Projo Running Blog

MATT REED, ACCENTURE ESCAPE FROM ALCATRAZ TRIATHLON CHAMPION, MAKES BAY-AREA APPEARANCE TO HELP WAGE WAR ON ALS

BOULDER, CO – As Elite Triathlon Champion Matt Reed gears up to defend his Accenture Escape from Alcatraz title this weekend, he remains focused on yet another important race, the one to find a cure for ALS, commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.

Reed is dedicating this year’s Alcatraz race to the Blazeman Foundation’s War on ALS. The organization’s mission is to raise awareness about the disease by leveraging the energy and compassion of the multi-sport community as well as to raise funds to find a cure for ALS.

Inspired by the courage of Jonathan Blazeman, who tragically succumbed to the disease on May 27, 2007, Reed has helped organize a fundraising event in conjunction with his June 4th appearance at Sports Basement in San Francisco. Reed will join the Golden Gate Triathlon Club, the host club for the 2007 Accenture Escape from Alcatraz, at the store between 6: 00 – 8:00pm for a silent auction followed by a motivational training talk.

Reed would like to thank his sponsors and those companies who generously contributed to the silent auction; including Escape from Alcatraz Title Sponsor, Accenture, USA Triathlon, Competitor Magazine, Fuji, Zipp, Cytosport, Profile Design, Rudy Project, Suunto, Puma, Motorola, Crocs and Bakers Breakfast Cookies.

Details about the event can be found on the Sports Basement website: http://www.sportsbasement.com/content/communitymain.jsp

About Matt Reed
Matt’s 2007 competition season exploded when he dominated the field at the Cronulla Triathlon in Australia, winning by over 4 minutes. Matt went on to demolish the course record at the prestigious St. Anthony’s Triathlon and he’s still gea r ing up for a full season of high-profile events including Alcatraz, Lifetime Fitness, Chicago Triathlon and Treasure Island (which he won in 2004 and 2005). Reed has shown he is one of the most well-rounded 3-sport triathletes in the world, excelling at the non-drafting style of racing as well as at the ITU style.

Coming off his 2006 Accenture Escape from Alcatraz win and the 2006 ITU Team Triathlon World Championships, Matt is strong and anticipating an unprecedented year. One of three 2008 Beijing Olympic Team spots will be up for grabs to the first man across the line on September 16, 2007 at the World Cup in Beijing. Matt is gunning for the win to ensure his chance to represent the US at the Beijing Games.

Matt’s journey to become an Olympian is certainly unique. He was born in New Zealand, moved to Australia at age 11, entered and won his first triathlon at age 14, then went on to pursue the sport professionally at the young age of 17. What is i nteresting about Matt’s history with triathlon is that he left his New Zealand team after meeting his wife, Kelly, in Boulder, CO prior to the 2004 Athens Games. Despite jeopardizing his chance at competing in Athens, Matt elected to transfer his citizenship and move to the US when Kelly was involved in a near-fatal accident after being run over and paralyzed by a semi-truck.

Transferring his citizenship meant that Matt made some serious sacrifices, he sat out for five months of World Cup competition and missed the 2004 World Championships. At the 2004 US Olympic Trials, Matt came in third and earned a place on the Athens Olympic Team; however, his citizenship did not go through until after the Olympics so Matt was not allowed to represent the US in Athens. This was especially disappointing since the athlete who took Reed’s place in Athens finished more than 7 minutes behind Reed in the Trials.

After watching the 2004 Olympics from hi s c ouch at home, Matt went out and won the US National Elite Title, ending the year in the top 15 in the world. Matt started out 2005 with two top-three World Cup finishes in six months; he ended up 7th in the world that year. Although 2006 didn’t end the way Matt planned due to illness, he started the season with wins at Alcatraz and Team World Championships, which have him well-positioned to be one of the world’s top performers in 2007....and hungry for a trip to Beijing, which will prove to be one of the most memorable Games is history.

For more information on matty: www.janeymillermanagement.com
For more information on the war on als: waronals.com