Local teen represents Team USA in world race in Australia
photos submitted Reuben Perlee, 18, of Theodosia, competed in the sprint duathalon for Team USA in the 2024 World Triathlon Multisport Championships in Townsville, Australia Aug. 15-25.
photos submitted Reuben’s sprint duathlon event included a 5k run, 20k cycle and 2.5k run in the sunny beach town of Townsville, Australia. He is pictured in his run above, and during his cycle, below, sporting his Team USA uniform. Other competitors pictured in the cycling photo were from United Kingdom (front) and Australia. Reuben is planning to compete in the national race again next year which will allow him another chance at the world championship race in 2026, where he thinks he may compete in the traditional duathlon, an event that doubles the distance in each of the three-parts of the duathlon.
photos submitted Reuben Perlee, 18, of Theodosia, is pictured here as he finishes the 2024 World Multisport Championship race in Townsend, Australia, last month. Perlee competed in the sprint duathlon, which consists of a 5k run, 20k bicycle ride and 2.5k run. He completed the event 1:05:12. He was granted the honor of competing in the world championship race after he came in first in the nation in his age group during the 2023 National Multisport Championship race, held last year in Irving, Texas.
Last month 18-year-old Theodosia resident Reuben Perlee was sporting red, white and blue in the land down under as he competed as part of Team USA in the 2024 World Multisport Championship race in Townsville, Australia.
“It was my first time in Australia and my first time competing in a world event. It was a lot of fun,” Reuben told the Times after he returned to Theodosia following the Aug. 15-25 race.
That fun came with a lot of hard work beforehand. The world competition is only open to the very best competitors in each country. Reuben was granted the honor of competing in the world championship after he took first place in his age group (16 to 19) at the National Multisport Championship last year in Irving, Texas.
In the competition in Australia, Reuben placed 10th out of 22 of the best competitors in the world in his age group and event, the sprint duathlon, which features athletes completing a three-part race. They first run 5 kilometers (3.1 miles) then bicycle for 20 kilometers (12.4 miles) and finish with a 2.5-kilometer (1.5 mile) run, all completed consecutively without rest breaks.
Reuben ended his world championship race in one hour, five minutes and 12 seconds (1:05.12), nearly seven minutes faster than his nationals final score last year, which put him on the number one podium stand for his age group.
There were 39 countries and more than 4,000 athletes represented at this year’s World Multisport Championship including more than 350 on Team USA; however, Reuben was the only competitor from the United States in his age group of 16- to 19-year-old athletes in the sprint duathlon. The other 21 competitors were from Australia, New Zealand, England and other countries.
In this year’s race, Reuben ran his first 5k in 19:00 (last year 19:38) with a 33 second transition to the bicycle, where he biked a 20k in 34:20 (last year was 36:21). He had a 1:01 transition before his final run began, and he completed the last 2.5k race in 10.21 (last year was 13:40).
Reuben’s preparation for the race began earlier this year as he put in the work running and biking six days a week.
“For a couple months I’ve been running about 40 to 45 miles a week and biking close to 100 miles a week,” Reuben said. “I did all my training here around Bull Shoals Lake and on gravel roads in the area.”
Reuben’s dad accompanied him to Australia. They flew in four days before the race. He said on the journey there, they met other world championship competitors from both the USA and other countries on his various flights into Australia.
When they arrived at their destination, halfway across the globe, the half-day time difference took some getting used to. The time in Townsville is 15 hours ahead of Theodosia’s central standard time, which worked in Reuben’s favor for the race, he said.
“We had to make sure we went to bed on time, but I woke up pretty rested. The race was in the morning. We were already waking up early and going to sleep early. So it wasn’t too bad,” he said.
On the morning of the race, the weather was hot and humid, he said. Temperatures were around 85 degrees and the humidity clocked in at a swampy 80 percent. Despite the challenging conditions, the scenery set the tone for an enjoyable race.
“The run is right on the beach...and the bike course went down the coast for six miles and then back. It was a really, really pretty course,” he said.
The other competitors were great sports too, Reuben said. During the draft-legal 12-mile bicycle ride, Reuben became very hot and thirsty as hadn’t brought any water with him. He and one of the duathlon competitors from Australia were bike drafting, a technique where the cyclists take turns riding in the wake of the other to reduce wind resistance and save energy. Noticing Reuben’s lack of water on the hot day, his Australian competitor handed Reuben his own bottle of water, a gesture that Reuben said he greatly appreciated.
The race was a huge accomplishment for Reuben, but he says he’s not done yet. He’s already planning to compete in the national race in 2025 in Omaha, Nebraska, where he hopes he’ll qualify and get another shot at competing in the world championship race in 2026 in Abu Dhabi, a city in the United Arab Emirates.
Always pushing himself, Reuben says he plans to compete in the longer, more demanding event of the traditional duathlon, which consists of a 10-kilometer run, 40-kilometer cycle and 5-kilometer run.
No matter what event he chooses, there’s no doubt he’ll put in the work to try and get back to the world championship race - and those back here in the tiny map-dot towns of Ozark County will be cheering him on all the way.