Osoyoos senior Bob Sherwood, centre, celebrates after winning gold in the Kelowna Apple Triathlon last week. He competed in the male 75-70 sprint category. (Contributed photo)
By Dale Boyd
Osoyoos Times
While his training approach has changed as time goes on, one thing stays the same for 75-year-old triathlete and Osoyoos resident Bob Sherwood: the love of the race.
“The reason I do triathlons is simple: for the joy of them, and for the hell of them. And hell has a different connotation,” Sherwood said. “There’s pain too. When you’re young you push that pain the whole way. When you’re my age I push the pain only as far as my heart rate monitor will allow me. I was actually holding myself back in the run. My heart monitor was saying ‘that’s enough.’”
Sherwood brought home the gold medal from the Kelowna Apple Triathlon last weekend in the male 75 to 70 sprint category, completing a 750-meter swim a 18.6-kilometer bike ride and a five-kilometer run.
Not only does Sherwood love the race, he thrives on the challenge of training.
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“It’s a strange existence being a triathlete because you work hard for months for a very short race. Whether you do one race or four or five in a season, it’s a short race relatively with the hours and months you put into it,” Sherwood said. “You have to be happy racing. Half the reason I do triathlons is it gives me focus to stay fit.”
He started watching the early days of the Iron Man triathlon and after falling in love with the sport he tried his hand at it in 1988.
“The first one was a super short one; it was only 40, 45 minutes, and I thought I was going to die,” Sherwood laughed.
He continued to race with no thoughts of medalling, but instead setting his own fitness goals. Unfortunately, Sherwood fell ill and was forced into an early retirement.
“I started again a few years ago. I guess I had a little age and a few more brains. I studied myself more carefully and studied more,” Sherwood said.
He returned to racing in 2016 and placed second in his category in a Summerland race and continued on to qualify for the world championships in Rotterdam, Netherlands. He was too sick on race day, but Sherwood remained in the loop and race.
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Sherwood credits his success in racing and training to continuing to learn, and since his early days of triathlon training has come a long way.
“Triathlons are challenging to me, but also inspiring because they are very, very technical,” Sherwood said.
From doing your shoes up right to run pacing, every little bit counts. Sherwood credits his success to focusing on his transition time from the swim to the bike to the run.
“On Sunday I was the fastest biker, but the next fastest biker was only six seconds behind me. It’s tight,” Sherwood said.
He has qualified, and after sorting out some technical age category rules, he hopes to be heading to the International Triathlon Union World Triathlon in Edmonton on July 20.
Osoyoos triathlete Bob Sherwood shows off his gold medal from the Kelowna Apple Triathlon last week. He competed in the male 75-70 sprint category. (Contributed photo)
