We always love to hear all about your GO TRI experiences, to shout about and share your successes and triumphs, to inspire and encourage others to give TRI a go!
Here father and son duo, Martin and Harry Hughes share their GO TRI story. They recently took part in our Leeds event, storming to victory taking first and second place. Question is, who took the win? Read on to find out more…
Martin’s story (aka Dad)
Martin, who’s 47 from East Sussex, took part in his first triathlon event in Uckfield in April this year, finishing in first place! Taking part in a triathlon is something he’d always wanted to do, but not being able to swim stopped him. Since learning to swim, he hasn’t looked back…
‘I started to run and mountain bike with my children when they were younger, to get them outdoors and active. My eldest daughter was a good swimmer and belonged to a swimming club. One summer she tried out sports at a summer camp and found she was good at running and the high jump, and they invited her to join the local athletic club. We all changed from mountain bikes to road bikes and started to cycle with a cycling club. All taking part in different sports and activities at local sports clubs each week.
‘I started to compete in duathlons, running and cycling, as I couldn’t swim a single length. My daughter then started to enter triathlons and joined the local tri club, Bodyworks XTC.
‘It was this that made me pluck up the courage to ask her coach and club if they would coach a complete novice to swim. The answer was yes, come on down! I started having swimming lessons with them in July 2016, once a week for an hour. I found that I wanted to swim more and took myself off to the local swimming pool too. A year on I’ve gone from being a scared non-swimmer to a confident and competant swimmer, and loving it.
‘I entered my first triathlon race in April 2017, in Uckfield, a novice race and came first with my son coming second.
‘I then went on to an open water swim race at Eton Dorney in May, where the London Olympic race was held and came 14th out of 127!
‘In June I raced at Blenheim Palace, and came first in my age group. Then I entered the Leeds GO TRI race and came second with my son finishing in first place.
‘I can’t imagine not training and entering races now, and we as a family are getting very competitive with each other. Each week I train 3 hours running, 6 hours cycling and 4 hours swimming, and am enjoying every minute! My goal is to race in the Europeans as a GB age grouper.’
Harry’s story
Harry, who’s 15 from East Sussex, took part in his first triathlon event in Uckfield in April this year with his dad, finishing in second place! Harry wanted to give triathlon a go as he thought it would be fun to try out and challenge himself.
‘I started running and cycling with my dad and sister when I was 10. I had basic swimming lessons at school and a weekend club.
‘I enjoyed mountain biking too and joined the same athletics club as my older sister. I also played rugby up until the age of 12.
‘I moved on to running at the local Parkrun, something all my family took part in. Then started to swim again, when my dad joined the local Tri club, we swum in the same lane encouraging each other. This meant that I was doing all the sports required for triathlon, so my dad and I entered a few events to give it a go and see what it was like.
‘We now race against each other in the same events, sometimes I come first (more often than him!) and he has beaten me once. Taking part in events and training helps me concentrate at school. My strength and fitness has increased in all the sporting disciplines, and I love the variation of each sport, which keeps training fun and interesting. I go running and swimming three times a week and cycle twice a week too. I’d encourage anyone to give triathlon a go, to take part for fun with family and friends.’
Inspired by Martin and Harry’s stories and wanting to give TRI a go? Visit gotri.org to find GO TRI gym sessions and events near you.
Could you be our next case study?
We’re always on the lookout for stories to share. If you’ve got a great GO TRI story, drop us an email info@gotri.org and we’ll be in touch to find out more.
