Newsletter December 2024

Newsletter December 2024

New Chairman’s Update

Dear Tri2O’ers

Welcome to your December 2024 Newsletter and a very warm welcome to our recent new members.

I am both honored and excited to step into the role of Chairman alongside a number of other new committee members. As I begin this journey with all of you, I want to first acknowledge the incredible work that has been done by Mike Nash, Clare Hawthorn, and Sunil Fernandes over the past 6 years. The success of our club is a reflection of the passion, commitment, and energy that each of you bring to this sport. Thank you for your dedication.

Congratulations to Kasia Kurowska on joining the committee as Communications Officer, Stella-Sophie Ferguson as Social Secretary and Ocean Allen as Webmaster on the sub-committee. Currently, the Bike Officer role remains vacant. If anyone is interested in the position, please get in touch with a committee member to discuss details.

A little about myself – the first years of my life were spent growing up in South Africa before moving to the UK in 1998. I have participated in various sports throughout my life including swimming, rugby, football and even raced motorbikes for a while. I always wanted to compete in a triathlon but each year I found a reason to put it off to the next. In April of this year, I was talking to a couple of university students at the Palmer Park gym who had entered the Windsor Triathlon taking place in June. I thought to myself, if they can do it, then so can I! I went home that evening, entered the Windsor sprint and joined the Tri2O family. I have now completed five sprints and one standard, and have entered Ironman Leeds amongst other events in 2025. My journey in triathlon has been one of the best times of my life – building my fitness, achieving personal targets, self development and meeting incredible people doing incredible challenges.

Looking ahead, I am eager to continue building on the strong foundation that we have. Our mission is clear: to foster a supportive, inclusive, and competitive environment where triathletes of all levels can thrive. Whether you are new to the sport or an experienced competitor, Tri2O is here to help you reach your full potential and enjoy every step of your journey.

In the coming months, we will be promoting an exciting calendar of race events*, enhancing our training sessions and exploring ways to make Tri2O an even more vibrant and welcoming club. I encourage all of you to get involved, share your ideas, and continue to support one another as we strive to achieve our personal and collective goals.

Thank you for your trust and support as I take on this new role. I’m incredibly excited to get to know each of you and work together to make Tri2O the best it can be.

Wishing everyone a good Christmas and prosperous 2025.

Mark Berriman
Chairman

*The calendar of events will be promoted across Tri2O socials (Facebook | Instagram) and via email. All the details of the events can be found on the Team Stacker app. 

Welcome to the Club’s New Committee Members

Hi, I’m Stella, your new Social Secretary, and I’m excited to reignite the social side of our triathlon club! I joined the club in 2023 to add structure to my swim training. Truth be told, I never thought I’d join a club let alone a triathlon club but it’s become one of the key factors in making 2024 a successful year for me.

You’ll often find me wherever there’s water! I attend most of the swim club sessions and swim regularly at Reading Lake (yes, even through winter without a wetsuit!). Recently, I’ve taken up cycling again and have already signed up for a few bike events in 2025.

My biggest achievements to date include completing an English Channel relay and a two-woman, end-to-end swim of Loch Awe (over 40km!).

For me, a club is about having like-minded people with a shared passion, supporting one another through the highs and lows. I’d love to see more members come together at social events, as I believe this is where we can truly connect sharing experiences, advice, and motivation to help each other grow.

Stella-Sophie Ferguson
Social Secretary 

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Hello! I’m Kasia. I’m have been part of Tri2O as a member since beginning of 2024, and I’m excited to recently take on the role of club’s Communications Officer.

Originally from Poland, I’ve been living in the UK for the last 21 years. Growing up, I wasn’t particularly into sports or exercise, but over time, I started to enjoy staying active through yoga, running, and exercising at the gym. This eventually led me to try triathlons.

My first triathlon (Super Sprint) was in 2023, and I realised that wasn’t fully prepared for the challenge. My swimming was far from great (ok, it was awful) and cycling on hybrid bike in pouring rain and gusty winds didn’t make completing the race easier either. That resulted in me being the last person to finish. But I did not give up and instead decided to join a triathlon club to improve my techniques, and I couldn’t be happier to have found Tri2O.

What I love most about the club is the supportive and motivational community. Everyone makes newcomers feel welcome, shares their knowledge and race tips, and the camaraderie here really pushes me to challenge myself and sign up for more events. This year, I upgraded to a Sprint distance race, and for next year, I’m aiming for an Olympic one. Recently I’ve also gotten into trail running, which has turned out to be much more enjoyable than road running (no mud = no fun, right??).

When I’m not training, you’ll often find me hiking and wild camping, connecting with nature. My favourite place to visit is Scotland and next year I planning to complete West Highland Way. I’m excited to continue growing with the club and can’t wait to see what I’ll achieve in the future!

Kasia Kurowska
Communications Officer

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Imagine a convoluted Couch to 5km that starts on a horse and ends in a half marathon and you’ll have a pretty good idea of my journey to triathlon…

My name is Ocean and I’m very much an Oxfordshire local having grown up whimsically exploring the countryside as a child (on foot or in the saddle) before eventually moving to Reading and becoming a townie addicted to brunch. I’ve always been active – as a teenager I competed in Eventing (horse triathlon) and spent a lot of my time getting thrown off by my talented but stubborn pony. This led me study Equine Sport Science at Nottingham Trent University where my passion for horses quickly faded and I started playing tag rugby, gyming, running and endurance walking (Viergaagse Nijmegan, look it up!).

COVID-19 cut my university experience short but acted as a catalyst for my running. It quickly became my favourite way to unwind and like every other person my age at the time, I signed up for a half marathon. This year I ran Reading Half and Oxford Half, before deciding I wanted a new challenge and ideally one with variety – that’s when Triathlon entered the chat. Incorrectly assuming I’d naturally be able to swim, I looked for a lake to train in and found Hi5, then Reading Triathlon, then Tri2O and the rest is very recent history.

As soon as I joined the club, I attended the social rides and parkruns and was immediately struck by the wealth of experience among our members. I’ve already learnt so much just from chatting to people and swapping stories. I’m a big believer that you get out of life what you put into it. In the spirit of this, I attended the AGM and volunteered to be Tri2O’s Webmaster having joined the club 3 weeks prior! 

I’m excited for what’s to come in 2025 – to participate in my first sprint at Blenheim in June, to be taking an active role in the club and to hopefully meet as many of you as possible. Feel free to grab me, say hi and part some words of wisdom, I’ll need it! 😊

Ocean Allen
Webmaster

Club Annual Awards Night – 7 February

Join Us for the Triathlon Club Awards Night!

Let’s come together as a club to reflect on an incredible year of achievements, challenges, and unforgettable memories. While we’ve celebrated many highs, this year also brought a deep loss with the passing of Tri2O member Mark, who tragically left us while doing what he loved most, competing at the Triathlon World Championships. We will honor Mark’s memory as part of our evening, celebrating his passion and dedication to the sport and our community.

• Date: Friday, 7th February 2025
• Time: From 7pm
• Venue: Upstairs at Bill’s Reading
• St Marys Church House, Chain St, Reading RG1 2HX

Enjoy a delicious two-course meal, an exciting awards presentation, and an evening of fun and camaraderie in a private space just for us.

• Tickets: £27 available to purchase on Team Stacker app
• Members are welcome to bring non-members (18+ only).

Important: Food must be pre-ordered—details to follow closer to the event!

Don’t miss this special opportunity to celebrate our club, recognize outstanding achievements, and share in the spirit of the triathlon community.

We can’t wait to see you there!

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Membership Update

Please join me in welcoming the following new members to the club:

• Alexander Marsh
• Ocean Allen
• Kiera
• Kyle Bateman
• Lizzie Warnes
• Rowan Hedgecock
• KD Chabra

As always, I am happy to offer a welcome call to make sure you are getting the most from the club. Please let me know if you would like to talk all things Tri2O related. I’m happy to take questions from anyone to make sure your club experience is the best it can be, so don’t hesitate to get in touch. Mark has also started the “New members WhatsApp group” and this is already proving a great initiative!

Also note for anyone that swims at Hi5 lake if you link your Nowca account to the club, you get a £2 discount per swim. Please let me know if you need assistance to do this.

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Coach Corner – The Festive Season

Christmas is a funny old time of year; full of joy for many people, but also a very difficult time for many. The whole month of December seems to be like no other month in the rest of the year, with social events, disrupted routines, and sometimes a lot of pressure to “be” a certain way, or “do” certain things. So, I invite you all to take a step back to reflect on this triathlon (or swim/bike/run or any combination thereof!) hobby of yours, and try to remember WHY you do it – for that will help you enjoy this time as best you can! Here are my top tips:

• Be kind to yourself! Things WILL get in the way of training, and is it really the end of the world?
• Do the things that make you happy. Have fun! Caveat: if you are injury-prone, try not to get carried away though by suddenly doing much more than your normal routine. But by all means do something creative (everyone loves a bit of Strava art – I’m sure I ran a Santa hat one year).
• Remember to keep things in perspective: this is a hobby, right?! Time spent with friends and family is precious, so enjoy it, and let go of guilt.
• You do not need to “earn” your food. Enjoy the treats. If you know you struggle with a bit of a “once I start, I can’t stop [insert e.g. mince pies, pigs in blankets, chocolates, whatever your pleasure]”, then be aware of the “sod it” mentality (I’ve eaten 3, I might as well eat all of them?) and recognise if you’re prone to this. That’s the first step to enjoying it without making yourself feel sick! So when you eat the lovely food, do it slowly, mindfully, and ENJOY it: savour the look, the smell, how it feels in your mouth, the taste of it!
• Brussel sprouts are really good for you. I like them roasted with shallots. Think about adding good stuff rather than depriving yourself.
• Similarly, don’t be tempted to punish yourself with exercise. It’s not a healthy way to view either your food or your training.
• Remember, moving is good, and something is almost always better than nothing – so if you can’t squeeze in that 60 minute run you had planned, then 20 minutes is still worth doing; it will very likely make you feel better. Even a 6 minute mobility break whilst waiting for your tea to brew will have benefits.
• Combining exercise with your social stuff can help you be time efficient – walk to meet people, meet up for a social run or ride (and don’t worry too much about your heart rate or pace), try a cold water dip if you’re feeling extra brave.
• Be flexible and imaginative with your training & exercise – and remember that there is more to life than swim/bike/run (shock horror!) – this will keep you and everyone around you happier.
• Make the most of the rest time that you DO have available – enjoy it, recharge your physical and social batteries and come. And if this is a time of year that holds difficult feelings, then reflect on what you can do for self-care, and make sure you make time for those little acts of restoration.

Your coaches usually come up with some fun stuff for our festive swim sessions, so that’s something to look forward to. I’ll be at registration and marshalling for the Winter Woolly 10k on Christmas Eve, so I hope I’ll see some of you there as well.

Wishing everyone at Tri2O, friends and family, a peaceful and happy Christmas.

Georgia

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Club Captain’s Message

Merry Christmas to all the brilliant Tri2O Orange Army!

The end of any year is always a good time for both reflection and looking ahead. Firstly, I will look back at 2024 with a touch of sadness due to the untimely passing of our friend and teammate Mark Stokes – Mark was an inspirational guy and, more importantly, a great human. I know he’s front of thoughts for many of us.

Turning to race season, my primary emotion is disappointment after three poor outings in 2024 – notably at Oxford when an errant Garmin, and awful bike split and an inability to count to 3 impacted my placing, and then at my home event of Newbury when it felt like I was cycling through treacle.

However, on further reflection I’m not too sad about this – I remember why I started triathlon in the first place and what I really value about being in such a great club. The challenge is not necessarily in comparison and competition, it’s in the simple joy of movement and being forced to be entirely present in the moment – all whilst being surrounded by a group of people all ultimately seeking the same high. Even if I achieve a form of ‘success’, its fleeting nature says nothing about my worth or who I am as a person – kids will teach you this if you spend enough time around them!

I think this is why I really admired Mark – he was, by most external standards, a hugely successful triathlete. But that’s not how he presented himself and it would be a discredit to only remember him as such, rather than a good guy who loved to swim, loved to bike and tolerated a run – his success flowed from this, rather than being the definition of him. It’s a good lesson for us to take into 2025 – seek the enjoyment first, enjoy the journey. Goals are important, but the why behind it is always critical.

Peace and love for the season – I hope to see you all in 2025!

Paul
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Club Running Officer’s Message

🎄Festive Running! 🎄
‘Tis the season of festive running. A great opportunity to get out and do something different and keep up your training. A few festive favorites;
1) Short and Sweet
A short faster-paced run is super effective. Head out for 30 mins and be back home feeling energized!
2) Social fun
Make your run social, run with family or friends to get into the festive spirit!
3) Christmas Parkrun
Great to squeeze in a Parkrun – post on FB which Parkrun you are running to encourage other Tri2o’ers to join in!
4) Explore!
A great time locally or if you are away to explore new scenic routes.

For the bold – the iconic Gut Buster 29th December is a great adventure to end the year in a high …. water crossings, Roman Walls, fields, footpaths and mud! Lots of Tri2O’ers will be there so come on down and give a cheer!

Have a ‘Runderful’ Christmas!
Edwina 🏃‍♀

Edwina McDowall
Run Officer

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Social Media Posts

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Dates for your diary

• 24-Dec-2024: Winter Woolly 10km Trail Run – 4/5 Winter Run Series ❄️
• 29-Dec-2024: Gut Buster 10km & 10 Mile Trail Run – 5/5 Winter Run Series ❄️
• 04-Jan-2025: Club Social Parkrun @Dinton Pastures
• 12-Jan-2025: Woodcote 10km
• 01-Feb-2025: Club Social Parkrun @California Country Park
• 07-Feb-2025: Club Award’s Night 🏆
• 16-Feb-2025: Bramley 20/10 Running Road Race

All the details of these events plus the weekly swim sessions and social rides can be found on the Team Stacker app. 

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We would love to hear from you

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