It was joining Team Passion Fit in 2018 that her journey as a triathlete really started to take shape and notably her ability and tenacity as an athlete began to shine through. Her results speak for themselves in recent years with a 7th overall in IM 70.3 Weymouth in 2018, 1st in her age group at IM 70.3 Staffordshire in 2019 a 14th  place overall result.  Racing at the IM 70.3 World Championships in Nice in 2019 she was 17th in her age group, she finished 1st in her age group at IM 70.3 Lanzarote in 2019 and has taken the top step of the podium at the Cotswold 113, The Westonbirt Duathlon and the Chilly Duathlon. Coupled with the overall wins at Outlaw and IRONMAN 70.3 Staffordshire recently the phoenix is most definitely rising as she embraces her life in sport not only as an athlete but as a business woman and proud owner of Phoenix Evolution Bike Fitting Consultancy. 

Tri Talking Sport

Lydia Dant: Triathlete Phoenix Rising

As a youngster his bike was his mode of transport to get to school and his swimming lessons, the thrill of adventure and opportunity for fun started him on a journey for life that would see him start bike racing at the tender age of 14 in 1987 when Stephen Roche won the Tour De France.  A high performer in sport across boxing, running and rugby it was down the cycling path where Padraig really followed his passion for sport both as an athlete and coach.   He raced The Rás in Ireland 12 times within a 30 year period,  raced abroad for a period of time, holds multiple race titles and coaching accolades, is a race director for triathlon and cycling events and has recently completed an off road Everesting Challenge on the side of Croagh Patrick with some fellow cycling enthusiasts in Mayo. In addition to this he won Gaelforce in 2010 and was the All Ireland adventure race champion in 2011, the list of accolades and achievements are vast and diverse, his versatility as an athlete evident in his success in sport.  In some ways, the bigger and more obscure the challenge the greater the excitement for Padraig, however in 2014, Padraig faced his biggest challenge of them all.. a fight for life.  Thankfully he has come out the other side of this challenge and continues to inspire, encourage and motivate the people around him and beyond, young and old to enjoy the life long skill of cycling and all its joys and jubilations. 

Padraig Marrey: Mad For Road With An Appetite For Adventure

He has a string of wins to his name including fastest overall amateur at IRONMAN Lanzarote in 2019 which saw him finish 11th overall on the day,  as well as multiple age group wins at IRONMAN UK before breaking the tape as the overall winner in 2019.    Racing in Kona six times he has had some super results on the Big Island in Hawaii, his most recent in 2019 saw him finish in 9:02.  This Sunday Brian toes the line of the Supersapiens IRONMAN UK, eager to deliver a performance that will see him on the podium with his ticket stamped for Kona once again.  Brian gives us some insight in this episode to his journey in sport, from his days as a footballer to a keen marathon runner before taking up triathlon and excelling in the sport. It hasn't been plain sailing for Brian to get to where he is today but with courage and commitment he has embraced the opportunity to be the best athlete he can be all whilst balancing a busy work and home life, in his own words ' exercise is my drug' 

Brian Fogarty: Exercise Is My Drug

It was a rollercoaster start in life for Kim as she underwent open heart surgery at just three years of age at Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital in London, however her fighting spirit and competitive ambition from an early age has seen her enjoy much success in sport both as a field hockey player and now as a professional triathlete.   As an age group triathlete she quickly excelled in the sport winning the 25-29 Age Group at the 2014 World Triathlon Championships in Kitzbuhel Austria.  Stepping into the world of professional racing she claimed her first title at IM 70.3 Buenos Aires in 2016 and also finished on the podium at IM 70.3 Staffordshire and IM 70.3 Sweden in the same year.   Since then she has been on the podium at a variety of IM 70.3 races, raced multiple full distance races including the IRONMAN World Championships in 2019 where she finished 26th. She has already stamped her ticket for the IM 70.3 Worlds in Utah this year and for Kona, so there are an exciting few months ahead for the Norfolk based athlete.   Already in 2021 Kim has claimed silver in the National TT Circuit Championships in the UK, in addition to this she had a 5th place finish at IM 70.3 Texas and an 8th place at IM Tulsa and also finished 5th at the Lake Dorney Triathlon last weekend in a stacked field featuring some of the UK's top female professional triathletes.  Kimberley's sporting success continues to rise, with her positive attitude, great perspective, tenacity and passionate focus on being the best athlete she can be, I expect we will see her on many a podium over the years to come with a number of bike and race course records added to her name in the process. 

Kimberley Morrison Professional Triathlete: Embracing Life in Sport

Keith's running journey started in 2016 with his daughter Alanna, running the Dublin Marathon with her in 2017, capturing and captivating the hearts of the nation as they completed the event together with Keith pushing Alanna in her chair over the 26.2 mile distance. Tragically Alanna passed away unexpectedly just a few weeks later, however, Keith continues to run in her honour and her memory.  He embraced running with Alanna and now has pushed beyond what he ever thought possible by taking on some mammoth Ultra Running Events.  It wasn't an easy road to running success for Keith in fact he hit rock bottom after Alanna passed away before he began to pick up the pieces of his life again and realise that he had a reason to not only survive but to thrive. Running is his recovery and his therapy on a road that has hit some heart breaking obstacles and challenges.  But Keith is not afraid of these obstacles he now faces as a runner, in fact he embraces them, the bigger and tougher the better for the man from Navan who was a participant in RTE's Special Forces - Ultimate Hell Week in 2019,  he has his eyes set on success at the Marathon Des Sables in the future and Big's Backyard Last One Standing World Final in Tennessee this October, just don't ask him to get back on a rowing machine anytime soon! 

Keith Russell: Running With Purpose And Love For Alanna

Aoife is a proud member of Eagle A.C. and has represented the club over a multitude of distances from 5km to marathon.  In her late teens Aoife attended Arkansas Tech University on an athletics scholarship and showed great promise as a junior athlete, representing Ireland in the Euro XC in 2005. Unfortunately, injury prevented her from reaching her full athletic potential at that time. Coming home to Ireland, she took time to recover, rebuild and reignite a love of running. A New Year's resolution to run the Cork City Marathon in 2015 paved the way for her to commence her marathon running journey which has seen her return to the top step of the podium and build on her achievements in running. With some key race successes, coupled with changes to her career and her training in recent years,  Aoife Cooke has run her way into the history books and has ambitious and exciting plans to excel even further in her chosen sport of marathon running. This was a fun chat with Aoife, her humility and positivity shines through in this episode, we get some incredible insight to her journey in sport and once again are reminded that our dreams and goals are never too far out of reach with courage, commitment and a desire to succeed. 

Aoife Cooke: Reigniting a Love of Running To Fulfil An Olympic Dream

Ger Prendergast has set some incredible challenges for himself in sport. An Ultra-endurance triathlete from Dublin who suffered from sight loss in one eye at a young age due to an accident has not let this get in the way of achieving success in sport personally and professionally inspiring, encouraging and motivating his family and the wider community to strive for more through sport.

Ger Prendergast: Ultra Endurance Triathlete Building Confidence and Resilience Through Sport

Hannah Shields was the first woman from Northern Ireland to summit Mount Everest in May 2007. After the heartbreak of narrowly missing out on reaching the summit in 2003 we hear how her journey in sport continued with unique and fascinating opportunities to embrace her passion for life, seizing opportunities with both hands, including the chance to participate in the inaugural Polar Challenge Race, where she became the first woman from Ireland to ski to the magnetic North Pole.

Hannah Shields: The Courage to Conquer the World

Heather Foley has competed at an international level in both triathlon and cycling, representing Northern Ireland in triathlon at the Commonwealth Games in 2006 and in cycling in 2010 on the track and on the road.

Heather Foley: Guts, Grit, Determination and Love of Sport

Cath Pendleton has become a household name in recent times as the focus of a recent BBC documentary that followed her adventures as an ice swimmer all the way to Antarctica. Known as “The Merthyr Mermaid,” she earned a Guinness World Record for “The most southerly Ice Swim (female)” as the first person to swim a mile inside the Antarctica Polar Circle. Her Zero Ice Mile was in 0.03°C water and -3.20°C air. She completed the mammoth swim in 32 minutes 54 seconds.

Cath Pendleton: Merthyr Mermaid Breaking the Ice

Olympian Gavin Noble is the Deputy Chef de Mission and Marketing lead for Team Ireland, a role he has embraced alongside his coaching role as one half of HupHup with Eanna McGrath.

Gavin Noble Olympian: The Joy of Success in Elite Sport

Daire Feeley is a former professional cyclist from Roscommon. The 24 year old has been on a roller coaster of a ride in cycling from a young age. Embarking on his professional career in the sport in his late teens, he climbed the ranks, earning hard-fought places on teams and has raced all over Ireland, Europe, America, Asia and in European and World Championship level races with Ireland.

Daire Feeley: The Highs and Lows of Life on The Road

Joe Skipper is one of the best long distance endurance athletes in the world, reflected in his current 7th place in the PTO rankings. The Winner of IRONMAN UK, IRONMAN Florida and IRONMAN New Zealand, he was 6th at the IRONMAN World Championships in Kona in 2019 and 7th in 2018. He is also the British 12 Hour TT record holder setting a blistering pace in the 2020 event to cover 325 miles on the day.

Joe Skipper Professional Triathlete: Far From An Average Joe

Annah Watkinson is the current South African female IRONMAN record holder who is pursuing her passion as a professional triathlete, whilst balancing a successful career with Absa Corporate and Investment Bank. Annah is a Director, heading up Global Finance for the Coastal Regions. Her passion for both her professions is evident from the success she has enjoyed across all areas of her busy life.

Annah Watkinson Professional Triathlete: Discipline, Dedication & Determination

Emma Pallant is a name synonymous with success in sport, firstly as a runner and more recently in endurance sport and triathlon. Identified at young age as a talented athlete she embarked on a sporting journey as a runner and earned a string of successes and wins to her name at a local, national and international level.

Emma Pallant Professional Triathlete: Performance, Perspective and Positivity

Tri Talking Sport, the podium podcast for Athletes, Adventurers and Endurance Enthusiasts presented by Joanne Murphy.