Luke Haines is looking strong going into the final Adventure Cup race

Luke Haines, not a stranger to the multisport scene, phenomenal athlete, dad and business owner. He's sharing his amazing adventure journey with us. 

1. Your racing career highlights? 

I have been fortunate to really get going since 2007 with good results. My first multisport win at the Mars Challenge in 2007 is one I will certainly remember. Having come from learning all disciplines to training hard to improve fitness and learning the skills required was great. Back to back UMC wins in 2009 and 2010 (then three 2nds in a row) along with Australian multisport champs win in 2009 was amazing as only 1 week apart.

One of my best races I put together was the very first Marysville to Melbourne in 2011. Hot field and being the favorite meant I had to perform, and I delivered a great win and backed it up with a 2^ndplace the following year. Then there is also my 5 x Coast 2 Coast finishes with a 3^rd place in the old fella's category in 2017. 

There are lots more in adventure racing as well with expedition race finishes in Africa, Ireland, China, Abu Dhabi, and 2 XPD finishes. And there is also my little excursion to complete The Crocodile Trophy in 2012. To come 3^rdin the last stage against those pure Euro MTB’ers was very cool. Falls Creek Mountain Raid win in 2016 was fun as I guaranteed my teammate Chris a win if he raced with me. No pressure! Thankfully I went the right way and were quick enough for the win. And to come back to racing after a break due to parenting and business commitments and still be very competitive at UMCand Lakes Entrancelast year is a great feeling. You’re never too old! 

2. How do you combine high-performance racing and parenting?

I am lucky in that I run my own fitness business, so it gives me time to train more now that my daughter is at school. When she was at home, I had a pretty good running chariot and she loved our daily runs or rides to the park. My mantra was to train smart, train hard and I focused more on strength training along with speed work. It's amazing how you can maintain a fairly high level still with minimal time if the effort level in the sessions is hard enough. 

3. Your 5 am workout motivation

For a few years there it was completely gone. No desire to get up that early when I wasn’t racing and I became a bit lazy with time management. After many years of 20-30hr training weeks, the body and mind needed a break. Thankfully, I discovered a new goal at the end of last year and the early starts are enjoyable again. The 510AM group run is great fun and to have one session ticked off by 7 AM in the morning leaves the whole day open. So now, the motivation for the early starts are to achieve the next running goal. It's much easier to get up when you go to bed early. Typing this up at 1 AM certainly means no 5 AM session the next day. One thing I have learned over the years is rest is just as important as training hard.

4. What do you love the most about multisport 

It doesn’t have a swim leg! No really, I don’t like swimming and kayaking is a non-swimming sport. Also, most of the time it takes a little more skill than triathlon. Off-road running, MTB’ing and downriver paddling. There is just no comparison in skill level needed for Coast 2 Coast with an Ironman triathlon. Both types are hard, you just need to think a lot more in multisport. What I don’t like about multisport is all the gear required. Various boats, bikes, shoes etc. It can become expensive quickly.

5. Your favorite training session. 

Don’t really have a fav, like doing them all. A nice fast speed session if always good to smash out, whether it's on the bike, running or kayaking. Nowadays I like the ones where I don’t have to travel and I complete most of them from my house or gym on the river in Geelong. I watch the ultrarunning vids and wish we had the mountains and scenery to train in but don’t miss the travel time to get to those spots one bit. With a family, it is a lot about time management.

6. Your top 5 training tips.

Train hard, train often, train your skills, rest when needed and look after your nutrition.

7. What’s Revolution Fitness Studioa unique approach to the training process?

At my studio, we provide a range of training options and it is basically everything that I would personally use and wish I had access to when I started out. Everything from coaching, gym programs, personal sessions, group sessions, racing advice, gear advice, and nutritional products. And we are very friendly, new people are always welcome to join the sessions. Strength training is a key part of the process too and our unique location offers everything you need. From our doors, you can run flat or hills, ride inside, ride track or hills and paddle with 16km of river. The only thing we really don’t have is moving water or really, really big hills. In Geelong, repeats are your friend to get the elevation in. So our best assets at the studio are our river location, like-minded people and range of equipment. Not many places where you can jump on a watt-bike, have a kayak-erg session, go for a run, smash out a weight’s session and chill with Yoga all at the same place. Remember when I spoke about time management, not losing time driving somewhere makes a big difference.