ITS A NEW YEAR - ITS A NEW YOU!

Simon began his career as a triathlete at a very early age, being inspired and coached by his mother, who was an accomplished swimmer. Mrs Lessing now coaches the Ren 96 team swim team on a regular basis.

Ren 96 are part funded by various local authorities and receive an annual donation from East Renfrewshire Council. The group use the pool in the Barrhead Sports centre for training and its possible to join them and get some expert coaching.

Triathlon is a relatively new sport, although it has been going since the early 1980s when it began in California. It started out as a challenge between a few athletes who 'dared' to combine the best local swimming challenge and an outdoor long distance run with their favourite long distance cycle leg thrown in for good measure. Since these early pioneering days, some athletes now see the multi sport event of triathlon as a way of getting back to nature and connecting with the land. Others see it as the ultimate physical challenge and others see it as pure madness!

This is because you have to train for 3 different sports, instead of just one. There are a few Triathlon clubs in the Barrhead area, namely Glasgow Tri club and East Kilbride Tri club, where you can join and get advice and train the safe way. A local athlete who is slowly making the transition to professional triathlete is Neilston athlete Colin McCrum.

Colin, who teaches sports science, recently competed in the Cancun World Triathlon Championships in Mexico and formed part of the 18 strong British team. He secured a 48th position place out of 112 competitors in his age group (Male 25 - 29) finishing in 202 overall in a time of 02:13:07. The best British man was elite athlete Andrew Johns, who finished 3rd in 01:51:17. Colin's time is good considering the searing heat of 43°C and many athletes struggled with this high tempreature. Colin now has plans to move up a gear and hopes to turn professional.

Its a New Year - Its a New You, so whats stopping you from Giving it a Go? Use the page links on the left margin to find out more.