After meeting for the first time just two days ahead of the event, the three women reunited as the sun started to rise on a beautiful autumnal morning down at Felixstowe on Sunday 10th October.
The nerves and excitement started to build after the ladies got themselves registered for the event! Not only had they only just met, but none of them had taken part in an event like this before so they worked out their approach to guarantee a smooth transition between the swim, cycle and run.
It was as if the ladies had known each other for years as they shared words of encouragement and support ahead of the start, and this just highlighted the forgotten benefits of engaging in sport and physical activity - connection, community and camaraderie!
First up was Emma (who otherwise referred to herself as the bag lady!)...
Emma was up first and completed the 800m sea swim before handing the baton over to Damilola who took on the cycle stage of the triathlon. Most of the spectators were wincing at the thought of entering the cold sea at 8:30am but this had recently become a new found love of Emma's after discovering the local open water swim group otherwise known as the Bluetits who meet each week at Shingle Street.
It would be easy to presume that Emma had always been active given her excitement and passion on the day, however in reality, physical activity only became a pivotal part of her life following life saving surgery just 3 and a half years ago! This is where "bag lady" comes in, as Emma had to undergo emergency surgery to have her entire colon, part of her small intestine and rectum removed all of which was replaced with a stoma bag!
"I left the hospital with a body I didn't recognise, no colon, no rectum…and a bag! It's a different life and I have had to find a new normal."
It was shortly after her recovery in 2018 that Emma first got into physical activity, starting out with a coach to 5km programme. This soon saw Emma entering and participating in events including half marathons and marathons! Although Emma had participated in similar events since finding her love for running post surgery, sea swimming is still a new hobby and she was over the moon when she realised it was her quickest ever time on Sunday.
"Since my surgery it's been a different life and I have had to find a new normal. I do feel that this has made me a fitter person, a better person and a more understanding person. I took responsibility to live life the best way I can. It was lovely to do this event with people I had not met before, we came together for a common goal and made a fabulous team...completing the swim was tough but I loved it."
Damilola took the second stage of the event...on her husbands bike!
Damilola is a working mother who is also studying and recently started cycling...just 2.5 months ago in fact! Before cycling Damilola would workout at home using YouTube but found it was just not fitting in around her busy schedule. She needed to find a way of being active that would slot into her busy days without feeling like an additional job or chore!
" I was keen for my son to learn to cycle and once I had taught him, he became too fast for me to run after him. I basically forced myself into cycling by teaching my son to cycle. It was lower impact so I just kept going. This was in July, and I then decided to ride to raise money for a Nigerian Charity that focused on helping re-school out-of-school Nigerian children. This again, was inspired by my son as I had the realisation that he had this incredible opportunity to start school in England and there were still so many back home without the privilege."
After regularly cycling the school run and getting out when she could to explore the county, Damilola built up her confidence on the bike, entered the This Girl Can Triathlon competition and won!
To her surprise, she also recorded her fastest ever time on her (husbands) bike at Sundays event. The event has inspired her and just two days later decided she would sign up for local adult swimming lessons so she could explore other ways to be active.
"It was so comforting completing this event with others, if I had entered this alone I would have been panicking but the other girls helped calm my nerves. I want to do it again but challenge myself to the full distance!"
And last but by no means least....Louise completed the 5km run!