“Personally, I want to feel that once I’ve finished a race, I’ve put it all on the line; given 110 percent.

I find that with non-drafting you can really push yourself beyond your abilities and see how far you can improve.”

BODY MOVING

“Off-road events are more gruelling than normal triathlons because your whole body is involved. In the mountain-biking and trail-running legs you’re often negotiating rocky sections, running through mud, up and down waterfalls, traversing mountains you can’t see the tops of, zig-zagging in and out of forest ... It takes a big toll on your body. To be able to prepare yourself, you need to go out and explore what nature has to offer. I think that’s the beauty of the sport I race in: you don’t know what’s going to come up next.

“Often you come across obstacles which you don’t think you’ll be able to conquer. At the recent Xterra in England, there was a two-and-a-half-metre creek jump. Out of the many people who couldn’t get over it in training, so many of them were able to during the race. It’s just amazing what the mind can allow you to do in the heat of the moment. The sport allows people to think beyond their capabilities and challenge their own minds and physical abilities.”