A Triathlon Race Story (Episode 4): 20 Years In The Making

It's hard to put into words what the upcoming weekend meant for Kieran, a combination of pride, relief, contentment and excitement.

This was an important weekend for many reasons; the most obvious was that Kieran would be competing in The Age Group Triathlon European Championships. Now, competing for your country would be fairly special for most people, but for Kieran, this represented a 20+ year journey to represent his country. 

When Kieran was younger, he wanted to play professional football (like many young boys), but he'd started playing very late and wasn't exactly naturally gifted. Despite this he worked incredibly hard for nearly a decade and then realised that his dream wasn't going to happen.

He had many excuses for this, but in the end he just wasn't good enough. Despite this, he had spent his formative years into adolescence creating an identity that revolved around this aspiration and being an 'athlete'. So, when the realisation hit him that the goal was beyond his reach, he didn't just lose his goal, he lost his identity. 

It took several years of searching to create a new identity and build it around being a Christian, a father, a husband, an entrepreneur and more. But he never lost his desire to push his body hard and his love for sport.

Fast forward to Wednesday 18th September 2024 and he was packing his bags, alongside his family, ready to represent his country as a triathlete.

But it was also the first holiday he had taken with his family for around 7 years where he wasn't training or nursing an injury from training because this race would signal the end of his season and therefore he would take two weeks off in France.

So, as Kieran checked through his gear, the usual racing nerves weren't there. Kieran was glad the season was over, his mind and body were ready to rest. He was excited to race knowing he had a very simple race plan .... 

Plan A: Enjoy it. 

Racing Triathlon is a hobby for most participants, but despite this, many parts of training and competing aren't actually that fun. So why do triathletes do it? It's different for everyone, but perhaps it's a sense of accomplishment at pushing through boundaries, or training ones body to be fit and healthy. Perhaps it's for the excuse to travel, or the comradeship creating by undergoing difficulty with a community of like minded individuals.

And the fitter a triathlete is, often, the more times they've spent in these uncomfortable and less enjoyable places. As is true of most successful endeavours, the heights of the mountain one climbs is defined by the depths of the valleys they've dug to build it.

So as obvious as it sounds that someone doing a race as a hobby should enjoy it, it's not a given. 

The Race

The announcer called for Kieran's Age category to enter the start pen to prepare to swim. 

Kieran looked around at the 27 competitors who grouped up ready to begin the race. At just 5 foot 5, it was noticeable how tall and athletic every other competitor was and Kieran noticed a few double takes as people adjusted their heads to look down at him. Not something he'd ever noticed before, but perhaps an indication of the combination of nature and nurture in elite Triathlon performance.

Now, despite training incredibly hard since his bike accident earlier in the year, there was a very good chance he would come in last place today. This wasn't a negative mindset, he had raced already this year against good competition and understood where his fitness put him in the group. You don't get to compete at this level without working very hard for a consistently long period of time and Kieran's training had several bumps in the road.

At this point it might have been possible to dwell on this, but Kieran's focus was on Plan A.

Kieran smiled and introduced himself to other competitors representing Great Britain and made sure he enjoyed the atmosphere; the motivational music, the warm sun, the crowds.

"2 minutes to go"

Goggles were pulled down and challengers made their way to the pontoon, sitting in a long row with feet dangling in the water.

Well 26 pairs dangling in the water, one pair a little above... 👀

"30 seconds to go"

Everyone dropped into the water, each with one hand holding the pontoon. 

Then the gun went

A swarm of orange hats burst away from the pontoon. Almost immediately two packs formed, one on the inside and one wide on the outside where Kieran was. 

This wasn't anything unusual, the wider swimmers would gradually merge over before the first turn buoy.

200m passed and Kieran was feeling good, he was with a pack and that was good. 

But the swimming was still a little wide, so Kieran made his own way in towards the other group.

He turned round the first buoy and caught the tail end of swimmers from the other group.

Round the second turn buoy and he was comfortable swimming in the pack. The only issue was that his goggles had fogged up so he couldn't sight far ahead. With a solid group of swimmers this shouldn't be an issue. 

And it all felt fine until he went past the final turn buoy, where everyone was still swimming forward and not turning. Kieran tried to sight left to see where the pontoon was but couldn't make out anything, so he decided to stick the feet of the group and follow them in. 

The group turned eventually and Kieran relaxed a little, that was, until his head hit a buoy. 

That wasn't supposed to happen.

He looked ahead and could see the group he was with had veered too far off course and needed to swim back to reach the swim exit.

By now he could see the white hats of the fastest swimmers from another age group to the left of him and he knew his swim time was slow.

But he simply smiled under water and said to himself ..."enjoy it".

He eventually made it in, unbeknown to him, having veered so far to the right that he swam about 10% too long.

As he got out of the water the shouts of "GB!!" from the British supporters and "aller" from the French could be heard over the sound of the music. 

He smiled again and waved at his wife and kids who were cheering him on. 

He ran past several competitors on the way through transition, but it was hard to know if they were in his Age Group or the wave behind. 

He arrived where his bike was racked and attempted to step out of his wetsuit, but it wasn't coming off.

He paused...

...took a breath...

...relaxed...

...smiled...

...and it came off.

And then he ran out of transition and jumped onto his bike, searching to see if there was a group to ride with. Unfortunately, Kieran's swim had been quite slow so there weren't others in his Age Group that he could cycle with so for the rest of the bike leg he cycled on his own.

A smile appeared on Kieran's face again as he crested the first hill and headed over a bridge that showed flags of the world, including the Union Jack. A burst of pride filling his heart.

And he stayed there, in that moment, with that feeling.

When Kieran finished the bike and set off for the run there weren't many competitors around him. Most in his agegroup had drafted each other and were now ahead on the run.

He ran for about 1km before spotting a competitor 200m ahead. He set this person as a target to beat. And it wasn't long before he was past him and saw someone else the other side of some tennis courts that the run course weaved around. Again, he chased the new target.

This repeated itself 7 times over the next 3km and then at 4km it was just Kieran and the race.

An unusual race turn left Kieran confused so he quickly shouted to a spectator to check he was going the right way to which they shouted "400m, go get it". And with that confirmation he opened his stride and pushed his way to the end. Not quite a sprint finish, but a fun, comfortable, fast stride.

He ran through the finish line in 22nd place, relieved that his season was over and he would get a break. Proud of the effort he had put in to rebuild his fitness. Content with his finishing place. And just a touch of sadness that his mum, who had passed away unexpectedly earlier that year wouldn't be on the end of a phone to celebrate with him, but knowing she'd be proud.

Season 1 Roundup

This year has been one filled with challenges both emotionally and physically. But throughout it there's been a tonne of things that can be taken away as positives and learnings. Here's a rundown from the past 4 episodes.

1. Obstacles are just opportunities to practice overcoming
2. There is so much good in complete strangers
3. Don't forget to pay attention when the opportunity arises to be that stranger
4. Plans sometimes need to change in pursuit of goals
5. The things we say to ourselves affects outcomes more than most appreciate
6. Saying healthy things to yourself requires deliberate practice
7. The more our actions reinforce what we say to ourselves, the more we believe them
8. Who we are becoming is one of the most important parts of the journey, focus on who you are becoming
9. Be present so you enjoy moments of triumph
10. Sometimes, you just have to enjoy it.

Episode 1: Deflated

Episode 2: The Things We Say To Ourselves

Episode 3: Who Are You Becoming?

Season 2

Will there be a season 2? Perhaps. I'll let you decide if you've enjoyed this season. Let me know in the comments.

Thanks for joining the journey.

About the Author:

At the writing of this, Kieran is a Great British Age Group Triathlete, CEO of Stryde and founder of The Deliberate Formula ; a formula for helping individuals lead deliberate lives so they can be happier, healthier and more fulfilled. This is a true story.