Age group athletes are the lifeblood of triathlon They are the ones who pay to enter races, and they make up 99% of the start list. Back in the day when I began in triathlon, the athletes were lifers. I can name a dozen or more who did their first event in the late 80's/early 90's who're still doing triathlons today. But in more recent years, triathlon seems to have become transient, with athletes coming into the sport for a few short years and then moving onto another sport.
Two of those who've stuck with ...
Age group athletes are the lifeblood of triathlon They are the ones who pay to enter races, and they make up 99% of the start list. Back in the day when I began in triathlon, the athletes were lifers. I can name a dozen or more who did their first event in the late 80's/early 90's who're still doing triathlons today. But in more recent years, triathlon seems to have become transient, with athletes coming into the sport for a few short years and then moving onto another sport.
Two of those who've stuck with the sport are my guests today, Duncan & Claire Shea-Simonds. Duncan started out in triathlon not long after me (1989) although he was significantly younger. Claire started her journey in 1997. In fact, I still have some results from back in the day which contain both their names.
Since those beginnings they have been regular participants in popular UK races, as well as international events like Ironman. Both have raced at the Ironman World championships in Hawaii, and both have also represented GB at various age group championships. Race results and fitness are important to them but as you will hear, they also have a simple life and pay a lot of attention to nutrition, strength training and hobbies outside of training. Especially Claire who, according to Duncan, has 101 different hobbies and a craft cupboard full of bits and pieces. They’ve been doing this together for over 25 years, so clearly they have a great relationship as well.
As with all of my guests we cover a lot of topics including:
- Duncan talks about how to maintain enthusiasm after 35 consecutive years of racing
- How as a couple they manage their racing calendar and supporting each other at events
- Claire talks about training pitfalls when working from home
- Duncan talks about the benefits of using the daily commute for training
- Avoiding comparison with their younger self as performances decline with age
- Household chores and who does the cooking - turns out that they both like to do their stuff in the kitchen
To find out more about Duncan & Claire check out:
Instagram - Claire - @clairesstri Duncan @dss123
X(Twitter) - Claire - @clairesstri Duncan @dss123
Both Claire and Duncan recommend the following book as a MUST READ:
The Longest Race:Inside the secret world of abuse, doping and deception of Nike's elite running team by Kara Goucher
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