A fellow POM – how long have you been living in Australia?
We arrived in Sydney in April 2000, in time for the Sydney Olympics. We lived there for 7 ½ years, Singapore for 3 ½ years, back to Sydney for almost 2 years and have been in Melbourne for almost 11 years.
That’s a lot of moving around! How did you hear about Bayside Tri Club (BTC)?
When I knew we were moving from Sydney to Black Rock in September 2013, I looked for the closest triathlon club, which was Bayside. I emailed Clint…and very surprisingly, I actually got a reply.
Ha ha, burn! Just think, you might have been a member of Tri Alliance all this time instead 😊
What do you particularly like about our club?
The variety of training, social events and a group of competitive but supportive age group females.
Who’s your main triathlon rival?
There are many! I’ve been racing against so many of them for over 10 years now, so we’re all good friends…once the finishing line has been crossed. There are a cracking group of very talented females at BTC who are all competitive but also very supportive of each other.
Which age group are you in?
Just gone up to 50-54 for the upcoming season.
Boo, so have I. It sounds so old! And people like you keep advancing age groups with me, so it doesn’t get any easier 😊
What distance(s) triathlons have you done?
Sprint, Olympic, a few Ironman 70.3s, Sprint Duathlon, Olympic Duathlon and I discovered Aquabike after having my hip replacement!
Oh yes, the old I-can’t-run-so-I-have-to-do-an-Aquabike-and-pretend-it’s-fun; I’m familiar with that! Do you mind sharing more about your hip replacement?
I was born with a deep acetabulum (cup part of the hip joint). Over time the femoral head (ball part) became more and more entrenched in the cup and couldn’t move very much. Because of that my acetabulum and femoral head grew osteophytes and the joint became more and more stuck. Eventually it got to the point where an X-ray showed there was only 1mm of bone left of the acetabulum and if I wasn’t careful, the hip was going to go through my pelvic cavity.
Yowsers! That would have been nasty.
I was left with no real choice but to have a hip replacement, but I’d always known it was on the cards. Rehab has been tough but the difference in pain from before to now is phenomenal. I honestly wasn’t sure if I’d ever be able to run again, so being able to run a few kms a week makes me very happy. It’s given me a different perspective though and really forced me to focus on the positives and appreciate things like getting stronger in the gym etc.
Congrats on getting out there again! And well deserved on winning the BTC Courage award at the end of last season 😊 What sporting achievements (pre-op) are you most proud of?
Representing Australia for my age group in Olympic distance triathlon, Duathlon and Half Ironman. I’m probably most proud of my sub 1hr 30mins half marathon though, which took multiple attempts (around 7 times I finished between 1.30 and 1.33 before cracking it). I’ve never quite managed the sub 40min 10km (PB 40.18).
Well with your new, bionic hip maybe you can achieve it 😊
I have no huge aspirations now. I had 10 years of competing constantly across a range of distances and in various countries. I’m now happy keeping fit and strong. Hopefully I’ll do some of the 2XU series over the season, but more for the friendships and fun than trying to be competitive.
What’s your spirit animal?
I am not an animal person…
Ha ha, that question really doesn’t work for a lot of people.
What’s your go-to karaoke song?
I don’t really have one…our first dance wedding song was Paul Weller’s ‘You do something to me’, which I love to warble along to.
Oo, I love that song; very sultry. What’s your favourite music?
I’m still a bit of a Brit Indie kid, having grown up in Manchester in the late 80s/early 90s. I also like a bit of 90s dance music – a group of us are going to Ministry of Sound ‘90s night!
Fab! And what else do you do for fun, other than triathlon and dancing to old skool music?
Our family are involved in lifesaving at Black Rock. I’ve held my bronze medallion and coached nippers for the last 7 years. I can’t think of anything better than watching my 4 kids enjoy their sports (Will 19, Joseph 18, Alice 16, Oliver 14) so there’s lots of full weekends of lifesaving, soccer, AFL, mountain biking etc. We also enjoy hiking, dinners with friends, family holidays and overseas travel.
Can you fit in any work with all that?
These days I’m a post doc Research Fellow in Digital Health Transformation at the University of Melbourne. I was originally a physio – I completed my physio degree in Edinburgh 1992-1996 and then worked at St James’s University Hospital in Leeds until we moved to Australia in 2000.
Ah, hence the very technical hip explanation! Who’s your greatest supporter?
Whilst my husband James (who I met in Manchester back in the day) doesn’t really like spectating for triathlon, he’s always been fully supportive of my endeavours. He still plays soccer himself and so gets the importance of both the fitness side, but also the social side.
What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?
My mantra for the last year has definitely been: ‘focus on the things you can do, rather than worry about the things you can’t’.
A great mantra – I’m sure many BTC’ers have used it after surgeries, injuries and accidents.
Any hidden talents?
Hmmm, not really sure I have one. I recently started playing tennis (with a coach on Friday afternoons) but I’m not sure I’m talented at it, just loving hitting tennis balls again. My parents met playing tennis, so I played tennis until becoming a triathlon tragic in 2011. I also used to coach tennis to earn money as a student.
Talented! Anything else we should know about you?
I love cuddling babies.
Cute, who doesn’t? You might need to keep going with the sport for another decade until you’re inundated with grandkiddies. In the meantime, thanks for the interview, congrats on all your amazing achievements, best of luck for Amy Gran Fondo on that shiny new hip, and we’re pleased you’re a part of Bayside Tri Club.
