Martyn is tri’s foremost average athlete and is living proof that hours of training and endless new kit are no substitute for ability.
Now that I’m well into my third decade as a triathlete (photos of me running in Speedos are available for a small fee), I have been musing on how much has changed since I first shook the grey waters of St Katharine’s Dock from my ears, jammed my JJB sports trainers into the toe clips on my brother-in-law’s borrowed bike, and wobbled off down the ramp at the London Excel Centre.
Some of the changes have been with the sport – for example, aero helmets were once rare enough for anyone wearing one to be called ‘Tron’, whereas now they’re only outnumbered by Dryrobes – but most of them have been with me, and as evidence of this I need only look at my race-selection criteria.
Back in the day when planning my race calendar for the year I applied the following conditions to any races I entered:
This story is from the May 2022 edition of 220 Triathlon.
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This story is from the May 2022 edition of 220 Triathlon.
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