Chrissie Wellington's Blog

While setting up this blog, I've spent a little time looking at other triathlon blogs to see what else is out there. One of the best blogs that I've found is Chrissie Wellington's, winner of the 2007 Ironman World Championships. Here's a link : http://www.teamtbb.com/christinewellington/. It's amazing in this day and age, well, any day and age really, to hear someone who has achieved the pinacle of their sport, and still has such a balanced perspective on life. Ironman is such a demanding distance that by its nature it demands complete focus on one's self and one's training, and yet Chrissie talks about how the real power of sport is its power to change and inspire. Here is a quote from her after winning Hawaii last year:

"Anyone that knows me has probably been on the receiving end of one of my rants. Like a stuck record I ramble on about development to anyone that will (pretend to) listen. It is my passion, and has been for a long time. Poverty, conflict, violence, crime, exclusion and so forth are not givens. They happen for a reason. We have the power to change things. And sport is one vehicle for doing so. It has the power to build bridges, to empower, to teach, to heal – this is what triathlon and every other sport should be about. I hope that I [...] can, in a small way, help to inspire people to take up sport, realise their own dreams and their full potential."

It's refreshing and inspiring to hear a world champion talking about the power of sport to help people realise their dreams and potential. I think that's what draws most people to triathlon in the first place, before they get caught up in race results, what sort of new go fast gear to buy, how many calories to consume in the next workout, and all the other endless details that make up a triathlete's life. It's easy to get distracted, but now at the beginning of a new season, if it's your 1st or your 20th, it's a good time to get back in touch with what triathlon is all about, and why we got into this crazy sport in the first place.

My hope for this club is to put Chrissie's idea into action, and to help encourage people to realise their dreams and potential, and to help sport become a means for people to make their lives just a little better, or at the very least give people the chance to eat pizza or a big plate of wings guilt free because they've just been out for a long ride!