Fiona Greenhalgh has been a member of Glasgow Triathlon Club for around two years. She is a GP and races in the age 40 to 45 category. 

Before triathlon, Fiona’s main sport was running. She said: “I have ran since I went to uni and I still run regularly with friends. I have entered a few races in the past, but I had never been a member of a club until GTC.” 

Fiona can’t recall why she was first attracted to triathlon but she remembers how her husband enjoyed the tri club swimming sessions. She said: ”Then the kids started going along to triathlon sessions and I thought that if everyone else was doing it then I should be, too. 

“Also I wasn’t a good swimmer and I thought it would be a good way of improving my swimming.” 

Three sports are better than one

Fiona now enjoys the mix of disciplines in triathlon. She said: “I also like that you don’t have to be good at all of them. In addition, everyone in the club – and at events – is really friendly.”

Fiona still rates running as her favourite discipline. She said: “Running is probably my strongest discipline but I think I like it best because you don’t need a lot of kit; just a pair of trainers. You can fit it in when time is short and it doesn’t matter what the weather is like.” 

She reports that she has seen the most improvement in both cycling and swimming since going GTC.

She said: “To start with, I couldn’t swim two lengths without feeling I was going to drown. I just couldn’t control my breathing. It’s now getting better, although we had a swim analysis before lockdown and Vicky begg said it looked like I was running in the water,  so there’s still lots of work to do there. 

“I’ve never been a particularly strong cyclist and I just did it socially. The winter during lockdown and Zwift racing with GTC made a massive difference to my cycling.” 

‘I prefer longer races’

Fiona has progressed from shorter to longer races. She said: “I did a sprint triathlon, then a standard, then a Half Ironman this year. I definitely prefer the longer races. The sprint was just a bit too frenetic for me.”

Fiona has been busy with races post-lockdown, including Lochore sprint, St Mary’s Loch standard, Aberfeldy Middle Distance Triathlon, Long Hard Dirty Aviemore triathlon and the Craggy Island Triathlon. 

She was very happy with her Aberfeldy Middle Distance Triathlon result this summer. She was third in her age category. Fiona said: “I’d not really done anything as long as that before and there was always the worry I wouldn’t be able to finish it.” 

Her next goals are to do the Outlaw Half IM next year and another Half IM, although she’s not sure which one. She added: “I also want to improve my swimming over the winter now that the GTC swim sessions have re-started.”

Her lifetime aspirations in triathlon and sport are “staying fit and happy”.

Fiona’s triathlon tips

Go along to sessions because the club is so friendly.

Don’t be worried about what level you are at because there is a level for everyone. 

Make sure you have friends to train with. This makes it much more enjoyable.