The new series is made up of three events: the South Head Challenge (October 5), the Rodney Coast Challenge (November 9) and the Steelman Ironmaiden (November 22).
Reed says the goal of the Auckland Multisport Championship is to raise awareness of what Auckland has to offer in this area and to double the number of people participating in the trio of events year on year, over the next three years.
Phill Brangwynne is a newcomer to the sport. He can't wait to compete in the first event. The 38-year-old, who is a former cricket and hockey rep, has entered next year's Speight's Coast to Coast race and is looking for the ideal preparation.
"It is one of those 'must do' things before hitting 40," he said of the Coast to Coast. "The Auckland series will be a great build-up for training and transition practice. It's great to have some of these events to keep the training focused."
Brangwynne needs that conditioning because he is a complete novice in multisport.
He has done a couple of cycle and running events this year but this will be his first multisport event. As a result, his goals and expectations for the series are to finish in the middle of the pack. "Obviously pride plays a part, even though I'm new at it."
Reed says organisers are looking to make the series as easy as possible for all athletes to get involved.
Finishing times from all three events will be combined from each event's official results to give a final series time.
The fastest series time for the top male, female and team categories will be the Auckland Multisport champions. Trophies will be awarded at the final prize-giving of the series.
Everyone that completes all three events will receive a championship medal.
"There is no registration or entry fee," Reed said proudly. "We will track the people that compete in all three events and work out the final results at the end of the last race in the series, the Steelman Ironmaiden."
Reed says the idea behind the AMC is to attract all sorts of people, from elite athletes through to people new to multisport. "The feedback has been awesome [to this series] and top athletes like the idea of being crowned Auckland Multisport Champion, so I think there is going to be a lot of competition at the top."
The series has been structured with everyone in mind. "I imagine that everyone new to multisport will be left with an enormous sense of achievement in completing all three events and will no doubt be hooked on the sport for life.
"Once you've got the multisport bug, it's very hard to shake."
Brangwynne has the multisport bug. He has been training four times a week in the various disciplines. He admits he would love to do more but he is time-poor as a self-employed man with three kids.
He thinks the series will be a great initiation and give him some idea of what he is in for in the Coast to Coast.
"I am looking forward to seeing how my body copes with the different disciplines one after the other. Hopefully I see some improvement as the series rolls through."
Brangwynne encourages others to follow his lead into multisport. "Just start with a bike ride. My first ride was 8km and I nearly died," he said.
"Within five months I completed the 100km Rotorua to Taupo flyer in three hours exactly. I've just added the kayaking and running as time has moved through. It is a lot of fun."
To help with the transition, the Auckland Multisport Championship is running a free multisport workshop today at the Waitemata Canoe and Multisport Club.
The workshop, which will cover structuring a training programme, nutrition, transitions and kayak technique, is geared for people new to multisport. Reed urged people to make that first step.
"When I decided to tackle the Coast to Coast back in 2006, I had not run or ridden a road bike since school and I had never kayaked before.
"The hardest thing I found was taking that first step of putting on the running shoes and running past the end of the driveway. Everything just follows on from there."
South Head Challenge - October 5
11km paddle, 26km mountain bike, 10km run.
Rodney Coast Challenge - November 9
10km run, 30km road bike, 25km mountain bike, 8km kayak.
Steelman Ironmaiden- November 22
1.3km run, 33km road bike, 0.8km run, 8km kayak, 16.6km mountain bike, 12.6km run.
Online: www.wcmc.org.nz/amc
