Outlaw Triathlon Recaps From Team Parcours Members Katie Walker And Ffion Jones
Outlaw triathlon was a big event for the Parcours team, with many athletes taking on the race. Unusual cold water temps, resulted in a shortened swim, but that didn’t deter our fearless athletes from having their best day.
We have already heard from Jonathan Gleeson-Solomon, and now we hear from two other athletes on the Parcours team for 2026, Ffion Jones and Katie Walker, who give us a short run down of their days.
Valuable lessons from life and racing – Ffion Jones, reflects on a tough day, but draws up on her strength and determination not “to quit on herself”.
Race day didn’t go the way I had hoped, unfortunately. Going into the event, my goal was to hit 5:30 a target I genuinely believed was achievable based on how training had been progressing over the last few months. Sessions were consistent, fitness was building well, and confidence was high heading into race week.
But sport has a funny way of humbling you.
The week leading into the race ended up being far from ideal after some added stress from moving house. It’s easy to underestimate how much life stress can impact performance, even when training itself has gone well. Sleep, recovery, routine, nutrition, and mental energy all take a hit, and looking back now, I probably arrived at the start line more fatigued than I realised.
Standing on the pontoon before the swim, I felt incredibly nervous. This was my first open water swim of the year and, honestly, the cold water completely shocked me. I jumped in and instantly panicked. For a few minutes I questioned whether I even wanted to continue. It wasn’t the confident start I’d imagined.
Eventually I managed to calm myself down, settle into a rhythm, and actually came away with a sub-30-minute swim something I was really pleased with considering how the swim began.
The bike course was tough with rough road surfaces throughout, I rode the 90km in 3 hours, slower than I’d hoped, but given how flat I felt physically, I can still appreciate it was a solid ride. There’s definitely still work to do in becoming more comfortable and consistent in the TT position especially in windier conditions, but that’s all part of the process.
Then came the run. By that stage, I was mentally and physically struggling. The run became less about performance and more about simply getting to the finish line. I battled through a few issues and honestly came close mentally to giving up more than once. Somehow though, I kept moving forward.
Crossing the finish line brought mixed emotions. I felt underwhelmed and disappointed because I know I’m capable of more. But at the same time, I was genuinely proud of myself for continuing when both my body and mind were asking me to stop.
On reflection I've discovered not every race will be a breakthrough performance. Some races are lessons. Some races build resilience. And sometimes success simply means refusing to quit on yourself.
Racing hard, learning a lot and looking forward to the next one - Katie Walker, had a fantastic result to finish 4th female overall.
A fresh dive into the water at 6am! Due to the cold air and water temperatures, the swim was shortened to 1500m. I was really pleased with my swim, holding my fastest ever 70.3 swim pace and getting out of the water in 20:50.
Onto the bike — a relatively flat and fast course. I found a great rhythm early on and settled into my pace, reaching halfway in 1:13. The second half was much tougher; the legs started to struggle and the wind picked up. I pushed on back to transition, trying not to overdo it and save something for the run. The bike felt amazing to ride, especially with the Parcours Chrono wheels, and I finished in 2:29 — my fastest 70.3 bike split.
Into transition, racked the bike and swapped shoes ready for the run. As usual, the legs took a mile or so to settle. I was aiming for a 1:23/1:24 half marathon off the bike, close to my PB, but I knew I’d ridden hard and probably taken a bit more out of my legs than expected. I stayed strong, stuck to my nutrition plan and finished the run in 1:26.
Really proud of this performance — 4th female overall in a very competitive field. I raced hard, learnt a lot, and I’m excited for the next one.
