November 2015 I started training for triathlon. It was a friend from my daughters day care that encouraged me to just go down and give it a try (Thanks Kelly!). I was big as a house at 140kg and set a goal of competing in the 2016 Noosa Triathlon.

Skip ahead a few years and I’ve completed 5 Ironman’s, 6 Half Ironman’s, along with a number of Olympic and Sprint distance triathlons. It’s an addictive sport. I had no illusions or intentions of entering Ironman races when I started, but once you get into it, something about it grabs you and makes you want to do just a bit more.

I’m well aware that my story isn’t new. In fact a fat middle aged man finding triathlon and becoming a coach is somewhat of a cliche. However, there are a few reasons why I wanted to coach triathlon.

• I love the sport!  I love the big things and little things.  I can nerd out on the tech parts and I love the long endurance rides.  I really enjoy all the training.
• I’ve lost over 40kg and changed a lot of things about my life through triathlon.  Maybe I could help others that have found themselves in similar situations.
• I really enjoy that you can set a goal that you think is a million miles away and then all of a sudden do it.  I never had Ironman races on my radar, even though I’d followed Kona since I was a kid. I just didn’t think it was possible for me.  I’ve done 5 now!  Something I couldn’t have imagined in November 2015 when I signed up with a triathlon club.
• I enjoy the fact that you don’t really compete with other people, you are just competing against yourself.  It’s so different to my 35 years of cricket.  It’s hard and lonely training for long distance triathlon, and I think that’s why it’s such a supportive sport.

The Real Reason

Because I got so into the sport and wanted to improve myself, I naturally started studying and looking to educate myself on training principles and how I should go about it. Not really with an intention to coach, but really more for self improvement. I did some of this research and studying with a friend of mine Mark – who is a great coach and if you want to take your triathlon to next level check him out at Core4 Endurance.

Then another friend, we’ll call her Rose, asked me to help her get coached by Mark. As it worked out we ended up doing a three way group chat, where Mark essentially coached her and I added hilarious banter and insightful smart arse comments! Then she did her first 70.3 at Port Mac 2019 on the same day I competed in the Ironman event. I had just started the run and was on my first lap when I saw Rose and she yelled out what her time was and how she went. It is still one of my best experiences in Triathlon that I’ve had – the excitement I got when I realised how well she had done and how excited she was about it.

I only played a very, very small part in Rose’s training and race but from that moment on I knew I wanted more of that type of experience. It was genuinely that moment when I realised I wanted to coach my own athletes through their triathlon experiences.

This is my first blog post for this site and I figured that talking about why I want to coach is a good as any place to start. If you want to talk about triathlon and what you might want to get out of the sport then feel free to get in contact.