Transcript
UKRunChat: Welcome to this episode of the UK Run Chat podcast. Today, we're joined by Scott Hill. He's a successful triathlete and he's head coach and and performance director in ah RAF triathlon and a tri -wolf coach. Hi, Scott. Thanks for coming back on. it's been It's been a while since you were on the podcast. You were last on Chatting to Joe four years ago. and So quite a lot changed since then, I'm guessing.
Scott: In some cases, yeah, no, but thanks for having me on. It's great. I can't believe four years has passed. um But still very active in the sport, still doing a lot, a few extra roles taken on and yeah, kind of still enjoying the process and the life behind sport as a whole, not just triathlon.
UKRunChat: Yeah, so I think you were you were chatting to Joe um a while back about kind of how you'd kind of qualified for Kona and, you know, all that that entails. So, I mean, what what have you been up to in, you know, since since then?
Scott: Um, so I am an accidental triathlete, you know, I'm one of them that came from nothing and, and kind of landed on my feet in some ways and did very, very well, very, very early on. And I've just grown a huge passion for it and developed myself as an athlete, developed as a coach over the years. Um, and now I'm in a fortunate position where I'm developing athletes and coaches, both in the Royal Air Force and with TriWolf as well, which is my own no coaching.
Scott: um thing on the side but still very active still competing training and stuff myself and got some exciting things happening this year as well personally.
UKRunChat: Yeah, we'll chat about those in a bit. So tell us kind of how did you get into the whole coaching side of Triathlon then?
Scott: um So very early on I Uh, you know, during the Royal Air Force, being the Royal Air Force, this is my 23rd year now. So, you know, it's been a long career. I've always been very active, but never put them together.
Scott: And I think we spoke about this with Joe last time is that I actually, um, through some friends that I've got in the service, we started to do some, some training sessions.
UKRunChat: Yes.
Scott: And then we ended up doing London den to John at Groats from three lakes and climb the three peaks. And that was the very start of it all really. And that was ah back in 2014. And I can't believe that we're now in 2025.
Scott: Um, And very early on, I was training with some spinning clubs, Salisbury Tri Club.
UKRunChat: oh yeah
Scott: um And they took me on as a bit of a coach very early on and helped develop me in that process. And currently I've gone through all of British Triathlon's coaching courses um from an assistant coach to a group coach to a one -to -one coach.
Scott: And then last year I finished the high performance coaching course with them as well. So I've done all of the coaching courses with British Triathlon. and it certainly has been interesting doing that.
Scott: It's it's not only developed athletes that I'm coaching, but it's developed me personally as well, which has been fantastic.
UKRunChat: Oh yeah.
UKRunChat: Yeah, I was going to ask that actually. So what what have you kind of taken from that personally in your own competition?
Scott: um I think a lot of it's self -reflection and I think that's something most athletes don't do. Everyone expects to have PB after PB and it doesn't happen like that for various reasons. It could be just life, um work, family, injuries because you know we are in a sport that's, it can be quite easy to pick injuries up if you're not careful and most people will try and push through rather than hold back and then that just delays recovery and everything else as well. So it's been learning that process, self -reflection has been huge and I try to take that on with athletes now as well and get them to have a bit of self -reflection and don't put so much pressure on themselves um because you know we are human after all, we're not machines and sometimes your body will just say not today.
UKRunChat: Yeah. So what does that self -reflection actually look like in terms of the the training process? What do you encourage athletes to do?
Scott: again not put pressure on themselves you know me personally I lead a very busy life I'm one of these people that I'm always doing something and many people I've come across especially you know during the courses and people I know personally they'll say to me that you're always busy and I think I manage my time very well. um So I'm good at that, but sometimes but I have to take a step back and just think, you know, what you need to you need to calm down a little bit here and um look at what the end goal is. And that's something that I've tried to look at athletes with. And, you know, I've had an athlete this year that's doing very well. He's racing age group, world championship level.
Scott: But he he wanted to do more, wanted to do more racing, more events. And then, you know, he got the opportunity to do London Marathon. And I had to say, look, let's, let's look at what your actual goal is here, because it's great to have these opportunities and do everything.
Scott: But at some point, something's going to give. So how go away and have a little bit of self -reflection on what you originally wanted to achieve. And let's, let's look at that rather than all the other things that could come next year or the year after.
Scott: There's still that the opportunities are still going to be there.
UKRunChat: yeah Yeah, that's a good point. There's a lot of life needs to happen as well, isn't there? And that could often interfere with training as well, I guess.
Scott: Oh absolutely, you know no no weeks are the same really um and that's something that you know people just take away from a coaching perspective is we need to make sure that everything's balanced and things aren't fluctuating too much again which is which is something I try to keep athletes on the straight and narrow for and again it's difficult because people get more time some weeks than others and they feel like oh I can do extra, you don't need to.
UKRunChat: No. So you wouldn't ever encourage that.
Scott: Not necessarily. I mean, most people, if we look at training camps, for example, that's a key one.
UKRunChat: yeah
Scott: Most people that go into a training camp are over -training. So they need to they need to back off before they do it.
UKRunChat: Right.
Scott: They need to back off afterwards just so they recover. Because when your body's at stress and you keep pushing it, something will give. So training camps are heavily over -training. And most people you know don't understand that.
Scott: um But if you can have a a structured program that's
Scott: I'd say vary, but the volume is similar and built in a correct manner rather than fluctuating.
UKRunChat: Yeah.
Scott: And for example, you know one week, five hours, the next week, 12 hours, the next week, five hours, the next week, 15 hours. That's not conducive conducive to train development and normally will end in the way that an athlete doesn't want it to.
UKRunChat: Oh, okay. So you mentioned training camps there. Do they have a place then in kind of coaching and, and training?
Scott: Absolutely. I think sport as a whole could be quite lonely in some ways. you know We try to fit our training around work and and family life. and Typically that doesn't marry up with your friend who may be doing similar things next door. you know so um It can be lonely. I try and encourage people to still stick to their training program, but at the same time, if they want to go and do stuff with local clubs, events with friends and family or training camps and stuff, then it's it's important to get involved because it does give you that sort of balance there as well. And that that that interest that you can have with fellow athletes that may walk a different life to you totally. um I mean, I've got athletes that A and E doctors, some of them are in the military,
Scott: um so I'm going to do a lot of online stuff for sales so it's it's a vast array of things but when we come together for training they all seem to get on really well. It's really good to see.
UKRunChat: Yeah. And I guess you pick up lots of new ideas, don't you? And things.
Scott: Absolutely. I think athletes learn. I think coaches, if they say they're not learning, then they're quite naive because I learn all the time. I learn of people and I learn of myself and I learn of all the research and everything else.
UKRunChat: Yeah.
Scott: so I never stop learning. And and that's, I think that's quite important for athletes and coaches to understand as well, that people don't know everything and that's okay.
UKRunChat: Yeah.
UKRunChat: Yeah. Yeah, so talk to us a little bit about kind of triathlon in the Air Force. and how How popular a sport is it?
Scott: um So sport and the Air Force as a whole is is pretty popular. I think off the top of my head there's about 56 sports associations. um We're going through a difficult time in a minute with the military as a whole is short of people.
UKRunChat: Yeah.
Scott: are struggling with retention and recruitment and that's not just the Royal Air Force it's all of them. um So when you've got people in the workplace that are maybe doing jobs of two maybe three people to get away and do sports quite difficult and line managers might find it difficult to release people as well.
Scott: but it's something that the military does push for because you know it is very good for but that break from work, from that you know break from the stresses of life, mental health, you know the benefits it all has with that as well.
UKRunChat: Yeah.
Scott: So it's important. It is important for the Air Force. We do push it, but it's it's certainly testing times at the minute with us being not where we would like to be.
UKRunChat: Yeah. So what what are the goals then? What are you aiming for?
Scott: Personally, for myself,
UKRunChat: Within? Yeah, with within the within the Air Force. Yeah, we'll we'll we'll chat about your goals in a moment. But kind of triathlon in the Air Force.
Scott: um So ultimately we, you know, every year we race into service level, so we'll put teams together for that.
UKRunChat: Yeah.
Scott: So we have a ah team on the committee that work very hard um for the association and it's not their primary job, it's the secondary role they that they volunteer and take on and that's from from the chair of the association, all the way down to coaches.
Scott: um So we try to to develop the coaches, team managers, and that could be on their coaching journey, um getting them to deliver sessions when we're on training camps, be it in the UK or overseas. so So we try to develop them, but normally developing the athletes as well and and just encouraging sport is good.
Scott: And, you know, although triathlon as a whole is quite a lonely sport because you race on your own, but we come together and, and you know, we build that team ethos. And then we get to race against the army and the Navy every year in different distances as well.
UKRunChat: Yeah.
Scott: And that's the same with most of the sports in the Air Force. You always get to the competitive side with the other services. And that's something that I don't think will ever go away.
UKRunChat: No, does that, does that get very competitive?
Scott: It can do, yeah.
UKRunChat: Yeah.
Scott: yeah I mean you yeah mean, across the sports, there is everything from beginner, novice, all the way up to elite level.
UKRunChat: Yeah.
Scott: you know We've got, in the Air Force, there's elite level rugby players, there's coaches. um We've got elite level triathletes, duathletes. um So yeah, it's a big mixture all the way.
UKRunChat: Yeah.
Scott: Trying to encourage new to sport to come in and join and take it up and and enjoy it as well. And it's been really successful in the last few years actually. Even this year, we've for RAF Triathlon, we have the most participants ever attending our overseas trading camp in New York this year.
Scott: And that's both male and female participants.
UKRunChat: Yeah, but that's fantastic. Actually, that's really good to hear. what's What do you think is bringing more people into the sport then? What's attracting them?
Scott: I think as a so an association, we've tried to push the um the welcoming of new people, so you know new to sport and developing athletes. um Sometimes you see that there's a bit of a barrier and people don't think that they're good enough to to join clubs, and I don't think that's just the military. I think that's you know in the civilian sector as well. People don't think they're good enough to go along and join in on clubs and stuff.
Scott: Um, but they are, they absolutely are. And most people I like to think in clubs will welcome people to come in and join and take up whatever sport it may be. And that's something that we've changed in the last few years and we've seen a big increase. Um, it's been great. It's been great to see, you know, the far the female participants increase like it has as well. So, um, yeah, as I said, we're off to Mallorca in the first two weeks of April for our training camp.
UKRunChat: Yeah, that's fantastic. So how long does that last and what does it entail?
Scott: So that'll be two weeks. We'll split it into a week each. So the first week will be for the inter -service standard athletes. So the ones that we're looking to to race and that'll be from, um you know, the youngsters all the way up to the vet categories as well. So high performing in their own categories. And then the second week will be the new to sport and those are still, still developing. And that hopefully will lead into high performing in the years to come as well.
UKRunChat: Yeah, so so for them are that for some of those athletes, the new ones, will that will that be kind of the first time they'll have done things like open water swimming or a bit more experience than that?
Scott: Potentially. Last year, definitely, we did have some that had never swam in open water before. So that was good. and there were Some of that have never cycled in groups. um And then some that have never joined an RAF Sports Association or a civilian club. So they got exposed to that as well. So it's good to see, you know, they get to stretch themselves. But it also means that the coaches get to develop as well because they get, you know, a vast array of athletes that they can they can manage.
Scott: a coach long and mentor and then ultimately the coaches develop as well which is great for you know my position so I get to see them potentially will be where I'm sitting now in years to come so
UKRunChat: Yeah, no, that that's fantastic, isn't it? So if someone's kind of new to triathlon, where would you start with them? What would be the first kind of training?
Scott: um
UKRunChat: I should set them.
Scott: they've never If they've never done anything before, you know, they've they've never done a triathlon, they've never done really any sport, then I don't really take people on from ah from a coaching perspective.
UKRunChat: Yeah.
Scott: I think it's important for them just to get out, find their feet and just enjoy things. I'd always recommend for someone to go and join a local club, um you know, and and locally there's there's all sorts of clubs.
UKRunChat: yeah
Scott: just find one and go along and join again you know back in the early days from myself I was at Salisbury Tri Club they used to do intro to triathlon courses where you could sign up and you can go and do um you know an eight -week course and every week they introduced a new a new part of triathlon really and then obviously that person would either lead in and and do more or some would go off because they might not enjoy it um but I'd definitely say is go and look at other people doing it look at clubs don't go and spend loads of money it's pointless that can come with time if you do enjoy it you don't need you know top -end kit
Scott: to start off. But it's yeah, I just get out the door, get active. There's all sorts of books and programs online you can find.
UKRunChat: Yeah,
Scott: So just be inactive initially. And then obviously when you want to, or if people want to specialise and become um better performing and really expose their talents. And that's when I'd say look at coaching.
UKRunChat: yeah yeah, that's really that's really good advice, actually. and So let's let's chat about you then, Scott, because you you are racing a ah very high level. and So I wanted to ask kind of what have been some standout races for you from the last year or so.
Scott: Um, so like I said earlier, I mean, uh, accidental triathlete, which kind of very early on straight into Ironman distance racing. So those that don't know, it's 2 .4 mile swim, 112 mile cycle in a marathon. Um, and I've done that and everything below that as well now. So I raced the world championships, Kona, Hawaii twice now. They haven't been perfect. Uh, well, they haven't been perfect. Um,
Scott: But I'm proud to say I've done them. um I've also done the middle distance, so the 70 .3 distance in world championship level as well, and in the Ironman brand. And I've done all a lot of UK races as well, which are great. And i you know I'd recommend some of them to people that start out as well, so you think about your outlaws and stuff. They're great to start.
Scott: um But this year, or last year, I've had a couple of injuries.
UKRunChat: yeah.
Scott: Two years ago, I had chronic back pain, which probably lasted about nine months. And eventually, I didn't i didn't know it happened initially, but I ruptured a L4, L5 disc.
UKRunChat: Right.
Scott: i didn't We didn't know I'd done that initially. quite painful for probably about three to four weeks and then as it started to ease off and I started to get a bit more treatment I ended up with an MRI scan probably about two months afterwards and yeah it showed that I'd ruptured a disc so that took a quite a while to recover from but within what nine months after I'd found out what I'd actually done.
Scott: I actually raced another Ironman. So I bounced back pretty quick because I was trying to get myself as active as I could because I'm a firm believer that you know if we can get active, then age recovery as well within limitations, obviously, and all the medical support professionals as well.
UKRunChat: Yeah.
Scott: I got back to racing full distance and I've done that the last couple of years, last year, I keep forgetting which year we're in because of COVID still, you know, but last year I ended up in Barcelona race nine man and and Estonia, so Tallinn Estonia, um with the intention to try and break nine hours, which I got close to, I did a 9 .03, I think. um So I'm still on that trajectory to do that.
Scott: And that's me coming back from, from ah you know, the discs in my back shoe.
UKRunChat: Yeah.
Scott: But I also had a locally interruption where I hit a pothole and came off my bike and broke ribs. So yeah I had to cope with that one as well, which is still an ongoing issue, but I'm fine.
UKRunChat: al
Scott: I'm racing again. ah This year, I'm representing Great Britain at the middle distance in Spain in May. um That's in...
Scott: Maybe 18th, I think that is off to Ahmed.
Scott: And I'm also doing Challenge Roth. So Challenge is another brand, but it's Ironman Distance again.
UKRunChat: Yeah.
Scott: That's in early July, I've talked my head. And that's to hopefully break the nine hours. So I've got a lot of work to be doing at the beginning of this year, to hopefully achieve the sub nine hours.
UKRunChat: Wow.
Scott: I've done a 9 .02 and a 9 .03, so it's there.
UKRunChat: Yeah.
Scott: It's just got to come together on the day.
UKRunChat: So where do those games come from then? How do you, because you you need to knock off kind of three minutes, don't you? Which doesn't sound a lot, but That's got to take a lot of effort and planning, right? what Where do you look first to get those minutes?
Scott: But i'm not I'm not your perfect swimmer, so swimming's, I do okay. I get out in around about an hour, hour and two, hour and three minutes, which is still pretty good. So if I could break under an hour, that'd be fantastic, but I'm not convinced. I'm not convinced that'll happen.
Scott: um But the biking's probably my strength, so if I can pull back a little bit on the bike and then work a lot harder on the running this year,
UKRunChat: Yeah.
Scott: and hopefully it should come. The run -in's probably not the not the weakest. I'm still running a three hour 15, three hour 16 off that.
UKRunChat: Yeah. So just to give us a little bit of context, you're talking about a nine hour iron distance triathlon. What kind of percentage of that time are you swimming in and on the bike, for example?
Scott: um So for the for the swim, I'm running about an hour, so. Typically I swim an hour, three minutes roughly.
UKRunChat: Yeah.
Scott: So if I could shave a little bit off that and go under the hour, it'd be fantastic. um But that's yet to happen and I've been going for quite a few years now, but I'm consistent. ah And then my strength is the bike.
Scott: So like that's typically where where I find a lot of my time and you know I tend to catch up and take over a lot of the quicker swimmers there.
UKRunChat: Yeah.
Scott: And in Barcelona last year I biked four hours 30 for the 112 miles which is relatively strong.
UKRunChat: Yeah.
Scott: um Then the marathon is is probably where I'm looking to shave the time off to take me under that nine hours. Again, I'm at about a three hour 16 is kind of where I sit at my PB at the minute. and I've done that twice off the bike. So if I can if i can shave that off there, you know take that down to a three hours 10, then I should come under the the nine hours. So that's the plan is to dig deeper and work hard for the remainder of this year until that event.
UKRunChat: Yeah. So where, where is the event? I've not heard of that one before. Challenge Roth, you said.
Scott: yeah That's Roth Germany.
UKRunChat: Right. Okay. Yeah. So what's the course like?
Scott: Which I've never done that one before, it sells out extremely fast. um I believe, it' literally within a minute or two, it sells out.
UKRunChat: Wow.
Scott: But I've been quite fortunate over the years to do quite a lot of stuff with Zone 3, the swimming brand.
UKRunChat: Yeah.
Scott: I'm sure they've helped me with this one, get into this one by gifting me a slot for the race to hopefully allow me to break the nine hours. so
UKRunChat: Oh, fantastic. So they're kind of supporting you and helping you with that.
Scott: Yeah, which has been really good from them really to do that. you know and i've And I've worked quite closely with zone three probably for eight to nine years now as well.
Scott: so So it's been great.
UKRunChat: Yeah.
Scott: It's been a good partnership over the years and yeah, their kit's been really good and they've been really, really supportive and they knew I was trying to do it last year. So they've allowed me to come along with them and and see if I can break it at Roth, which is renowned for being quite a quick course as well.
Scott: So hopefully that'll play in my favor too.
UKRunChat: Yeah. That's good. So by quick, do you mean flat or?
Scott: No, I think it's just, um it's not like pound flat, you know, there's some climbs in there and there's a really famous one, but I think the court of course as a whole is just renowned just for having quick times.
UKRunChat: Yeah.
UKRunChat: Yeah.
Scott: Road conditions are better than the Orange UK and that helps when you're on your bike.
UKRunChat: Okay. Fewer potholes.
Scott: Fewer potholes for sure. um yeah And just just just things like that really, that should help on the day.
UKRunChat: Yeah.
Scott: um And obviously it's it's hugely supported with crowds. So that gives you a good spare one as well. So yeah, I'm um'm hopeful. I'm certainly gonna work for it this year and and hopefully it comes off.
UKRunChat: Yeah. So when, when is that happening?
Scott: Beginning of July, first weekend of July, that one.
UKRunChat: Yeah. So where, where are you kind of up to with your training at the moment? Cause I'm really interested to learn about kind of what percentage of your training week is like swimming, biking, running, and what you're kind of doing to, to try and aim, to shave those minutes off.
Scott: So working on endurance at the moment. So like um'm ah you know I'm probably sticking around about, I do about 12 hours a week at the minute.
UKRunChat: Yeah.
Scott: Last week wasn't so good just because of work got in the way, but generally around about 12 hours a week. um And again, I think this just depends on individual circumstances and what they can get in. And going back to what I said earlier, you know If you can train consistently, you're going to have better results than you are fluctuating.
UKRunChat: Yeah.
Scott: So that's kind of where I'm at in a minute is just trying to find that routine, get the consistency in and continue to do that for the remainder of of this month. But then I'll just start to increase it a bit more as the weather increases as well because I'm not one for going out when it's you cold and wet and stuff like that.
UKRunChat: No.
Scott: So a lot of cycling and running, running's okay, but cycling will be indoors at the moment.
UKRunChat: Yeah.
Scott: Although I did have a week in Lanzarote in January, which was lovely.
UKRunChat: Oh, but it was. Yeah, it was freezing here in January, wasn't it? Yeah.
Scott: I do it every January with athletes that I coach, we try, or we all we all go away and get a week in the sun and a bit of social and just enjoy the time on dry roads rather than in the UK.
Scott: So that was a good week we had last week and then there's the consistency since then really, but like I said, I'm hitting around about 10 to 12 hours a week at the moment and I'll slowly increase that over the coming months along with the endurance side of cycling and running.
UKRunChat: yeah Yeah, so how how do you fit it all in, Scott? Like, where does it go? Are you are you up super early? Are you training late at night?
Scott: Yeah, so I probably prefer to train in the mornings. So I'm up, I'm probably up at 5 .30 every day. um and doing something whether that's up for a swim or or I'm up for a cycle if I've got a long run I tend to leave that for a weekend and I'll get up early and go and do that before before my family are awake and stuff anyway so I still get the family time then the weekend you know I'm not disappearing all day I'm up at the door and I'm back and then you know breakfast and if the family want to do something then then I'm free to do that really
UKRunChat: Yeah.
Scott: um But day to day, I'm quite fortunate that where I work, we have a swimming pool.
UKRunChat: Yeah.
Scott: And obviously we've got a fantastic gym facility as well. So it's pretty good. But it's I have to commute to work still. So I'm you know just under an hour of commute each way. So that that does add onto the day, which which is unfortunate because in my previous job, I never had that you know that.
UKRunChat: Yeah.
Scott: Them two hours that I'm now commuting, they were probably the hours I was training.
UKRunChat: Right.
Scott: So I'm finding extra time in this job. I've only been in this job where I am now since August last year.
UKRunChat: Yeah, i that's that's good. So you mentioned the gym there. So how important is the the strength work to what you do?
Scott: So strength and conditioning is really important. And again, I think this is somewhere where most athletes, if they go to miss something, then they'll neglect the strength and conditioning and then neglect stretching.
Scott: You know, they'll think that the important stuff is the swim bike can run and running triathlon, for example. and it And it is, but we still need to ensure we're recovering from that.
UKRunChat: Yeah.
Scott: And we're making our bodies strong and efficient to take that load as well. um So strength and conditioning is really important. And again, our inside coach will do that throughout the winter months. And then as we come into what we would say is their race phase, then we'd probably back off a little bit, but still keep some in there as well.
Scott: um just Just for conditioning inside of stuff.
UKRunChat: Yeah, just give us a little bit of um advice around the the running portion of triathlons. So how like what kind of mileage are you going up to for an eye in distance in terms of your long run?
Scott: So yeah, so for an Ironman race, you know, it's a 26 .2 mile run. It's a full marathon.
UKRunChat: Hmm.
Scott: So in training, I'll build myself up to 18 to 20 miles, really. At the moment, I'm probably 14 to 15 miles in my long run at the minute.
UKRunChat: Yeah.
Scott: But you know and that's quite a long run. But then I have a couple of other run sessions I do. And and in reality, the distance is not far off it. They're just structured totally different. So if we talk about a threshold session, for example, I might be doing threshold repetitions.
UKRunChat: yeah
Scott: But by the time you've added you know your bits in between this recovery, you warm up and you cool down, then I'm probably running probably close to 12 miles just in that session.
Scott: it's not all at a hard pace, it's not all a threshold pace, it's all um you know it's an easy pace, a moderate pace, you know I'm warming up properly, then I'm having a good cool down as well, but the distance is still there, and not that goes a long way, I'm still covering a lot of ground, and but the structural sessions are totally different, so it's given me a different benefit from that training session to what a long endurance run might do.
UKRunChat: Yeah. And do you get a lot of the, your aerobic fitness from the bike, would you say? Or is, or would you be focusing on that still in your running training?
Scott: They come from all of it.
UKRunChat: Hmm.
Scott: um Swimming has a lot to play, aerobic fitness.
UKRunChat: Yeah.
Scott: Swimming is again one of the disciplines a lot of people struggle with.
UKRunChat: Yeah. I think that will be the one I'd struggle with. Yeah.
Scott: Yeah, I'd probably say most triathletes are not swimmers. It's probably quite a common phrase. And that's one they struggle with. it And you see that at races where people might never have swam in open water or they might never have swam in the sea before, but they're starting to do events where that's a it's a key factor that they need to be doing. So I think swimming is something that's very important. It can give us fitness. It can help with everything else as well.
Scott: So in the other sports, and then just don't, if you ask women, don't rely on all these, you know, swimming aids like poor boys and stuff or fancy wetsuits or trunks that float and stuff, you know, no, just properly.
UKRunChat: Yeah.
UKRunChat: Yeah.
Scott: And it will help the rest of it.
UKRunChat: So is swimming, would you say, is that the, is that the discipline you probably most need some coaching in for technique or?
Scott: It's probably a really good area where you can gain a lot from joining a local club.
UKRunChat: Yeah.
Scott: um most triathlon clubs will well have coach sessions where they'll have, you know, they'll book a swim pool out, for example, on so many lanes and you can go along and you can swim with other people. The session will be um delivered by qualified coaches and they can look at the way you swim and give you some pointers so you can develop very early on from poolside coaches. You know, i I can go and swim, you know, today and although I swim okay, if I was a coach who used to stand on poolside and watch me, pick full.
Scott: Um, that's normal as well, but it's, it's, it's a good way to, it's a good way to start. Good way to get into it is go along to clubs and joining with other people and get some poolside coaches just to give you some pointers. Um, and their sessions, you know, if the clubs have done it properly, it'll all be progressive as well through the season.
UKRunChat: Yeah.
Scott: So you, you know, you might find through winter, they're working on technique stuff, um, which is a great aspect to do there. So, you know, why we're not racing. Um, we're working on weaker areas to make us better swimmers when we come into that build phase or the race phase.
UKRunChat: Yeah, absolutely. and I'm interested to hear about the these mass kind of starts in open water swimming at triathlon. What are they like? what's it What's it like kind of diving into the sea with everybody else?
Scott: um
UKRunChat: That must be terrifying.
Scott: I can't stand in my style.
UKRunChat: You don't like it.
Scott: ah but f my um Some people love them, um some people hate them and I'm one of them that don't like it.
UKRunChat: Yeah.
Scott: Most events now, they do a rolling start, so they'll they'll let the individual self -seed into where they think they would swim.
UKRunChat: Yeah.
Scott: So if you think you're you know and a 60 -minute swimmer or an hour 30 swimmer for an Ironman distance, then you'll self -seed into a pen, and then they'll let you into the water in either three to five people at a time into the water.
Scott: So that just allows you to have a bit of space in the water. um it's It is safer. and people tend to have a better swim if they do that. Mass starts, yeah, not a fan.
Scott: I try and stay out.
UKRunChat: Yeah.
Scott: But some events...
UKRunChat: I hear stories of people like swimming over people and checking them and things.
Scott: Yeah, yeah.
UKRunChat: Yeah.
Scott: I don't think it's intentional, but yeah, you can get a bit argy -bargy and you get hit on the head or you know your goggles get pulled off.
UKRunChat: No.
UKRunChat: Yeah.
Scott: um Yeah, it's not a nice experience. If anyone is going to go and do an event that is a must start and you're not keen on that, then I'd just recommend just move yourself to the side or start at the back and just keep yourself out of that.
UKRunChat: Yeah.
Scott: I mean, you know, you probably say I'm a seasoned triathlete now, but I still keep myself out of the way of it all if I ever start a race like that because I don't like it.
UKRunChat: Yeah, that's fair enough. I mean, how hard is it like seeing where you're going in open water? That must be quite hard with waves and just being in the middle of the sea.
Scott: Yeah, this is where practice comes in. So, you know, if it's a sea, lake, rivers or a pool, then, you know, there's different methods of sighting so you can work on them. and Probably the hardest thing, yeah, waves can be difficult, but that's where your bilateral breathing, if you learn to breathe both sides, then you can counterbalance yourself there.
UKRunChat: Right.
Scott: But I'll tell you one of the hardest factors is the sun, depending on what the sun's doing.
UKRunChat: Yeah.
Scott: Because if you swim with the sun in in your eyes, then that can be more awkward than necessarily some waves. so and The worst event I ever had for that was Ironman Austria. Was the sun could not see where you go at whatever people were just more people in little boats and stuff trying to shout to tell you where to go and stuff um But you need polarized goggles and things help, but they don't stop it completely But just practicing you know if you're gonna if you're gonna pick an event and that's got a late swim practice in the lake And if you're gonna pick a sea swim event then definitely make sure that you've had some practice But when you do that make sure you do it safe make sure you've got other people with you or people know where you are and stuff like that
UKRunChat: Yeah. Have you got a favourite triathlon event?
Scott: favorite event. um I've done that in my Wales quite a few times, um Outlawful, I've done that quite a few times and the fact I'm doing that again this year, that's a good good um Outlaw events have got a really good atmosphere with them because they welcome people that have never done the sport before, uh, in all of their races, you know, and they're spread around Norfolk and and the Midlands round, not on runway.
UKRunChat: Yeah.
Scott: So they have a good atmosphere, you know, in the, in this sort of like your buildup to the race and then the race itself. And even after the race, um, and a lot of people do tend to revisit that event because because of that reason.
Scott: Uh, and they're a little bit cheaper than Ironman brands, which is always good.
UKRunChat: Yeah.
UKRunChat: Yeah. Yeah. they so They seem like a really inclusive company.
Scott: Yeah.
UKRunChat: Yeah. Have you got any, is there any races that you'd really like to do that you haven't managed to get to yet?
Scott: ah like
Scott: Not % sure. I'm looking, or potentially like to go out to do like Texas or something like that.
UKRunChat: Yeah.
Scott: It's long haul flights aren't they? So you need to.
UKRunChat: Oh, they are. Yeah. They're a long way away.
Scott: Yeah, i like to I don't like to rush, so, you know, races are on a Saturday or Sunday. doubt I can't do what some people do and get there the day before. I like to have a good lead in where I've got a few days just to relax and just take it in my stride and make sure everything's perfect. And now I've got all my kit, it's all working. So yeah, something like Texas would be good in the future, but it's just making sure I've got the time to probably go out and make a holiday of something like that as well. So, you know, a week to two weeks.
UKRunChat: Yeah, so you've got time to adjust to the time difference and yeah, settle into it, that'd be good.
Scott: i think
UKRunChat: and So of course we we know you kind of at UK Run Chat because you've been pacing the Shrewsbury half for us for a few years now, haven't you?
Scott: Yeah.
UKRunChat: Has it become a bit of a tradition?
Scott: Yeah.
Scott: Yeah, I really enjoy it actually. I think it's five or six years now.
UKRunChat: Yeah, wow.
Scott: I think the only year I didn't do it was when when I actually had my back problem.
UKRunChat: Yeah.
Scott: but I still rode the new electric bike to the leader on the day.
UKRunChat: Yeah.
Scott: So I was still there supporting everyone, but obviously I was in a position where I couldn't run. But other than that, I really enjoy it. you know I typically, well every time now, I've been the one out of 30 Pacer.
UKRunChat: Yeah.
Scott: um And that seems to be a target a lot of people have. So whenever we start that, I tend to have a good crowd of people around me, um which I get to lead around there, which is good. And, and you know, you get the ah thank you afterwards from them because, you know, they've potentially achieved something they didn't think possible or something they've had as a goal for a long time. So it's nice to do that. I get a lot of pleasure out of it. And yeah, it's become a bit of a favorite annual thing for me, really.
UKRunChat: Yeah. How did you get into that then? What what prompted that? Had you done pacing? Had you paced events before?
Scott: Not really, no. I did quite a lot of stuff with the Royal British Legion for a while and I know the local local rep had me down there doing for that then and Joe asked me if I'd like to come along and do a bit of running as well.
UKRunChat: Yeah.
Scott: So I've jumped at the opportunity, which is a word I live by, opportunity.
Scott: It's been good and hopefully it'll continue here.
UKRunChat: Yeah, so what what's happening when you're pacing an event, you know, you've got a ah big group of people around you, are you chatting to them? what's What's going on during the race?
Scott: Yeah, so I'm talking to him pretty much all the way around, just just trying to give him some pointers and stuff, on because, you know, Truesby's not a flat run course.
UKRunChat: Yeah.
UKRunChat: No, it's not, definitely not.
Scott: So just trying to give people some pointers on, you know, ah up and down the hills, you know, how to pace it to not burn themselves out. And typically, that's where a lot of people start to string out.
Scott: because people climb the hills at different speeds.
UKRunChat: yeah
Scott: Um, but you know, just encouraging them to stay calm and it'll all come back together. You know, once we come off that, but, uh, but then the crowd's really supportive there of most people as well. So, um, but yeah, definitely talk to most of them on the way around.
Scott: Um, but it's been a different group of people every time. I think I've had that since being good.
UKRunChat: Oh, okay. Yeah. So how a successful is the group? Generally, do people kind of tend to know that they're pretty close to 130?
Scott: Yes, I think I've come in banging on the time every every time.
UKRunChat: Yeah.
Scott: I think they always get worried because i I start off a little bit quicker because I know the hills and stuff will take a bit of time.
UKRunChat: but
UKRunChat: Yeah.
Scott: So I tend to start off a little bit quicker just to just to bank a minute or two um when everyone's fresh. But they tend to be pretty well. And then they come in and then, you know, you see everyone happy at the end and, you know, they come and say thanks and stuff, which is nice as well.
UKRunChat: in Yeah.
Scott: um No, it's good. It's good to give back you know and and do stuff like that in the sport. I get quite a lot of pleasure out of that, and it's something I'd like to continue to do. And I do some other running events as well, and cycle events and stuff, not as pacing, but described just as a social aspect, as we said earlier on, I use it for that as well. And using for a training session, in some cases, it could be built into something else.
Scott: um yeah for me personally pacing is is something that I have to do in my training so I run at a specific pace so it ties into to me nicely for stuff like that too.
UKRunChat: Yeah. Just but that's something I was going to ask actually. So we know kind of we, when we're running a marathon, we will pace it in a certain way. Do you apply that same principle to the bike as well? Are you kind of keeping an eye on your pace when you're doing a triathlon?
Scott: Yeah, so for me, i ride to I have a parameter. So I'll test myself um to see what I can put out, typically for an hour, really.
UKRunChat: Yeah.
Scott: And then that'll give me a number that I can then use. And then depending on what distance I'm racing at will depend on what. power outage I'm looking to ride at. So that'll just control things really.
Scott: And that's the same with running. you know You're not gonna run a half marathon at the same pace you'd run a marathon.
UKRunChat: Yeah.
UKRunChat: No.
Scott: And you just break it down exactly the same and just give myself a number to cycle to as I do when I've run as well. So that hopefully, um we say the fourth discipline is nutrition.
Scott: If I get that right, then it all comes together at the end.
UKRunChat: yeah to Yeah. Talk to us a little bit about nutrition, because I think that's something we don't often discuss enough. We were chatting about it on the UK Rancher Hour this weekend. because it's it's hard to get right, isn't it?
UKRunChat: Have you got any and advice?
Scott: Yeah.
UKRunChat: How do you approach nutrition?
Scott: Yeah. So nutrition is important.
UKRunChat: Yeah.
Scott: A lot of people. Well, you know, the weakening into a race might all of a sudden change what they'd eat, change a diet and start trying to eat healthy. And they might not normally abn normallym eat healthy.
Scott: And I think that's a bad thing to do.
UKRunChat: yeah
Scott: um If you're training, the way you train is the way you want to race. So, you know, if you've got a race that's got a specific nutrition and you don't use it, then maybe look at getting the nutrition they have and train to that.
Scott: um or you take your nutrition you're used to and hopefully become self -sufficient for the entire race but obviously depending on the length of the race and depending on how much you need to carry for that um but for for training it's important nutrition wise i mean
UKRunChat: Yeah.
Scott: Typically, if we look at cycling, for example, um you can probably get away with cycling an arrow without taking any sort of fluids on. um But if you go and pass that, then you need to be taking the fluids on before the that arrow is exposed.
Scott: Otherwise, you will become depleted of you know nutrition and stuff as well, dehydrated and everything else.
UKRunChat: Yeah.
Scott: so I think it's important for people to to look at what they're doing and if they are training you know long then you know to take nutrition and that's electrolytes carbohydrates and even sodium in some cases.
UKRunChat: yeah
Scott: um People sweat at different rates, so of sweat if they're losing sodium, so the salt content, then obviously you need to be replenishing that as well, and that'll help ah hydrate the body better.
Scott: um But definitely look at what you're training, how you're training, and don't necessarily think that you need to be taking nutrition on just in a specific event.
UKRunChat: Yeah. Yeah.
Scott: You might need to take nutrition on before and after it to recover as well. um But yeah, It's something I look at in training and in racing, so I will have a good stock of nutrition now next door for this.
Scott: I'm using it in a minute, and that's just...
UKRunChat: which Which is that? Sorry, Scott.
Scott: So I'm currently using a brand called Infinite, which um originally was from Australia, but they're now in Europe.
UKRunChat: Yeah. Okay.
Scott: Um, and it's all natural substances. So I'm taking everything in liquid form really.
UKRunChat: Yeah. Yeah.
Scott: So I'm not having to eat any solids. So it's all coming through liquid, um, which is great. And I'm still, still playing around with it. Um, especially for the longer stuff, just to make sure it's right for me, but I definitely recommend making sure people are training and racing, uh, the correct way and making sure you are getting the right nutrition on, um, before, during, and after events um train and training.
UKRunChat: Yeah. So for example, like should people be thinking about it, ah about their nutrition now for April marathons, for example?
Scott: Absolutely. um Obviously we've got the big marathons in April, haven't we?
UKRunChat: Yeah.
Scott: What's typically Manchester in London?
UKRunChat: Yeah.
Scott: um But yes, definitely, you know, people now will be picking up their endurance training. and ah They could be doing threshold training and interval training and, you know, some other stuff in between as well. So yeah, they definitely need to be looking at nutrition now and making sure they're building that into their training routine.
Scott: Um, so they're getting the best out of the sessions because if you're not fueling yourself properly, you could be starting, you know, tomorrow's session depleted, which is going to have a negative impact on that session. Uh, normally that's what a lot of people do is they don't recover and replenish their bodies enough to go into the next session enough. So, um,
Scott: It's quite a common thing where people train hard and and don't recover properly. And if you don't do it as well, you can also lead to things like injuries and illnesses as well.
UKRunChat: Yeah.
Scott: um But at the same time, listen to your body. If your body is, you know, I always say to the athletes, I coach, there's two types of tired you've got. Tired from training, which is normal, we all get tired.
Scott: You know you wake up a bit tired, but you crack on.
UKRunChat: Yeah.
Scott: But then there's tired, tired when it's it's a bit more than that. and And as much as I program people's schedules, I try to encourage them to you know put their hand up and say, I'm absolutely exhausted.
Scott: um Because it's their body, they know that. I only see what I see on data. um and and that's fine and if that means we have an extra day or two off just to recover then and that's needed because the last thing you want is to become ill or have an injury because taking two days out is better than taking a month off.
UKRunChat: Yeah. And it's sometimes hard. I think that brings us back to what we were talking about at the start, isn't it? It's that self -reflection and really learning to listen to your body um and be it open with your coach as well, isn't it?
Scott: Oh, absolutely. it's It's got to be a two -way process. um you know some people Some people won't have a struggle through. ah Some people sometimes don't like to hear the truth. That's quite common as well. Both ways, whether that's the athlete talking to coach or coach talking to athletes.
UKRunChat: Yeah.
UKRunChat: Yeah.
Scott: Um, but yeah, definitely, I totally agree with you there. It's just having that open conversation and, and, you know, building that rapport. Um, yeah, just, just being open with it and just making sure that everyone's on, on side, you know, um, again, you know, I talk about my own programming when I, you know, I say to people life's going to get in the way at some point. Uh, and if it, if the program doesn't fit your lifestyle and then, you know, reach out, speak to me and we'll, we'll switch it around to it does fit your lifestyle. Uh,
Scott: And a prime example, again, is, you know, I've switched my week sessions around. What I did today, I it was a run i was meant to do on this coming a Thursday, but because I was short of time today, I switched my two runs around.
Scott: So I actually did the shorter one today and on 30, I'll do the longer one.
UKRunChat: Yeah.
UKRunChat: Yeah, it's it's important, isn't it? and So just to finish up then, so people who are who have got these April marathons or other events in, where should they be up to now in their kind of endurance training in terms of mileage and kind of efforts in their runs? What would you recommend?
Scott: Well, this is very different for different people, isn't it?
UKRunChat: Yeah, yeah, it is.
Scott: is It depends on where people are at. And you know if you've got someone that's never done one before, then then they're going to be a different place to where someone is who's yeahve been doing it for years.
UKRunChat: Yeah.
Scott: um And some people approach training differently. So you know the winter months, for some people, they'll do shorter sessions. So then as the weather gets better, then they'll increase the endurance.
UKRunChat: Yeah.
Scott: but some coaches program it the other way around where they do a lot of the endurance sessions through the winter and then they'll have the, you know, or say the spicier session. So your intervals and threshold as you get closer to the race.
Scott: Um, so it's, it's different, it's going to be different for everyone.
UKRunChat: Yeah.
Scott: Um, but what I wouldn't say is if you're not, you know, if you, if you're not doing endurance stuff now, um, I wouldn't just you know put your trainers on and go and run 13, 14, 15, 16 miles tomorrow because they all it will end badly for you. So you need to make sure you start off and build.
Scott: um properly. And if people are unsure, then there's there's multiple programs out there. People can follow it. You know you you can go from character to 5K, character to 10K programs. You can pick them all up offline now. And they're generic. um they They are designed not specifically for an individual's performance. They're designed to get people across the line.
Scott: But if people want a bit more specific training, then look for a coach.
UKRunChat: Yeah.
Scott: And they'll tailor them specifically for you and build you in the correct way. um But yeah, it's you're going to find people, you see it in all sports, they'll just they'll find what they find and they'll do that. And some of them will want more specific training to get the best out of them.
Scott: And that's when they're they're dialed into the individual rather than the generic audience.
UKRunChat: Yeah.
Scott: And that's just something people need to be aware of with programs. Again, I've got friends of mine that every year will almost pick up the same program and they wonder why they don't develop.
UKRunChat: Right.
Scott: You're doing the same yeah you're doing the same thing every year so um if you want it more specifically then find a coach and they'll train you in the correct way um and hopefully get the best out of people and the best results they want in in whatever sport it may be.
UKRunChat: Yeah. Yeah. and And treat you as an an individual. And yeah, that's that's great advice, Scott.
Scott: Absolutely.
UKRunChat: Yeah. Oh, well, thank you. It's been really interesting chatting to you tonight. Thank you for your time.
Scott: That's great, thanks for having me on again.
UKRunChat: and Where can people follow you to find out how you get on with all your goals this year then?
Scott: Um, so typically I use Instagram mostly. So I have, I have my ah coaching page, which is try Wolf coach.
UKRunChat: Yeah.
Scott: And then I've got my own personal page, which is iron Hill 83. So I flick between the two so they can go on there and see what I have been doing. They can see what athletes I coach has been doing. Um, and then you'll continue to see both as well, what my athletes do and and what I do as well, whether that's training and racing and a few other things in between.
UKRunChat: Yeah, I will thank you all the very best with your goals this year. Then we'll yeah keep us posted with how you get on.
Scott: Thank you and we'll see you at the Shrewsby half mile from later in the year too.
UKRunChat: Yes, you will. Thank you. I hope everybody out there listening has enjoyed this episode and we'll see you on the next one.
