One of our Junior members, Alice Metcalf, shares her experience in triathlon so far and the inspiration behind her journey into the sport. Here’s why she thinks you should dabble in the wonderful world of Tri and see if it could be for you too!
I’m Alice, I’m 13 years old and I’m a triathlete.
You are probably reading this and either thinking of starting triathlon and want to know more about the sport or you have no idea what triathlon so you thought you’d take a look as it happened to pop up on your screen. Well, I’m now going into my third season of racing and I enjoy it so much that want to share why I think you would too. So, in no particular order:
1. I always did a lot of sport: running and swimming in particular but I never dreamt of cycling competitively or even that these three things could be strung together! It wasn’t until I was watching the Rio 2016 Olympics and saw the Brownlee brothers’ spectacular wins, I thought to myself ‘that looks really fun, I can swim and run decently and I can definitely give cycling a go’. My mum then looked into Tri clubs near us and found LFTC. The club was so easy to join and everyone was so friendly that I automatically loved it!
2. What makes triathlon different to other sports is that there are three disciplines. When you train competitively in other sports it’s easy to get bored, repetitively doing the same thing everyday. However, triathlon is more interesting: three completely different sports and movements,no day is ever the same. It also means that getting injured from one sport is less likely as your spread out your training between the three.
3. Over the 
past few years that I’ve been racing triathlons I have made so many friends! Friends from competitions and friends from training. In general, triathlon is a very friendly sport to be involved in. It’s a great way to stay fit while having fun and staying social. My parents have also made so many friends who they grab coffee and catch up with while I’m training at 8:00am, it’s a win-win really.
4. I know many people are daunted by swimming, cycling and THEN running. They think ‘three sports you have to be good at!?’ or ‘that’s too hard, you must have to be really fit!’. However, most people have one or two sports they are already pretty good at – but that extra sport that you lack confidence in gives you something to aim and work hard for. Or you may be like me, not a pro at any of the sports individually but but string them together and you could be pretty good!
5. Triathlon can be as competitive or as non-competitive as you like. I like to race competitively because it gives me something to work towards. Yes, I do tend to get very nervous before a race but as soon as the race starts I’m in the zone focused and concentrated. Finishing a tough race you know you’ve done well in is one of the best feelings ever (especially when you get to go out for brunch afterwards). However, racing might not be for you, and that’s completely fine!
I hope this has motivated you to give triathlon a go: learn a new skill, make new friends and keep fit. But most importantly, have fun and try your best!
Come along to one of our Junior sessions, Tuesdays at 5pm (commencing 19th March) and Saturdays at 4pm, more details can be found on our calendar page. You will need to register an account with us on behalf of your child/children which you can do right here.
If you have any questions, please feel free to drop an email to our awesome Junior’s Coach, Amanda, on juniors@lftri.co.uk.