Welcome Jonathan! I spot an English accent – what brought you to Australia?
I was actually born in Uganda, but my family was chased out by the dictator Idi Amin in the early 1970s. My childhood was in Nottingham, best-known as the home of Robin Hood. I first came to Australia way back in 1991 for a gap year before Uni – I spent a lot of my time and money in the bars of St Kilda so had a connection to Melbourne.
Uganda! I wouldn't have guessed that. Hey I did the obligatory Down Under gap year too – except my money was mostly spent in Bondi. When did you come back?
I came back again for good in 2008 after I had met and married my Australian wife Anna in the UK and we had our first child, Leo. I had loved Australia when I was here in 1991 and Anna’s family was originally from Bayside so it was an easy decision.
What sports did you do growing up in Uganda/England?
My favourite sport was athletics and I used to do lots of events from jumps to middle-distance, though was a “jack of all trades and master of none”.
Any other sporty people in your family?
Our sons, Leo (16) and Max (15) are both keen runners. Leo competes as a Para Athlete and is the Australian Para Under 20, 800 metres and 1500 metres champion. Anna also cycles and I’m hoping she’ll one day make it along to the Sunday social rides you organise.
Impressive kids, and tell Anna she’s very welcome! How long have you been a member of Bayside Tri Club and what encouraged you join?
I first joined back in 2012 when I was training for the 2013 Ironman held in Melbourne. Back then Clint had a huge squad of locals who had signed up for the Ironman on our doorstep. I live just around the corner from the Sandringham Athletics track so I had seen the running group training on Tuesday evenings and asked how I could join. I then went missing from the club for a few years as I was mainly running and then re-joined three years ago.
I remember handing out Cadbury's Curly Whurlys on a run aid station for IM Melbourne 2013. They were very popular! What do you like about Bayside Tri Club?
I am not a quick triathlete so I love how friendly and welcoming the club is for people of all abilities, especially new athletes. It helps as well that I live in Hampton.
What distance(s) triathlons have you done?
I have done everything from sprint triathlon to Ironman. I completed 3 Ironmans in 3 different countries – Australia, UK and USA – though the last one was over ten years ago.
What sporting achievement are you most proud of?
Probably my first-ever Ironman, a race called Vineman in Napa Valley when I was living in California in 2003-04. I had only started swimming and cycling about six months before. When I reached the finishing straight I heard the announcer say; “and if he sprints now he might just break 13 hours,” and so I ran the last 100 metres as fast as I could and got a time of 12h59m59s.
Yay! Well done 😊 Now, I know you like your endurance events…you recently did the UTA100 in the Blue Mountains (when I did the UTA22 and that was hard enough!) – how did it go?
UTA100 is a 100-kilometre trail run and part of the biggest trail running event in Australia in a wonderful scenic part of the country. I have done it before and was well-prepared and was going well for the first 70 kilometres or so but really ran out of juice over the last 30 kilometres.
30 kilometres – that is a long time to be running out of juice for!
Yes, the last few hours were both the highlight and the lowlight. The lowlight because it gets tough when you’re cold and exhausted and traipsing up a steep mountain at 3am in the morning. But also the highlight because you are with lots of other people from around the world who are in the same boat. Everyone encourages and helps each other to make it to the finish. I finished around 5am in a time of 22 hours – behind my target but by the end I was just glad to finish.
Amazing, well done! 22 hours of running sounds totally nuts. What are your race aspirations?
After completing the UTA 100 I had a moment of madness and registered for a 100-mile race – the Ultra-Trail Kosciusko which is at the end of November. So, after taking a bit of time off I’ll be training for that. I’ve promised myself not to do any longer races than that.
Yup, 100 miles certainly sounds long enough - I'm tired just thinking about it! Best of luck to you.
Hey, how come you like karaoke so much?
I’m not very good at karaoke but I love the way it gets everyone talking and in a positive mood and creates lots of fun moments – as we saw at the end-of-season event. I think there should be a rule against taking videos though😜.
Ha ha, definitely. Wait, is there video evidence of us?! I don't want to become famous in the same way that 'Raygun' has at her Paris Olympics debut!
What’s your go-to karaoke song?
At our company annual meeting I was part of a rendition of the Village People’s YMCA in full costumes which was good fun. I was the policeman.
And I thought my workplace was fun! What work do you do?
I lead the Australian arm of Eagle Eye, a software platform for loyalty programs. Nobody has ever heard of Eagle Eye but the platform is used by some well-known programs including Woolworths Everyday Rewards. If you shop at Woolworths and do the personalised “Boosters” then you’re using our software. Btw if you shop at Woolworths and you’re not doing the Everyday Rewards “Boosters” then you’re missing out on hundreds of dollars of benefits.
Yep, I use my Everyday Rewards every time I shop at Woolies (admirable marketing plug btw). Who’s your greatest supporter?
Definitely my family who are always very supportive even though training for endurance events can be time-consuming, especially at the weekends.
What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?
I think a great quote about life and almost all endeavours is; “It's not the destination, it's the journey”.
What else should we know about you?
I am on the Committee of Sandringham Athletics Club and recently started managing the over 40s cross-country teams. We’d love to get a few more runners involved so please get in touch if you’re interested – it’s a fun way to stay fit over the winter and the races are in some nice locations, from the Tan to Hanging Rock.
Sounds great, hopefully this article will get a few more coming along. Thanks for your time and for being a member of Bayside Tri Club 😊
