A Tea athlete will represent South Dakota in a national triathlon this fall.
Justin Manning, 23, placed second in the Dakotaman Triathlon June 20 at Lake Alvin near Harrisburg.
Manning finished the sprint triathlon, which includes a 600-yard swim, 16-mile bike ride and 3.5 mile run in one hour, seven minutes and 32 seconds.
That made him the top South Dakota athlete and qualifying him for the Best of U.S. Amateur Competition Sept. 29 in Mission Viejo, Cali.
Brian Bich, a 42-year-old from Duluth, Minn. won the competition with a time of 1:04:44. The Dakotaman qualifies the top in-state winner for the Best in the U.S.
“It’s a pretty cool opportunity to go out to California and compete with some of the top people in the nation. I can see where I’m at and find another level of competition,” Manning said.
An avid runner, swimmer and biker, Manning began competing in triathlons when he was 14 years old, but he began swimming at six.
“It was kind of a funny story,” he said. “I failed beginners swimming lessons. I complained to my mom that I’d never swim and couldn’t swim. My parents put me on a swim team. Now I can swim pretty well.”
Manning can swim very well, actually.
He competed on his high school swim team in Vermillion, racing freestyle distances his freshman year and working up to sprints by the time he was a junior and senior.
He attended South Dakota State University in Brookings, where he continued his swimming career.
Manning is still a student at SDSU, majoring in Pharmacy.
His first triathlon was in Okoboji, Iowa. The distances vary at each competition, Manning said.
Manning began his first contest with an 800-meter swim.
“The swim was perfectly fine because I used to swim the mile in college,” he said. “I was out of the water way ahead of everyone else. But I went from first to 21st on the bike. That’s when you realize how competitive it really is.”
But after that first triathlon he was hooked.
“It’s different sports so your body never gets total work out.”
Since his first race he has done several each year. At 20, he started to enter 8-10 triathlons a year. He’s competed in Watertown, Lake Alvin, Wall Lake, De Moines and Chamberlain and others.
His first win came at age 20 in Okoboji.
Manning swims twice a week and runs and bikes at least three times a week. He swims 4,000 yards, bikes 60-100 miles and runs 15-20 miles a week.
It seems like a lot of time, but Manning said he can estimate the time it will take for his workouts. A 20-mile bike ride takes about an hour; he averages 20 miles per hour. Manning runs seven-minute miles.
“You can fit it into your schedule. It’s not my number one priority all the time, but sometimes you just have to go do it,” Manning said. “There’s days you don’t get out there and that’s just the way it goes.”
Manning often trains and competes with his brother Andrew and friend Matt Maxon. Andrew Manning and Maxon are runners, Justin Manning said, so that helps when training with them.
“He’s just a really, really hard worker,” Maxon said. “He works his butt off, smiles and puts his time in … it shows he’s really good at (triathlons).”
Maxon, who has competed in triathlons for three years, met Justin Manning through Andrew. He ran high school and college cross country.
Maxon said Manning has helped him with his swimming, where he’s aided Justin in running.
“He’s really stepped up in running and biking this year,” Maxon said.
Manning said anyone under the age of 25 is still considered a young biker. He knows his times have progressively improved, but said his biking legs won’t come in until he’s 25-30-years-old.
“It’s one of those things where you get older it’s actually better,” he said.
To improve his biking, Manning joined a Sioux Falls biking team and competes in road races. He’s already competed in seven.
Manning’s long-term goal is to compete in an Iron Man contest – 2.4 mile swim, 112-mile bike ride and 26.2-mile run. He’s already finished a half Iron Man.
Training for an ironman contest takes time, though.
“You can’t just do 40 mile bike rides, you have to do 100 mile bike rides,” Manning said.
So for now, he competes in sprint and Olympic distance triathlons, with the Olympic distance his favorite.
“It’s a longer swim and the reason I do so well in triathlons is because I’m a good swimmer,” Manning said.
Manning’s wife, Colette, attends all his races.
“We actually make a weekend out of it,” he said.
A year ago the Sanford clinic in Vermillion began to sponsor Manning and help pay for his registration and travel expenses.
Competing in so many triathlons a year, Manning said he does see many familiar faces. But the competition doesn’t stop him and the others from encouraging each other on the course.
“We have fun with it. We’re always saying ‘keep it up; you’re doing a good job,’” he said.