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Nick Butler – #thetrilifereporter
My name is Nick Butler, I am 60 years old, and I am in my fourth competitive triathlon season. I live in the lovely village of Penshurst, Kent, not far from the iconic Hever Castle triathlon venue. I had a 30-plus year career in the Royal Navy as a helicopter pilot and warfare officer, before joining industry about 10 years ago. I currently work for an American software company that specialises in data analytics, where I am responsible for the UK government & public sector business. I love my job and the people I work with, and relish both the challenges and opportunities in a young company with big ambitions for growth. The biggest challenge of all is making time to swim, ride and run; being surrounded by other fitter and younger colleagues helps.Inspired by a much younger friend of mine, I entered my first Sprint event in Canberra in 2013, where I was living at the time. Much to my surprise, when I arrived bright & early for registration, I discovered I had entered the Australian National Championships ! I did ok, finished in the bottom third of the field, but was by no means last in my year category. Not an auspicious start, but by no means a disaster. I remember very well on the running leg, I was overtaken by a very fit looking female senior citizen…… she glided past me like a professional athlete. Filled with admiration, that alone inspired me to get better and faster, and convinced me I had finally found the sport for me.
This year I am setting myself the challenge of five events – an average of one a month through the spring and summer months, finishing at Hever Castle at the end of September. I am also planning to ride from London to Paris in early September with the Royal British Legion.
I relish the opportunity to have someone help me with my training, something I have never experienced. I am not quick, in any of the disciplines, but thank goodness I have been largely injury free and I have finished every event I have entered. Thanks to thetrilife, I can now set myself a disciplined and structured training regime over the next few months, which I really hope I can cope with. I also look forward to meeting some of my fellow Masters colleagues.
