Gareth Harrington

Growing up outdoors, farm style early on allowed plenty of room for sport and outdoor activities, as we moved in to town the influence of a sporting family led to most weekends and nights spent watching parents partaking in various sports, rugby, cricket, running and triathlons, while I entertained myself with similarly fated children mimicking our parents.

The early influence was only heightened in school, taking to rugby, water polo, athletics, squash and swimming. I developed an early love for competition, and ended up playing decent level rugby and water polo at school and rugby after school.

After 2 years abroad playing rugby, I took on a Bsc Physiotherapy. Whilst studying, the need to start something competitive again bit and my journey into endurance sports started, with running and picking up swimming again. Only later would bike riding be introduced. Battling through my first Knysna Half Marathon but enjoying racing friends and family, the bug had bitten.

This branched out into all endurance sports, mountain biking, trail running, triathlon, duathlon etc. The competitive thirst had been quenched and my passion grew as my personal career morphed too, I had been racing for Team Jeep and helping with marketing and social media as well as marketing my physio practice, whilst completing my Marketing degree when an opportunity arose to start a corporate career path in Marketing, Brand strategy and Sponsorships, which I relished.

The racing slowed down a bit as did the training but I never lost the passion for endurance sport or racing, slowly adapt training, life style and career to get to a place of good balance, where the success in races is just important as it is in the office. This balance is something close to me, and what I enjoy about multisport, how much you can cram into every day and in to life. The logistical jig-saw puzzle that is training and working, family and friends. I fully believe balance is key, race hard, work hard, play even harder.