Episode 27: Kevin Smith - Riding up the hills

In this episode, we have an interesting chat with coach Kevin Smith. Kevin is a cycling and triathlon enthusiast and a coach. He has worked with Tri Training Harder for the past couple of years and has been cycling coaching and guiding from his house in France for years before that. After living in New Zealand for four years, Kevin has moved to France and owns a B&B at the bottom of the famous Alpe d’Huez climb. Tri Training Harder has run some training camps there. It is also where Kevin hosts some cycling camps out of his B&B. he encourages anyone who loves cycling to come and join him and his family in one of the most picturesque places to train and enjoy outdoor activities in the world. His experience and attention to detail are fascinating, and we know you will love to hear about his coaching philosophy and approach.

If you would like to know more about our training camps in France, please visit this link, and if you would like to know more about Coach Kevin’s place, please visit his website.

Get to know coach Kevin a little bit more in this episode.

Get to know coach Kevin a little bit more in this episode.

If you would like to know more about our training camps in France, please visit this link, and if you would like to know more about Coach Kevin’s place, please visit his website.

Read More
Episode 26: Sorrel Williams - You can change your life

In his episode, we meet Coach Sorrel Williams: a passionate and extroverted coach that tells us her story of how she changed her past from generally not a sportsperson to become a Triathlon Coach and a full-distance triathlon finisher. Sorrel never had any background in sports and didn’t even know how to swim when she started, but that didn’t stop her from changing the direction of her life. Her can-do attitude and positive outlook on life are infectious. As one of our senior coaches, there are always nuggets of information that she can impart from her work with the Academy juniors to her work in other areas of triathlon and coaching. Tune in and have a listen.

Read More
Episode 25: Coaches on the Couch - Reflecting on a Race

In this episode we recover last week’s Coaches on the Couch where Coach Philip has guided us through the process of reflecting on a race and the details we need to to be aware of when racing.

With the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games happening at this time, this is the perfect moment for you to learn as much as possible about the aspects of racing and what you can take from others and your competition experiences.

Read More
Episode 24: Soraya Merrylees

In this episode, we chat to Coach Soraya. Soraya is enthusiastic with a huge passion for the sport. She came to Triathlon coaching after some time working as a PT. For our coached athletes, she’s famous for her Strength and Conditioning workouts and if you met her on one of our camps, you will know her for her big smile and positive outlook on the steepest of climbs! Today, we find out more about her as the coach and the athlete.

If you want to read more about Soraya, check her profile here. This year, Soraya moved from the UK to New York where she has to face a totally different experience in triathlon and huge challenges and is now our US-based coach and representative.

Read More
Episode 23: Coaches on the Couch – How can I run faster off the bike?

Pretty much every triathlete has posed the question: “how can I improve my run?” when looking at the results list. “Improving my run” is the most common request that athletes have when come to us for coaching.

In this episode, we listen to the Coaches on the Couch, where Coaches Alan, Diogo and Philip discuss how can you run faster off the bike and what aspects you need to consider to be able to improve your run for the race day. These coaches review the different options often athletes consider as well as suggesting a straightforward approach to action as you aim to improve your run off the bike.

Read More
Episode 22: Isabel Tew - Breathe in, breathe out

In this episode we get to know Isabel Tew, a positive and energetic person who talks to us about the benefits of learning and applying breathing techniques not just throughout our day but also for focussing through workouts and racing.

Isabel has a Yoga background and has been studying about meditation and breathing techniques in order to help people build their self-awareness and take in what is around them.

Read More
Epsiode 21: Coaches on the Couch - What have we learned from the return to swimming?

The return to swimming has been a major issue for most of the triathletes around the world, being unable to practice one of the most technical segments of triathlon is causing some stress into the athletes and make them wonder how ready or not they feel for the race day. In this episode, Coach Alan Ward and Coach Philip Hatzis discuss what we have learned from the return to swimming after a big pause due to Covid-19 restrictions.

Read More
Episode 20: Brian Adcock - Castle Triathlon Series

Now that races are returning to our calendar, we spoke with Brian Adcock, the director of the Castle Race Series. In this conversation, we spoke about the changes that race organizers had to make to provide us with the best experience possible during this COVID, the obstacles that race organisers have faced and how excited he is about returning to the sport. We got an insight vision on what needs to be done to organize a race and the difficulties that sometimes a race organiser faces.

Don’t forget to visit our Online Program for Castle Race Series at https://tritrainingharder.com/castle-series-triathlon-training-group or sign up for one of the castle events: https://www.castleraceseries.com/

Read More
Episode 19: Coaches on the Couch - The Balance of Women in Endurance Sports

Triathlon is often modelled as the perfect sport for gender equality. But is it? In this episode, Coach Philip and Coach Alan, alongside Dr Lisa Ingarfield and the recent BBC Sports Personality of the Year, Unsung Hero (London) winner Katee Hui, discuss the gender balance in endurance sport. Should we put triathlon on that pedestal? Or should we look for further opportunities to improve? What is the fight between Women and Men equity in endurance sports? How do the cultural differences in our society impact sports, what can other sports learn from triathlon and what can endurance sports learn from them?

Enjoy this challenging episode where we expose some raw truths and make a step towards levelling up the balance of women in the sport.

Read More
Episode 17: Brian Welsh - Just sweat, no tears!

In this episode, we introduce Brian Welsh, an endurance sports Coach, an athlete, a husband and passionate about sport. With many years of experience, Brian shares with us some of his adventures when racing and coaching athletes for ultra-distance cycling events such as Race Across America (RAAM) or Race Around Ireland where the mindset is more or as important as your fitness.

Read More
Diogo CustodioComment
Episode 16: Coaches on the Couch - How sitting can affect your performance?

In this episode, our coaches on the couch discussed sitting and its impact on performance. This is an increasingly important subject as, with the current situation where most of us work from home; we tend to spend a huge amount of time sitting down. How can this affect your performance? How will this change your posture? What can and should do to avoid any future issues? Listen to what Coach Tracy, Philip and Alan have to say about it in this podcast as they help navigate sitting and how you can improve your home-working space. If nothing else, we will guarantee you will spend the episode checking your own posture while you listen!

Read More
Episode 15: Trevor Perkins - Running the distance

In this episode, we talk with Trevor Perkins. Trevor is one of our longer-standing coaches, and he is totally passionate about endurance sports. As a sports fanatic when he was younger (he almost picked up a pro card in surfing), Trevor found his calling in endurance sports. Eventually, he moved into coaching, where he is one of our most attentive and caring coaches. His attention to detail and athlete welfare is inspiring. He has coached future IRONMAN Champions, Kona qualifiers, Yukon podium athletes, as well as ultra trail athletes too.

Trevor shares with us his experience and expertise not only about triathlon but also about Ultra Endurance Running too, what motivates him and how he manages to be able to do so many miles running. As a competitive “Master” Trevor is the envy of all our younger coaches as not many of them can keep up in swim, bike, or run and that is over the distances Trevor is bad at, no one dares take him at ultras! Join us to hear what Trevor has to say, as he is always worth listening to.

Read More
Episode 14: Coaches on the Couch - Pregnancy and Endurance Training

On today’s episode of Coaches on the Couch, Coach Philip has guest speakers: Susie Cheetham, Angela Jameson and Emma Hatzis. The aim of this conversation was to educate and empower pregnant and postpartum female athletes in an informed manner while attempting to clarify and dispel any myths or misunderstandings around pregnancy and endurance sport. In this honest, transparent and enlightening episode, we cover a whole range of experiences and lessons that these three experts want to share with you.

Susie Cheetham is a GB runner turned professional triathlete: Course record holder at IRONMAN Hamburg, a frequent contender on Alii drive with 6th places at the World Championships. Both Susie and her husband Rob are coaches themselves. Susie is expecting her first child shortly!


Angela Jameson runs Physically Fit UK. Angela is overly qualified: after a degree in sports science, she turned her hand as a physical trainer and pilates instructor where she is a leading expert on pre and postnatal pilates, health and well being. Her brother-in-law is ex-professional triathlete Joel Jameson and so she understands the sport of triathlon.

Emma Hatzis is a top age-group triathlete, after being the fastest AG at Staffordshire 70.3 in 2018 and the overall winner at IMUK in 2019, she competed at her first World Championships in 2019. She also has been dragged into this episode as she has the pleasure of being coach Philip's wife! They are expecting in early January.

Read More
Episode 13: Jon Reilly - Triathlete vs Cancer

Jon Reilly is one of the recent Tri Training Harder coaches. With a great experience not only as a coach but also as an athlete, Jon, a commercial pilot, guides us through his life and how he embraced triathlon in his life and how important it was for him to fight back a cancer that affected him in 2019. With an amazing strength and mindset, Jon shows us how important is to always see the light at the end of the tunnel.

If you want to know more about Jon’s life experience, visit his website and social media at:

https://triathletevscancer.com

@triathletevscancer on Instagram

@TriathetevsC on Twitter

Read More
Diogo CustodioComment
Episode 11: Vasco Vilaça - The ITU rising star

In this episode we speak with the new ITU star, Vasco Vilaça who shares with us how was his journey in Triathlon and the feeling of becoming Silver Medalist at the World Triathlon Championships. Vasco is still a young athlete but is no longer a promise in Triathlon, with the recent results, is definitely an athlete to take in count when he lines up on a race. Sharing with us the choices and changes he needed to do in his life to become professional athlete and how important his relationship with his coach is in order to be successful.

Read More
Diogo CustodioComment