.
Speaker 1 (02:34):
Wow, that sounds like a lot of middle aged guys
with a family and a job, and you know they
wake up one morning and go kriky, I'm not as
fit as I used to be.
Speaker 2 (02:46):
Well, I also got a bit of a nudge from
my darling wife, who knew that I could not continue
in the lifestyle that I was leading, and that I
needed to do something to reset. And so with her
encouragement which continues today, that I stay on this past.
Speaker 1 (03:06):
Is that encouragement or insistence?
Speaker 2 (03:09):
Well, I had quite a bad bike crash this time
last year, and I had about eight months of time
away from really any activity while I recovered, and I'm
certain that my wife was more keen from the resume
than I was.
Speaker 1 (03:30):
What you were getting in their hair at home.
Speaker 2 (03:33):
Yeah, that's tru that's right.
Speaker 1 (03:36):
Does your wife compete?
Speaker 2 (03:38):
My wife is a very sporty person, and she's a
keen surfer and generally very active person. But she leaves
the triathle and stuff to me.
Speaker 1 (03:51):
Well, a little wonder because it is one of the
more testing sporting events that a person can enter, whether
young or middle age like yourself and me.
Speaker 2 (04:01):
Yeah, it was interesting over the weekend with some five
thousand competitors. They were from age five through to the
late seventies, and there were literally hundreds of Peeve of
people children and adults locally in the hid Shall Haven
who competed. So it's a sport that is challenging, but
(04:27):
it's a sport that a lot of people are engaged
in locally.
Speaker 1 (04:31):
And is that part of the reason for the move here.
Speaker 2 (04:34):
Well, my wife is from here, and my children have
moved here, and our children and grandchildren are here, and
so we are here and it's a.
Speaker 1 (04:45):
Much nicer place to train and to compete in.
Speaker 2 (04:48):
It's an absolutely stunning place to live and work in.
And the Jervis Bake Trifle Club is a really welcoming
club and it's a very vibrant place and supportive us
to be.
Speaker 1 (05:03):
Now over the years, that's probably one of the biggest
things is finding somewhere where you feel at home and
you can compete at your best.
Speaker 2 (05:12):
Yeah, that's right. And when you surround yourself with positive,
upbeat people who are looking to be challenged, then that's
an easy environment to keep doing what we're doing.
Speaker 1 (05:25):
For a guy like yourself, well sixty five, so you
were around forty five when you did your.
Speaker 2 (05:29):
First one, Yeah, forty five when I first started at Husky.
It's a lifestyle and it does require dedication, but it's
a very rewarding way to live your life, and being
healthy and active also allows me to work effectively and
hopefully a good role model for my grandchildren that I
(05:54):
can see that their grandfather tries to live a life
that's centered on health from being active and being challenged.
Speaker 1 (06:03):
It's one thing to compete in these events, which might
come up every two to three weeks or every month
or so during the summer period. But to compete, you've
got to be fit enough to complete these races. And
a lot of elite sports people say, well, the training
is harder than the event. How do you find training?
(06:23):
Do you love your training?
Speaker 2 (06:25):
I've learned to love the training.
Speaker 1 (06:26):
You've learned to love it.
Speaker 2 (06:28):
So there are times, of course when fatigue takes over
and you need to be mindful that you get plenty
of recovery and rest. But generally I'm much better training
and staying healthy than having long periods away from For example,
(06:49):
when I was injured last.
Speaker 1 (06:51):
Year, Yes, so coming back from that injury, was it
on the bike, in the water, running as well as
does gym work, et cetera.
Speaker 2 (07:01):
Coming back from the injury was really difficult aerobically. I'm
sixty five, and so I don't have the same capacity
that I had when I was forty five. So it's
been very difficult to get back to a level that
I was at pre the injury. But that's part of
(07:24):
the joy, is having the mountain to climb and just
keep kicking away at it. I'm still not back to
a level I was at pre before, but that I'm
ever hopeful that I'll get back there.
Speaker 1 (07:39):
But you're always up among the top finishes for your
age group, so you must be doing something right, Peter.
Speaker 2 (07:48):
It's getting to a point where the number of people
in my age group is getting less and less, and
so long as I don't forget which way to go,
I could find myself on the podium just because of
the few people left doing it. Well, that might say
something about my life.
Speaker 1 (08:06):
Chorices more soon of our conversation with Jervis Bay Trio
Club's Rob Duffy, sixty five and still striving after completing
his twentieth straight Husky Try Festival.
Speaker 2 (08:21):
I heart shol Haven. I Heart shol Haven.
Speaker 1 (08:28):
Pete Andrea back with you, and you won't find a fitter,
more positive sixty five year old bloke in the shoal
Haven than Rob Duffy. For the past two decades, Rob's
finished in his age division in every single one of
the Husky triathlon events. He's a proud member of the
Jervis Bay tri Club and his twenty year milestone's been
(08:48):
well recognized alongside the crazy records achieved by the much
younger fitness diehards who swim, cycle, and pound the pavement
along the Huskerson Foreshaws. He says our fitness is a
big motivator. There are other reasons he loves the triathlon scene,
and his advice to others is you're never too old
to chase your sporting dreams.
Speaker 2 (09:10):
There's a fantastic commaravory amongst the older athletes. Most of
the people at my age have been in it for
twenty plus years, and we see each other from race
to race. We may not see each other at other times.
There's an undeniable bond. We all understand what it takes
(09:32):
to be fit enough to participate in these events, but
we don't talk a lot about the training we do.
We just enjoy the fact that we are still out
there challenging ourselves. We're all a little bit slower than
we used to be. But we still very much enjoy
(09:53):
that we are living vital, full lives.
Speaker 1 (09:57):
And I suppose a big part of that is the mindset,
getting past, as you say, the fatigue and whatnot, and
then enjoying the event, enjoying the run. What's your best.
Speaker 2 (10:10):
Leg tif People to say that there's a standout at
the moment. I do enjoy each of the legs. I
used to say that I could run my way up
or run my way through the field. That's looking at
my weekend's performance. If I was any slower, my head
would have hit the pavement. So I just do the
(10:35):
best I can. I was told long time ago to
just keep turning up. It's amazing what a legacy you
can leave if you just keep turning up from day
to day periods of time when I'm highly motivated and
other periods when I'm not quiet as motivated. But I
say to myself, just keep turning up, and the better
(11:00):
it's all come.
Speaker 1 (11:01):
Now twenty years competing at the Husky Try, have you
seen that grown and developed? Oh?
Speaker 2 (11:08):
For sure. When it started, I think there was five
hundred competitors. Now some five thousand competitors, and the event
draws not only those competitors, but they're families and supporters,
and whilst the event would be enormous boom the entire community,
(11:31):
I'm conscious that it impacts on a lot of people,
and not everyone is involved in the triathlon community, but
when you bring seven thousand of people into to the
shop Haven, there must be a general boost to the community,
to the tourist enmassment. And I certainly know that lots
(11:54):
of people from the Central West not only do they
come to compete, but they come to holiday down in
Jervis Bay courtesy from the event.
Speaker 1 (12:04):
And hopefully people who are spectators might be watching on,
even those in their mid forties and whatnot and get
inspired by someone like yourself.
Speaker 2 (12:13):
Look, children as young as five are in Typhon. There
were hundreds and hundreds of volunteers, local people volunteering, and
my experiences a lot of those volunteers themselves involved in
actually competing. So there's an enormous flow on effect where
(12:36):
health and lifestyle are promoted by these types of events.
Speaker 1 (12:42):
So you're nearing the end of this summer and the
triathlon series, you're going to be back next year twenty
one years at the Husky, I.
Speaker 2 (12:51):
Said on Sunday that if possible, I'd set myself for
another five years. I'll only be seventy, still got plenty
of and me hopefully to be going around even then.
Speaker 1 (13:04):
Mate, as long as you can put the air in
those tires on your baby, as long as you can
pump up those tires, you'll be right.
Speaker 2 (13:11):
I reckon hope.
Speaker 1 (13:12):
So you're an inspiration. What would you like to say
to anyone considering triathlon?
Speaker 2 (13:18):
I would encourage anyone to embark or stay on a
lifestyle that promotes health and activity, whether it be triathlon
or into the shol Haven. The local triathlon community is
a very vibrant, positive, encouraging environment, and we'd welcome anyone
(13:40):
to join us.
Speaker 1 (13:41):
Right. It's been a pleasure, mate, Thanks so much anytime,
and congratulations, and I hope to see you around about
seventy two. Thanks so much, Petter anytime, my friend, anytime,
Thank you, thank you. So just don't sit there. Rob
Duffy is a prime example of what putting one foot
(14:01):
in front of the other can achieve. With maybe the
occasional ice bath and tube of Denker rub Rob credits
his triathlon mentor Alan Pittman with always emphasizing the importance
of just keep turning up. And if Rob has his
way and his health holds up, there's more finish lines
and fist pumps ahead. That's I heartshoal Haven, proudly supported
(14:22):
by the new South Wales Government. I'm Pete Andrea. Catch
you next time.
Speaker 2 (14:32):
I heartshoul Haven.
And if you happen to be facing the twilight years
of your life here in the shoal Haven, my guest,
this episode might just be enough to inspire you to
have a crack at being the fittest version of yourself,
even if you're more into spectating than competing. The Shimano
Husky Triathlon recently celebrated its twentieth year, attracting six thousand athletes.
(00:24):
It's one of the biggest long course events in the
Southern Hemisphere, and there's just one man who can proudly
claim he's completed every single Husky event over those twenty years,
and that's Rob Duffy from the Jervis Bay Triathlon Club.
Sixty five year old Rob was a late comer to
triathlons when he realized in his mid thirties his lifestyle
(00:45):
wasn't probably the greatest for longevity, so he decided it
was time to make a change. Rob discovered triathlons and
he took to them like a duck to water, although
these days he sometimes admits to feeling more like a
lame duck. After completing the grueling bike, run and swim event,
he says this year's race definitely felt the most challenging,
(01:06):
and there's no way he could face each year without
the support of family and dedicated training buddies.
Speaker 2 (01:13):
I must say it's still a bit sore that I'm
back in the pool this morning and feeling okay.
Speaker 1 (01:20):
So your sporting background did it start with triathlons? Where
did you start your sporting background?
Speaker 2 (01:28):
Like a lot of people, I was reasonably active as
a school kid, but in my twenties mid thirties, I
wasn't so sports active. I was working long hours and
my health was starting to deteriorate a little. And in
about ninety nine I made a commitment to get healthy
(01:52):
and that started with literally running from telegraph pole telegraph pole,
and then I started to do some swimming shortly thereafter.
If you're swimming and running, you might get a bite.
And I started tracklon towards the end of nineteen eighteen nine,
(02:15):
and I started doing smaller events and graduating over the
time build up capacity to go longer. And I started
doing Ironman distance events about twenty three or four years ago,
and I'm still on that path. Now.
Speaker 1 (02:34):
Wow, that sounds like a lot of middle aged guys
with a family and a job, and you know they
wake up one morning and go kriky, I'm not as
fit as I used to be.
Speaker 2 (02:46):
Well, I also got a bit of a nudge from
my darling wife, who knew that I could not continue
in the lifestyle that I was leading, and that I
needed to do something to reset. And so with her
encouragement which continues today, that I stay on this past.
Speaker 1 (03:06):
Is that encouragement or insistence?
Speaker 2 (03:09):
Well, I had quite a bad bike crash this time
last year, and I had about eight months of time
away from really any activity while I recovered, and I'm
certain that my wife was more keen from the resume
than I was.
Speaker 1 (03:30):
What you were getting in their hair at home.
Speaker 2 (03:33):
Yeah, that's tru that's right.
Speaker 1 (03:36):
Does your wife compete?
Speaker 2 (03:38):
My wife is a very sporty person, and she's a
keen surfer and generally very active person. But she leaves
the triathle and stuff to me.
Speaker 1 (03:51):
Well, a little wonder because it is one of the
more testing sporting events that a person can enter, whether
young or middle age like yourself and me.
Speaker 2 (04:01):
Yeah, it was interesting over the weekend with some five
thousand competitors. They were from age five through to the
late seventies, and there were literally hundreds of Peeve of
people children and adults locally in the hid Shall Haven
who competed. So it's a sport that is challenging, but
(04:27):
it's a sport that a lot of people are engaged
in locally.
Speaker 1 (04:31):
And is that part of the reason for the move here.
Speaker 2 (04:34):
Well, my wife is from here, and my children have
moved here, and our children and grandchildren are here, and
so we are here and it's a.
Speaker 1 (04:45):
Much nicer place to train and to compete in.
Speaker 2 (04:48):
It's an absolutely stunning place to live and work in.
And the Jervis Bake Trifle Club is a really welcoming
club and it's a very vibrant place and supportive us
to be.
Speaker 1 (05:03):
Now over the years, that's probably one of the biggest
things is finding somewhere where you feel at home and
you can compete at your best.
Speaker 2 (05:12):
Yeah, that's right. And when you surround yourself with positive,
upbeat people who are looking to be challenged, then that's
an easy environment to keep doing what we're doing.
Speaker 1 (05:25):
For a guy like yourself, well sixty five, so you
were around forty five when you did your.
Speaker 2 (05:29):
First one, Yeah, forty five when I first started at Husky.
It's a lifestyle and it does require dedication, but it's
a very rewarding way to live your life, and being
healthy and active also allows me to work effectively and
hopefully a good role model for my grandchildren that I
(05:54):
can see that their grandfather tries to live a life
that's centered on health from being active and being challenged.
Speaker 1 (06:03):
It's one thing to compete in these events, which might
come up every two to three weeks or every month
or so during the summer period. But to compete, you've
got to be fit enough to complete these races. And
a lot of elite sports people say, well, the training
is harder than the event. How do you find training?
(06:23):
Do you love your training?
Speaker 2 (06:25):
I've learned to love the training.
Speaker 1 (06:26):
You've learned to love it.
Speaker 2 (06:28):
So there are times, of course when fatigue takes over
and you need to be mindful that you get plenty
of recovery and rest. But generally I'm much better training
and staying healthy than having long periods away from For example,
(06:49):
when I was injured last.
Speaker 1 (06:51):
Year, Yes, so coming back from that injury, was it
on the bike, in the water, running as well as
does gym work, et cetera.
Speaker 2 (07:01):
Coming back from the injury was really difficult aerobically. I'm
sixty five, and so I don't have the same capacity
that I had when I was forty five. So it's
been very difficult to get back to a level that
I was at pre the injury. But that's part of
(07:24):
the joy, is having the mountain to climb and just
keep kicking away at it. I'm still not back to
a level I was at pre before, but that I'm
ever hopeful that I'll get back there.
Speaker 1 (07:39):
But you're always up among the top finishes for your
age group, so you must be doing something right, Peter.
Speaker 2 (07:48):
It's getting to a point where the number of people
in my age group is getting less and less, and
so long as I don't forget which way to go,
I could find myself on the podium just because of
the few people left doing it. Well, that might say
something about my life.
Speaker 1 (08:06):
Chorices more soon of our conversation with Jervis Bay Trio
Club's Rob Duffy, sixty five and still striving after completing
his twentieth straight Husky Try Festival.
Speaker 2 (08:21):
I heart shol Haven. I Heart shol Haven.
Speaker 1 (08:28):
Pete Andrea back with you, and you won't find a fitter,
more positive sixty five year old bloke in the shoal
Haven than Rob Duffy. For the past two decades, Rob's
finished in his age division in every single one of
the Husky triathlon events. He's a proud member of the
Jervis Bay tri Club and his twenty year milestone's been
(08:48):
well recognized alongside the crazy records achieved by the much
younger fitness diehards who swim, cycle, and pound the pavement
along the Huskerson Foreshaws. He says our fitness is a
big motivator. There are other reasons he loves the triathlon scene,
and his advice to others is you're never too old
to chase your sporting dreams.
Speaker 2 (09:10):
There's a fantastic commaravory amongst the older athletes. Most of
the people at my age have been in it for
twenty plus years, and we see each other from race
to race. We may not see each other at other times.
There's an undeniable bond. We all understand what it takes
(09:32):
to be fit enough to participate in these events, but
we don't talk a lot about the training we do.
We just enjoy the fact that we are still out
there challenging ourselves. We're all a little bit slower than
we used to be. But we still very much enjoy
(09:53):
that we are living vital, full lives.
Speaker 1 (09:57):
And I suppose a big part of that is the mindset,
getting past, as you say, the fatigue and whatnot, and
then enjoying the event, enjoying the run. What's your best.
Speaker 2 (10:10):
Leg tif People to say that there's a standout at
the moment. I do enjoy each of the legs. I
used to say that I could run my way up
or run my way through the field. That's looking at
my weekend's performance. If I was any slower, my head
would have hit the pavement. So I just do the
(10:35):
best I can. I was told long time ago to
just keep turning up. It's amazing what a legacy you
can leave if you just keep turning up from day
to day periods of time when I'm highly motivated and
other periods when I'm not quiet as motivated. But I
say to myself, just keep turning up, and the better
(11:00):
it's all come.
Speaker 1 (11:01):
Now twenty years competing at the Husky Try, have you
seen that grown and developed? Oh?
Speaker 2 (11:08):
For sure. When it started, I think there was five
hundred competitors. Now some five thousand competitors, and the event
draws not only those competitors, but they're families and supporters,
and whilst the event would be enormous boom the entire community,
(11:31):
I'm conscious that it impacts on a lot of people,
and not everyone is involved in the triathlon community, but
when you bring seven thousand of people into to the
shop Haven, there must be a general boost to the community,
to the tourist enmassment. And I certainly know that lots
(11:54):
of people from the Central West not only do they
come to compete, but they come to holiday down in
Jervis Bay courtesy from the event.
Speaker 1 (12:04):
And hopefully people who are spectators might be watching on,
even those in their mid forties and whatnot and get
inspired by someone like yourself.
Speaker 2 (12:13):
Look, children as young as five are in Typhon. There
were hundreds and hundreds of volunteers, local people volunteering, and
my experiences a lot of those volunteers themselves involved in
actually competing. So there's an enormous flow on effect where
(12:36):
health and lifestyle are promoted by these types of events.
Speaker 1 (12:42):
So you're nearing the end of this summer and the
triathlon series, you're going to be back next year twenty
one years at the Husky, I.
Speaker 2 (12:51):
Said on Sunday that if possible, I'd set myself for
another five years. I'll only be seventy, still got plenty
of and me hopefully to be going around even then.
Speaker 1 (13:04):
Mate, as long as you can put the air in
those tires on your baby, as long as you can
pump up those tires, you'll be right.
Speaker 2 (13:11):
I reckon hope.
Speaker 1 (13:12):
So you're an inspiration. What would you like to say
to anyone considering triathlon?
Speaker 2 (13:18):
I would encourage anyone to embark or stay on a
lifestyle that promotes health and activity, whether it be triathlon
or into the shol Haven. The local triathlon community is
a very vibrant, positive, encouraging environment, and we'd welcome anyone
(13:40):
to join us.
Speaker 1 (13:41):
Right. It's been a pleasure, mate, Thanks so much anytime,
and congratulations, and I hope to see you around about
seventy two. Thanks so much, Petter anytime, my friend, anytime,
Thank you, thank you. So just don't sit there. Rob
Duffy is a prime example of what putting one foot
(14:01):
in front of the other can achieve. With maybe the
occasional ice bath and tube of Denker rub Rob credits
his triathlon mentor Alan Pittman with always emphasizing the importance
of just keep turning up. And if Rob has his
way and his health holds up, there's more finish lines
and fist pumps ahead. That's I heartshoal Haven, proudly supported
(14:22):
by the new South Wales Government. I'm Pete Andrea. Catch
you next time.
Speaker 2 (14:32):
I heartshoul Haven.
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