Hi I’m Fern, I suppose writing blogs is a completely new thing for me however; I can’t wait to share my triathlon journey with you and help myself develop and reflect on my preparation and races I complete in the future. I only started triathlons about a year and four months ago, which I know isn’t long however, from then on I became addicted to the sport ; it’s hard not to; with all the training, excitement of local as well as National competitions, meeting different people and getting new and better equipment to help  improve my skills, performance and ability to win.

A hard bike session on a cold Sunday, with fellow ATC scholarship recipient Daniel Canala.

I’m currently 15 and have just been awarded the first ATC Junior Development scholarship. From when I began triathlons to where I am now my training has increased tremendously from two run sessions in a week, a bike ride and once a week swimming to eleven or twelve sessions a week. Due to this extra training I have continued to improve my skills and triathlon performance. I am currently increasing my winter training in readiness for the season ahead. However, I couldn’t have done this without the help of my amazing coach Mike Spurling, he saw something in me and has lead me to many achievements that I couldn’t even dream about a year ago.

A very cold and wet run session with my Team Tempo girls, completing a long run around the city.

I have made use of the State schools, Athletics SA Long and Short course cross country competitions to test my running and in which I was successful. The next competitions I have are Duathlons including the State Champs and National Champs (being held in Adelaide) they could be considered as majorly important , however, I’m  using them more as stepping stones to the main triathlon competitions in the summer. I will be able to judge by these events as to where I am at, in terms of my run and bike performance. I will be able to work out if I need to be training differently or harder in preparation for the season. However, I can’t wait for the Duathlon National Race as it is going to be such a good opportunity for myself and other ATC members to test ourselves against the best locally as it is in Adelaide and we will know the course! Overall, this was just a welcoming kind of blog and in my next ones I will focus more on how I am going to further improve my performance, reflect on what I have learnt in the races I have completed and maybe what I could have or will do differently next time.