What I Think About During a Triathlon
This article first appeared in the October 2026 edition of the SSG Multisports newsletter.
World Triathlon Age-Group Championships, Pontevedra
By Tamara McCombe
The other day someone asked me what I think about during a triathlon. If the recent world championship is anything to go by, more than I realised. Here follows some samples of (publicly shareable) thoughts…
Swim: the water tastes like…, what’s that moving?, did that shoe enter the water attached to a human?, yucky weeds, where’s the sighting buoy?, just keep swimming (voice of Dory in my head, whatever song was playing just before I entered the water).
Bike: mind the pothole/stray water bottle/road kill, overtake now?, how to navigate the roundabout/speed bump?, which gear?, go away hill/wind, energy drink time, please not today for a mechanical failure, again whatever song was playing at race start.
Run: yay off the bike, I know I can finish now even if I have to crawl!, don’t go too fast and hit the wall, hurry up, hope I don’t have a funky running style like that, why do I keep signing up to this? (I know why), where’s the next water station?, time to take over?, get lost in the cadence, embrace the suck.
Result: 16/41 in age group 2nd Aussie Fastest in my ‘Flag’ country (population of one, had to race as a neutral athlete while transitioning from Team GB to Aus).
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