Club founder, John Fielding, created a running club in January as a way to keep people fit during the working week. After the club gradually began adopting other multisport disciplines, members are now setting their sights on the GO TRI at AJ Bell 2021 World Triathlon Leeds.
“I started the club in January this year and it was aimed at ‘Couch to 5km’. We were getting people active mainly on their lunch break which is slightly different to normal running clubs that do things on evenings,” said Fielding.
“Covid-19 hit when we finished our ‘Couch to 5km’ programme and then we had to suspend all activities before gradually building up again from there.”
Like many clubs across the Home Nations, Covid-19 disrupted their activity, however, after Fielding and his club members regrouped, the disruption brought by Covid-19 closures led to the introduction of cycling to the running clubs’ weekly activities.
The club’s transition from a focus on running to experimenting with multiple disciplines began after cafes began closing during England’s first lockdown. Fielding created social cycling sessions to keep the community united, introducing club members to the idea of multiple disciplines before taking the decision to become a triathlon club in recent months.
Fielding has recently become a qualified British Triathlon Activator and has completed nine duathlons as well as participating in the GO TRI at Leeds.
He now wants others to share his multisport experiences, saying: “We’re looking into hosting a number of duathlons next year before hopefully putting the club members through GO TRIs and then Leeds.
“I think some people see triathlon as an elite sport and that you can’t take part in it unless you’re at the top level. It’s not like that at all and, in fact, it’s probably one of the least elitist sports going. I really like bringing beginners in and seeing people who have never tried it before achieve.”
The lockdown period saw many people struggling with social isolation and sport has been a great outlet to both stay active and socialise. The club has a number of student members who have had a difficult year being isolated away from home, and the community has helped them feel connected.
“Because they have largely been in a bubble and have been unable to socialise, their only outlet has been clubs like ours and you can see the relief on their face. One of the biggest challenges we’ve faced as a club is to keep them going,” said Fielding.
“It’s been difficult. I think it’s more difficult for people who are just starting their journey of being active because this could dissuade them from doing anything. For me, I can go out running or cycling when I want to because I’ve been doing it for a while, but for those that are just starting out, it can be quite demoralising.
“It’s just a matter of keeping in touch with everybody and encouraging them. In the last lockdown we did a distance challenge with another running club and that sort of stuff keeps us going.”
With events being planned for next year and many of the club’s members setting their sights on the AJ Bell 2021 World Triathlon Leeds, the transition to multisport has opened up Leeds Dock to a multitude of racing and training possibilities for 2021 and beyond.
