Going the extra mile Without doubt, one of the most physically and mentally taxing sports the world has to offer is the Triathlon.

Depending on your outlook on life, those brave, or daft enough to tackle the challenge, are faced with three stages of emotional turmoil.

A mammoth swim is followed by a bike ride, and if that wasn’t enough to make your legs go week at the knees, then a back breaking run concludes the rapidly growing sport.

So, with all this taken into consideration, what drives someone to pursue the event with so many challenging aspects attached to it?

To help me comprehend such a puzzling question, I was joined in the studio last Friday by three fitness fanatics whose knowledge within the triathlon extends to multiple countries.

Worshipping at the altar of the sport are TeamTriGuru athletes – Martin Cain, Sean Ofsarnie and Paul Cane.

‘How do you train for a triathlon within the confines of Tameside?’ I hear you ask.

Well, there’s no need to take a dip in Dove stones reservoir anytime soon, that’s for sure.

A blossoming partnership between TeamTriGuru and Active Tameside has provided the perfect antidote to the wintry weather.

“Active Tameside have decided to put on tri-specific events within their club membership” Sean told me.

The keen triathlete, who owns Resapol Ltd and co-sponsors the team, showed signs of encouragement as he continued to talk. He added “Not only can you go to the gym and workout, but you can go to a try specific spin class, swimming session, and strength/conditioning class.”

The triathlon has afforded him, and several other members, the chance to explore the world. Sean added “The triathlon has enabled us to see the world, because we’ve seen Germany, Niece and Copenhagen”

Paul owns Parpac Ltd and is the teams other sponsor. He fully endorsed Sean’s sentiments and reflected on times gone by, saying “My second triathlon was a full distance iron man event in Austria.

“I trained very hard for it because I was going into the unknown, but even though it killed me, I thoroughly enjoyed it.”

As we progressed into further conversation, the sacrifice each person has to make in order to succeed became apparent.

“You sacrifice your time, food and alcohol” Paul said honestly, “and smoking is just non-entertainable.”

Martin, who spoke modestly throughout the interview, embodies the virtue of sacrilege.

Having competed at professional standard in the past, the firefighter knows what it takes to reach the very top.

Sharing his time between putting out fires and putting in the miles, the 6ft sensation said “I started off as a novice age grouper, where I was paddling round the docks about 10-15 years ago.

“I decided that I liked it, put a bit more time to it and worked my way up to professional iron man status.”

With a wealth of experience to his name, Martin, who used to train for up to 30 hours per week, maintained the belief that you have to start somewhere. “You definitely don’t need to be ultra-fit to compete, I mean when I first started I couldn’t swim 100m” he stated.

From 100 metres, to two and a half miles, the transition from novice to elite has been spectacular.

But it’s not always been a smooth ride for the trio of triathletes – literally – as a previous nasty accident will testify.

Sean said “Me and another team member, Ian, were riding back from one of our training camps and a car basically went past us, turned left, and we literally both went over the car.”

Ian emerged unscathed from the incident. Sean on the other hand wasn’t so lucky. He added “My shoulder was in a bit of a state and it’s permanently damaged, but it doesn’t put you off the thing you love doing.”

Martin appears to be of the same masochistic breed. The former professional, who prides himself on a 5th place finish at iron man Bolton, bears certain scars for his efforts.

He said “I got knocked off my bike earlier this year which resulted in a pro-lapped disk in my back, so I’ve had to have one of my disks pretty much removed through surgery.

“That spoilt my year really, because I had a big year planned racing wise and it kind of botched my hopes.”

Will the fear of undergoing a surgical operation deter him from the sport? Not a chance. Breaking records is what it’s all about for Martin, as his previous exploits suggest. He told us “Alistair Brownlee held the course record for Hellvellin which is a half distance event and I went there about three or four years after he had raced there and I beat his course record.

“I have wrote a couple of articles asking him when he’s going to come back and take the challenge on, but I think he’s a little bit too busy at the moment to be honest.”

Alistair might be pre-occupied at this moment in time, but Martin, Sean and Paul are very much focused on what the forthcoming year has to offer.

Trips to Wales, Barcelona and Bolton are on the agenda, with the latter proving to be the most tantalising prospect for Paul. “I’m looking forward to the UK event this year, because we always seem to pick a club event and I think that’s the one to be in this year.”

Despite taking each day in their stride, the team are already relishing the prospect of watching some of the world’s best go head to head in Rio for the 2016 triathlon.

The Olympics may be taking place 5,000 miles away, but the squad have connections closer to home that make the event that little more personal.

And it’s all because Georgia Taylor-Brown, who is hotly tipped for the 2016 games, is a familiar face within the squad.

The youngster’s future within the sport excites the entire team, and Paul added “Georgia was predominantly from a swimming background, and she was coached at Stalybridge swimming club and moved on from there into the triathlon.

“She’s done a bit of training with us down at the bike track on the moss, and she’s excellent, but unfortunately she’s had an injury lately which has put her back a bit.

“It has been quite a bad injury but we think she’s got a chance at Rio.”

The triathlon has provided the team with long lasting memories and enviable relationships, but you’d be a fool to underestimate the severity of the sport.

As Paul succinctly put it “When you’re at the start line, and the whistle goes, you have no friends.”

Based on a published article http://insidetameside.com/2015/01/going-the-extra-mile/