Newsletter September 2025

Newsletter September 2025

Letter from The Chairman

Dear Tri2O club members,

Welcome to your Newsletter containing some excellent articles & write ups. Thank you to everyone who has taken time to share their stories and experiences.

The upcoming AGM to be held on FRIDAY 14nd November, I encourage you to put the date in your diary & join your fellow members of TRI2O for the meeting and for the opportunity to socialise afterwards over a free buffet of healthy & tasty delights!

The club committee is currently seeking three members to fill the roles which are as follows:
Club Secretary
Recording the proceeds of club meetings and distribution the information
Manage the club championships including seeking nominations

Social Secretary
Plan social events including the coordination of these events on a 3 month rolling basis
Provide feedback on events at the committee meeting and club members via newsletter

Communications Officer
Sharing initiatives and celebrating what we do as a club
Represent the Webmaster and Social media officer at the committee meetings

I would like to thank Nora, Stella and Kasia for giving up theirs time to the club. I very much appreciate the value added to the committee which has in turn has had a positive impact on the club. These roles roles shape the club to the amazing club we currently have, so if you wish to join the committee please do reach out to one of the committee members.

Best wishes
Mark Berriman
Chairman

Join Us for the Tri2O Club Social & AGM!

This is your night to help shape the future of our club, share ideas, and celebrate everything we’ve achieved together.

It’s free for all members, and we’ll have plenty of delicious food and refreshing drinks to enjoy. Please sign up via TeamApp. 

Come along to catch up with friends, meet new members, and be part of the decisions that keep Tri2o thriving.

Your voice matters! And it’s more fun with good company!

Membership Update

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

I hope you will enjoy training with us. For anyone that wants to get the most out of the club and would like a call to talk this through – please let me know.

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Coach Corner – “Off Season”

For most people in the Northern Hemisphere, multisport race season is largely over. It’s important to have a bit of a rest and a break from structured training, both mentally and physically, and to lose some fitness. It’s not healthy or sustainable to maintain peak levels of fitness all year round. That could be 1-2 weeks or even 6 weeks, and doesn’t necessarily mean doing nothing (although for some people it may!) just backing off and taking off the pressure.

Coach Jennie wrote a great social media post on reflecting on your past season and setting goals for the next year, so I won’t cover that here; I’m going to focus more on what to do when you start back training.

I’d suggest easing in gently, and keeping these principles in mind:

• Now you have some space and time to focus on skills development and technique, you will reap the rewards in months to come
• Make sure you allow time for the things in life that have been squeezed out by high-volume or high intensity training e.g. social life, friends and family
• Do the things you find really fun!
• Mix it up – lots of easy relaxed stuff, and a mix of other intensities
• Embrace the rain, mud, wind and trails: running, cycling and also walking/hiking. The trails are also great for balance, skills, strength and stability.
• Make the most of what daylight we have and if you can get outside, do so: it’s been proven to be good for mental health and wellbeing, particularly getting out in nature
• Don’t focus on building race-fitness just yet or you’ll be burnt out by Spring
• It’s ok to sacrifice specificity to do what makes you smile e.g. a social ride or run
• This is also a great time to focus on getting strong, whether it be in the gym or in sport- specific strength-building sessions like hill reps (bike & run), big gear work (bike), added resistance (all 3 disciplines)
• Even the most committed solo trainer can get disheartened by dark mornings and evenings, so make plans to meet with others (and don’t stress your heart rate too much!) and exercise together
• Remember that exercise and training are different: training is exercising with a specific goal in mind (usually performance goal or challenging event, but not always), and it’s ok just to exercise purely for the love of it!
• You don’t need to be a slave to a programme, so be kind to yourself, whilst also remembering that something is almost always better than nothing, and getting into a (flexible) routine is a great way to maintain consistency.

If you need a bit of motivation, perhaps try a new club session, or suggest a club ride route, set up some social runs with fellow Tri2Oers – our WhatsApp community is a great way to do this.

Happy swim/bike/running!

Georgia

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Reading Triathlon Update

The Reading Triathlon 2025 was another great success for the club. This year the athletes didn’t have the added jeopardy of last year’s flood water to contend with during the bike ride. It was great not to be fighting the elements. This year we collaborated with Women In Tri UK, to help make the event more welcoming and inclusive for women. The feedback on this has on the whole been really positive and we will continue the partnership next year. We donated a great amount to the official charity Sport In Mind.

Once again the official BTF report was excellent all round.

The race reviews have been flowing in thick and fast and we feel the underlying theme of the feedback is what an amazing bunch of volunteers we have to run the event!! This is all down to you guys; as the organisers it is great watching how much fun the competitors are having, some more than others… levels of preparation come to mind 🙂 The mix of athletes from Novices to seasoned GB and Italian team members is amazing to see, and helps make this event what it is. The smiles on the dials of the competitors were put there right from the start at registration to transition, all the way to the finish, with volunteers on hand to help where needed. The swim start is an event in itself – looking over the lake it had barely a ripple on the surface, you get greeted and briefed by a coffee-fuelled Georgia (Mother Hen) and that is worth the entry fee alone, Jamie (Race Director) will be close by to add the odd grunt 🙂

Sarah (Can I Help?) who joined the merry gang this year was beavering away ensuring volunteers had what they needed and were being looked after, I (Fixer) was skulking around looking for stuff to keep me busy and out of trouble. Guy (Dogsbody) as ever was the silent partner we all need anticipating all our needs.

Volunteering at events has been proven to be good for mental health, for both the volunteer and the participants. It is always an enjoyable experience and is so rewarding when you get the feedback both on the day and after the event. There is nothing better as the race committee than seeing such great interactions between all of you on the day and the participants, and we know it is one of the biggest (if not the biggest) reasons why people come back to our event every year.

So as always, a huge thank you from the team Jamie, Georgia, Sarah and Iain for everything you all did before, during and after the race this year. We genuinely could not run the event at all without you, let alone so successfully.

With that in mind, can I ask you all to get Sunday 13th September 2026 in the diary when we get to do it all again!

The Team

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How I Surprisingly Became a Viking of the North

The following is a debrief on my very amateur entrance into triathlon. Written by Clavelle.

In March 2011 I decided to start running with my neighbour. We were so proud of our first 2km run along the river. We went at the weekends until she stopped! After three months, having gradually increased my distances to 8km twice a week, I joined Reading Joggers, got a charity place for London Marathon. Arthur the coach did a 7- month training plan for me. It was a midweek run with the club, hill training with the club and a long run with my training partner at the weekends. I also swam twice a week. I did a few 10km races, Bramley 20 mile, and Reading half marathon.

April 2012, Aged 39, I embraced the fact I was running The London Marathon. Running over Tower Bridge with my training partner, with huge crowds, an electric atmosphere, and finishing in front of Buckingham Palace. We weren’t timing ourselves, so finished in 4:36. Haha, we made it! Got the medal and the awful one size fits all T-shirt. Job done! Tick.

But that annoying voice crept in: “If you’d run alone, you’d have been faster.” Damn that voice.

Sept 2012, Aged 40, I went to the New Forest Marathon, determined to get sub- 4 hours. Cold, wet, only two hundred runners – perfect! I borrowed a friend’s watch, vaguely knew what pace I needed, but never looked at the overall time (hello, race brain fog!). Coming up the final hill, I saw the timer: 3:59 and counting. “Bugger, I need to leg it or I’ll have to do another one!” Crossed the line at 3:59:46. Haha, job done! Tick.

March 2013, I ran the Reading Half Marathon. I continued to run twice a week.

Enter the Brownlee Brothers and Mel B. London 2012 Olympics inspired me. Watching the Brownlee brothers doing the triathlon was exciting. Then I watched Mel B on tv, and she said she had done a couple of triathlons. “That was it, I wanted to do one!”

I now swam three times a week and still ran occasionally. All I needed was to dust off my knackered mountain bike and sign up for Eton Dorney. Did a couple of lake swims, tried on some wetsuits, bought one online. I went on a few 15km bike rides and felt like I was cycling to the moon!

Sept 2013 Race Day arrived. I’d signed up for super sprint and a standard distance because, obviously, I wanted to do two. But seeing the elite athletes with their cone- head helmets and space-age looking bikes, I immediately changed both entries to sprint. No way was I competing with those elite athletes they would flatten me!

The swim went well. I had borrowed a hybrid bike – which I was riding for the first time and wore trainers because I didn’t know about cleats. It was great fun but fast, and I felt absolutely battered! The run? I didn’t have any more to give. Hardest thing I’d ever done. Triathlon is hard! (especially when you don’t train for it), otherwise everyone would do it. I did it again a few weeks later in a heatwave on a borrowed road bike, just to make sure that it was still hard. It was! I sold my wetsuit the next day. Never again, job done! Tick.

Ten Years Later…

Roll on to 2023. I was swimming five mornings a week (for fitness and, ‘me time’ and to catch up with friends), running sporadically but not far, having had a couple of hip ops. I was struggling with menopause, teenagers, work, and the monotonous routine of life. Basically, having a midlife crisis. Then my daughter and I escaped to the Brecon Beacons. Then one night, tucked up in our shepherd’s hut, she said, “Why don’t you do a Half Ironman, and I’ll do it with you?”

The next day we called my friend in New Zealand and said, “If you do Taupo Half Ironman with us, we’ll come over!” “Yes! and you can use my campervan.” she said.

We had six months to train. Our plan for two weeks in New Zealand became a six- week road trip. I modified an online training plan: 2 swims, 2 bike (including learning to use cleats, and several falls), 2 runs, skipped strength training (didn’t know what it was!). Sore shins and back issues meant several weeks off running. Training alone through winter was brutal, but I was determined.

My son’s parting words when we left for New Zealand, “You’ll always know you only did a half.” Thanks, son.

New Zealand was an adventure. We did a standard distance warm-up in Auckland the day after we arrived, (not on the training plan!), then on to Taupo. We stood on the lakes edge and watched the haka, the canon fired, and the race began, the swim was rough, wavy, and freezing – never experienced anything like it. The bike felt great until the turnaround when we lost our tailwind. The run was slow but crossing the finish line hand-in-hand, mum and daughter was incredible. We had done it!

“Never again,” I declared. Haha, job done! Tick.

Famous Last Words

Back to reality after 5 weeks in New Zealand and a week in an all-inclusive in Thailand and I’m up the ladder stripping wallpaper and decorating the house. I signed up to Reformer Pilates, Zumba, and circuit training. One morning after swim- circuits-dance combo, my calf popped. I hobbled out and took three weeks off sport.

During recovery, all I could think about was that trip and how amazing I felt. Like a new person with endless possibilities. So, I started writing my book, Stronger Every Mile.

I looked up Tri2o swimming coaching as I wanted to become more efficient when I swam. I met Georgia at the lake. She watched me swim: “Your arms cross over, and they need to be parallel.…. (and lots of other things). You’d really benefit from coming to Friday sessions!” she said. So, I did.

Remembering my son’s words and meeting a fireman who’d just done an Ironman who said “You should do one, it’s only a few longer sessions than in Half Ironman training ” (That was a lie!), I booked Westfriesland, The Netherlands, Ironman 70.3 (June) and Kalmar, Sweden Full Ironman (August). I paid for an online training plan with coach support. 2 swims included one coached session, lake, and sea swims. 2 bike which included a weekend group club ride with a cake and hot chocolate stop, which I tagged on to a solo ride. 2 runs plus a brick run. Two twenty-minute sessions of strength training which I did at home and now realised the importance of! (skipped a few!). I did the Tri2o standard distance triathlon, which I enjoyed.

June 2025, Aged 52. In The Netherlands, my race went to plan – 6:55, felt like I nailed it. The sea was wavy so the waves would throw you over another swimmer at times. I hydrated well, had the perfect nutrition, and felt strong. I ended up drenched though, as I focused on chucking water on myself to keep cool, ice down my bra and running though sprinklers. My quads were agony for the following two days! Anyway, Job done! Tick.

Training for Kalmar Ironman got longer and tougher. I stopped doing group rides with the club and began six weeks of solo 5-hour rides followed by brick runs. The worst was a 4-hour ride plus 1:50 run. But I felt ready.

August 2025, Aged 53. Race week in historic Kalmar was buzzing. I bought half of the Ironman merchandise shop, the mug, the bottle, the jacket, the bike top, the personalised t-shirts (I wasn’t planning to do this again, obviously!). Race briefing had me in tears watching last year’s film, “Tomorrow you will be a Viking of the North!”

Race day: 4am start, warm and calm. I lined up by swim time and hugged a girl next to me who was crying. I felt happy, confident, and ready. “Today you will swim. You will bike. You will run. You will be an Ironman.” The canon fired. I high fived the Viking and plunged into the sea.

The swim through jellyfish and the warm waters was long but I felt great. I waved at my family mid stroke, which made me chuckle and nearly choke! I got booted in the chest a few times by swimmers deciding to do breaststroke. Yay, swim done tick!

I flew on the bike in the tailwind and then the headwinds were brutal especially without tri bars (I fell off during training – mild concussion, whiplash and a shoulder injury put me off them forever!). I was overtaken by people on TT bikes and bikes with tri bars, but that was inevitable. Job done, huge relief, no punctures, now for the easy bit!

Then the run. Started strong, embraced the party atmosphere, and loved the first two laps but forgetting about nutrition (race brain fog, again!) was starting to cause a problem, so around 15km, nausea hit. I’d only had three gels in four hours – whoops! At that point I zoned out. I needed to block out the noise. No demons to fight, just lack of energy.

About 5km from the end, my head worked out that I could benefit from some carbs, (the penny finally dropped!) a caffeine gel perhaps? Game changer! Started walking when I knew it would be quicker than plodding, and waited for the gel to kick in, (It was either that or curling up under a tree for a few hours). I quickly ran the final 2km, high-fived the supporters, soaking up the roar of the crowds and the beat of the music. I had the biggest smile on my face, I rang the bell, high fived the Ironman crew, threw my arms in the air and ran across the finish line, “Clavelle, you are an Ironman!” hugged the Viking and got my glorious medal and the T-shirt. Haha, job done! Tick.

I crossed the line in under 15 hours – arriving just before heroes’ hour! I enjoyed watching the finishers and soaked in the party atmosphere. Back home, I got the M dot tattoo and spent a month eating and sleeping. Now back to being a very casual athlete. But, newsflash, I’ve started going to the gym, weirdly! What’s next? Remember, never again. Job done!

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