Having decided he needed a new way to lose weight, three years ago Adam entered his local supersprint race and this year completed his first middle distance triathlon.
The first event that Adam entered was the Stratford SuperSprint in 2016, competing over a 200m swim, 18km cycle and 2.5km run. With his family and friends there to cheer him on, Adam completed his first ever triathlon.
“The camaraderie with other participants was fantastic” he said, “they encourage you around the course and are a real support when you start to struggle. I felt so nervous at the start, however when I finished the race I was so proud of how far I’d come and was looking forward to where I was going.”
Where Adam went next was to look at the triathlon distances and work his way through them. Returning to Stratford in 2017 he took on the sprint race, before completing the standard distance race in Birmingham in 2018.
“The Birmingham race was a struggle but, as I’d become accustomed to, participants, supporters and marshals cheered and cheered to keep me going to the finish.”
Despite the challenge, Adam wasn’t going to stop there, adding, “I was that tired at the end I couldn’t speak, but I just wanted to get home and tell my wife what I’d achieved. I’d caught the triathlon bug and having had my eyes fixed on completing a middle distance ever since I started my journey in 2016, that was my next challenge.”
Having raced a supersprint in 2016, sprint in 2017 and standard distance in 2018; Adam knew that 2019 was the year to tackle a middle distance.
“I entered 2019 with the aim of achieving my goal and completing a middle distance triathlon. My first event of 2019 was a half marathon in Coventry, followed by a middle distance duathlon in Naseby.”
“The first triathlon I raced in 2019 was a standard distance in Worcester which set me up for the big one. I’d lost 6 stone since beginning my journey in January 2016 and now I was ready to achieve my three year goal.”
Having got himself in the position to race, Adam entered the Ultimate Half in June 2019. With the support of his dad, best friend and wife Paula, he set off to complete his challenge.
“It’d been extremely hard work to get there and it wasn’t pretty, but I dragged myself round the course and made it to the finish! I completed the race in 08:09:49, but I’d also reached my target and succeeded in what I’d set out to do over three years ago.”
Despite having completed his challenge, Adam isn’t leaving triathlon behind, commenting, “it’s the best sport in the world and I’ll definitely keep going even if it’s not another middle distance.”
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