Wellington - A Life Without Limits

A Life
Without Limits

To my family. My foundation.
My victories are also yours.

Constable & Robinson Ltd
5556 Russell Square
London WC1B 4HP
www.constablerobinson.com

First published in the UK by Constable,
an imprint of Constable & Robinson Ltd, 2012

Copyright Chrissie Wellington, 2012

The right of Chrissie Wellington to be identified as the author of this
work has been asserted by her in accordance with the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, re-sold, hired out or otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

A copy of the British Library Cataloguing in Publication data is available from the British Library

ISBN: 978-1-84901-713-8 (HB)
ISBN: 978-1-780033-671-8 (TPB)
eISBN: 978-1-84901-889-0

Printed and bound in the UK

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Contents

Acknowledgments

My life has been shaped by so many amazing people. I have been able to include many of you in this book, but by no means all. I am indebted to each and every one of you for your unconditional friendship, advice, tough love, inspiration and guidance.

In particular, I want to give thanks to my wonderful mum and dad, my brother and sister-in-law, my grandparents, my aunt and uncle and cousins for providing me with a family cocoon of love, support and encouragement; to Tom for teaching me the meaning of true love; to my friends around the world, most of whom have known me long before triathlon, and whose support means more to me than they could ever know. To Brett for trusting in me and in himself when all around might have doubted, to Dave for refining me into the athlete I am today and to Frank Horwill, Don Feltwell and Jon Sadler who taught me always to try and never to stop believing in the power of my dreams. Since the writing of this book, Frank has sadly passed away. He was a true legend in British athletics, and his loss leaves a large hole in the sport, as well as in the lives of so many athletes, mine included.

To Paul Robertshaw and all at the BRAT Club, as well as my first triathlon coach, Tim Weeks, for introducing me to this wonderful sport and in so doing changing my life beyond recognition. And to my manager, Ben, for showing me that it can be show-friends, not simply show-business. Of course, my incredible sponsors deserve a special mention. You know who you are, but, in particular, Id like to thank Ryan and Matt at TYR, who have been there from the start, and Brooks, Cannondale and CytoSport our long-term partnerships have powered me to heights I could never have imagined.

We are privileged in triathlon to have our sport driven by the most enthusiastic and inspiring participants, both the spectators and the competitors of any age or ability. I am constantly inspired by the time and energy people devote to the sport, as well as by the emails and tweets I receive in the way of personal support. On race day, sharing the highs and lows with so many thousands of age-groupers is always a joy. But a special thanks, too, to my professional competitors and training partners, whose talents have given me the kick up the butt to be the best I can be and whose generosity of spirit knows no bounds.

I would also like to thank the charities for which I am honoured to be a patron, including Janes Appeal, The Blazeman Foundation for ALS, Challenged Athletes Foundation, Envision, Girls Education Nepal and GOTRibal. I am honoured to be involved with your wonderful work and will do what I can to support you in whatever ways I can.

For the production of this book, my deepest gratitude goes to Andreas Campomar and Nicola Jeanes of Constable & Robinson, Rolf Zettersten and Kate Hartson of Center Street, Jonathan Conway of Mulcahy Conway Associates, Jonny McWilliams of the Wasserman Media Group and to Michael Aylwin for enabling me to put my life into words.

Your support has enabled me to live a life without limits and for that I am so sincerely grateful.

Foreword

Id been cycling at a steady pace for nearly a hundred miles. The barren road knifed through thick, black lava fields that tolerated little in the way of life among their rocks. Every now and then a bougainvillea bush would appear in splendid isolation on the roadside, but otherwise I had just the long white line I was following on the side of the road for company. The tropical sun was high overhead, so high that my bike and I cast barely any shadow. And the road stretched out ahead of me, now empty of cyclists. I was in the lead.

I took a moment to allow this to sink in. I wasnt sure who the two girls Id just passed were, because I knew barely anyone in this race. It might have been the World Championships of the most gruelling single-day event in sport, but this was all new to me. The Pacific Ocean was royal blue to my right, and to my left rose the volcano of Hualalai, shrouded in cloud. If youre lucky, the cloud cover extends down to the coast, but we were having no such luck, and the heat hung over the tarmac like a wicked spirit distorting the way ahead.

It was just past midday. Five and a half hours earlier our race had begun in the waters of that ocean. If everything went well, I could expect another four until the finish line. Officially it was up past ninety in the shade, but out here on this stark naked road it was over 100. And the wind was ferocious. Coming down off the volcano, it had already forced me once onto the rumble strips at the side of the road. It was frightening to cycle in such a crosswind, but it stripped you bare as well. This was like racing in a blast furnace. In a couple of hours time I would be back out here, this time on foot, well into the marathon that completes the days activities. By then it would be even hotter. Would I still be in the lead?

This was an ironman triathlon, the Ironman Triathlon. Every October, the World Championships of the sport are held in Kona on the Island of Hawaii. An ironman is the longest distance of triathlon a 2.4-mile swim, 112 miles on the bike, and then you run a marathon.

Unbeknown to me, four previous champions had by now dropped out of the race. In an ironman, even the worlds best face a challenge just to finish. I was in pole position. This didnt seem real.

I dont think Id ever struck anyone as obvious world-champion material. For a start, theres my nickname. Its Muppet. And, yes, its for pretty much the reasons you would think. I have always been accident-prone and low on common sense. I was sports-mad as a kid, but there was no sign of any unusual talent.

But Ive also been driven, for as long as I can remember, by a fierce determination to make the best of myself and to try to make the best of the world around me. Eight months earlier, I had given up my job in the Civil Service to become a professional triathlete. International development was my passion, but when bureaucracy and red tape started to get me down, sport offered itself as the perfect way to get things moving again both in terms of my own development and my ambitions to help others. I have seen how sport can empower people and cross boundaries.

It has always empowered me, but only now, with that road stretching clear ahead of me, did I start to sense what a chance I had. The girl who had come from nowhere, the muppet who had taken the lead! I had to make sure that this was just the beginning. There was a hell of a long way still to go, so much more to overcome. But if I could do it...