As well as being  a triple ironman finisher, Richard Hume is also one a very select group of people to have completed the Atlantic Ocean Rowing Race.

This gruelling 3,000 mile event, which can take over 80 days to complete, challenges competitors in ways not comparible to most other endurance events.

Dealing with the isolation, the monotony, the sickness, in addition to the extreme elements of the Altantic Ocean, can all prove too much for so many people who attempt this incredible event.

Yet, as Richard will describe in his interview, competing in a race of this magnitude is only one of the many challenges that an amateur athlete has to overcome.

Key messages from Richard:

• Time and time again Richard referred to the importance of creating a series of realistic targets, in his training and in the events, that would take him to his end goal.
• Let’s not also forget how Richard overcame a great personal challenge in the process, in this case his back problem, explaining how, whenever he was told ‘no you can’t’, he channelled those negative messages into positive motivation.

Additional notes and resources (just click on the links for more information):

• Richard Hume’s website - CLICK HERE to visit the ‘Challenge Chaser’ website
• Wikipedia – CLICK HERE to visit wikipedia’s ultra-ironman page
  

Interview Transcription:

• Transcript: How I rowed the Atlantic – Richard Hume (Max#36)
  

Being able to complete an ironman event is said to be one of the most extreme tests of mental and physical endurance on the planet.

Competing continuously for over 12 hours; swimming 2 ½ miles, then cycling for 112 miles before completing a 26 mile marathon, will push anyone to their absolute limits.

However, now try and imagine how you would feel if those figures were tripled.

Richard Hume, completed a grueling 7.2-mile swim, 336-mile bike ride and 78.6-mile run, finishing in just over 52 hours and in the process became one of the fastest ever triple ironman finishers for his age group.

Key messages from Richard:

• Time and time again Richard referred to the importance of creating a series of realistic targets, in his training and in the events, that would take him to his end goal.
• Let’s not also forget how Richard overcame a great personal challenge in the process, in this case his back problem, explaining how, whenever he was told ‘no you can’t’, he channelled those negative messages into positive motivation.

Additional notes and resources (just click on the links for more information):

• Richard Hume’s website - CLICK HERE to visit the ‘Challenge Chaser’ website
• Wikipedia – CLICK HERE to visit wikipedia’s ultra-ironman page
  

Interview Transcription:

• Transcript: Becoming a Triple Ironman – Richard Hume (Max#35)
  

Welcome back to episode 34 of the Maximise Potential Podcast.

No matter if you are responsible for a business or focusing on developing your career, the current environment is arguably the most competitive, uncertain and challenging that anyone has ever known.

As a result we felt it was essential to invite an expert onto the podcast who can enable us to understand how we can operate and succeed within such restrictive parameters.

Gavin Ingham is widely regarded as one the UK’s leading sales trainers, adding value to individuals and companies from all industries and sectors.

In today’s interview on Maximise Potential Gavin discusses a topic, which is critical, if we are to survive in today’s envrionment – sales.

This interview will be incredibly helpful for everyone to understand what sales really is, and how you apply simple techniques to add subtantial value, to your products, your services or even to you as an inidividual.

Here is Gavin to help us all understand and embrace the new rules of selling.

Additional notes and resources (just click on the links for more information):

• GAVIN INGHAM WEBSITE - Click here to view the Gavin Ingham website
• GAVIN INGHAM BLOG – Click here to subscribe to Gavin Ingham’s blog

For more information on Kay White’s free training call:

• FREE COMMUNICATION TRAINING - ‘Be Heard’ free training call
  

EUROPEAN PODCASTING AWARDS:

• VOTE for Maximise Potential by clicking HERE

Interview Transcription:

• Transcript: The New Rules of Selling – Gavin Ingham (Max#34)
  

The lastest episode to be uploaded to the Maximise Potential Podcast is an incredibly inspiring interview with Bonita Norris, the youngest British woman ever to climb Mount Everest at the age of 22.

Bonita is returning to the Maximise Potential Podcast to share with us the mental techniques, approaches and goal-setting strategies that she used to get her there, talking in detail about the importance of visualisation and committing your goals to paper.

Additional notes and resources (just click on the links for more information):

• ANDY NORTH – listen to Andy’s inspiring interview here
• FIONA CAMPBELL – visit The NLP Edge website here

Careers with Jenrick:

• CONSIDERING A CAREER CHANGE? – click here to view the latest Jenrick Jobs
• REGISTER YOUR CV? – click here to register your CV with the Jenrick team

EUROPEAN PODCASTING AWARDS:

• VOTE for Maximise Potential by clicking HERE

Interview Transcription:

• Transcript: Bonita Norris – How I Set Goals (Max#33)
  

The Maximise Potential Podcast, brought to you in association with the Award-winning Recruitment Group Jenrick, is pleased to release its latest interview with Miriam Lee, Head of Business Development for Jenrick IT.

Welcome to episode 32 of the Maximise Potential Podcast.

As you are all well aware, the goal of Maximise Potential to to help you advance in your personal life, your business and your career, by bringing you exclusive interviews from a range of experts and high achievers.

With over 20 years recruitment experience, Jenrick IT’s Head of Business Development, Miriam Lee, is perfectly placed to offer some of the very best advice available when it comes to career advancement.

I recently had the pleasure of sitting down with Miriam to record this interview, in which Miriam highlights the key activities and attributes that will enable Candidates to set themselves apart from the competition.

So please, sit back and enjoy the next 20 minutes of tips and advice that you can instantly apply to improve your job hunting or within your exisiting role and I’ll be back at the end to provide you with some weblinks and additional resources.

Please enjoy . . .

ADDITIONAL NOTES AND RESOURCES (just click on the links for more information):

• LISTEN TO: Jora Gill – episode 27
• LISTEN TO: Tony Dobbyn – episode 17
• LISTEN TO: Kay White – episode 14
• BOOK: Kay White – the A – Z of being Understood
  

EPISODE 32 ADDITIONAL NOTES:

• CLICK HERE: to read Miriam’s career advice article to accompany this podcast

EUROPEAN PODCASTING AWARDS:

• VOTE for Maximise Potential by clicking HERE

SEARCH FOR NEW JOBS WITH JENRICK:

• ENGINEERING JOBS
  
• COMMERCIAL JOBS
• IT JOBS

VISIT THE WEBPAGE AND SHOWNOTES FOR THIS EPISODE:

• http://www.maximisepotential.co.uk/maximise-your-career-miriam-lee-max32/

TRANSCRIPTION:

• Transcript: Exclusive Tips to Maximise your Career – Miriam Lee (Max#32)

The Maximise Potential Podcast, brought to you in association with the Award-winning Recruitment Group Jenrick, is pleased to release its latest interview with Andy North as he approaches the Sunshine Challenge 2011 – Yorkshire to Gibraltar.

Welcome to episode 31 of the Maximise Potential Podcast.

In our last episode with Bremont Watches, Nick English used an expression which I believe is the perfect introduction to our guest on today’s episode. Nick was referring to the Bremont Ambassadors when he spoke of ‘ordinary people achieving extraordinary things.’

Andy North is a perfect example of this. This 50 year old Yorkshireman, is about to embark on one of the most intense endurance events I’ve ever heard. What I find particularly inspirational about Andy’s story is that he’s managed to train for this incredible event whilst juggling family commitments, running a business and also attempting to reach his goal of raising £50,000 for two Armed Forces Charities.

As you can probably tell, I’m resisting revealing what Andy’s actual challenge is at this stage, and also the challenges he has already completed. However, what I will say is that anyone who is interested in understanding how someone like Andy prepares mentally for taking on an event like this, is in for a real treat with this interview.

Please enjoy . . .

Additional notes and resources (just click on the links for more information):

• Visit the Sunshine Challenge website
• Donate via Andy’s Sunshine Challenge JUST GIVING PAGE
• View the inspiring story of Andy North
• View Andy’s Sunshine Challenge Daily ROUTE PLANNER
  
• Follow Andy North on TWITTER
• Visit Forces Children’s Trust website
• Visit The Soldiers Charity website

EUROPEAN PODCASTING AWARDS:

• VOTE for Maximise Potential by clicking HERE

TRANSCRIPTION:

• Transcript: Andy North – Endurance Athlete (Max#31)

The Maximise Potential Podcast, brought to you in association with the Award-winning Recruitment Group Jenrick, is pleased to release its latest interview with Nick English, co-Founder of Bremont Watches.

Bremont Watches is rapidly becoming one of the premier luxury brands within the mechanical watch market, a fact that has been further confirmed when they recently won “Watch Brand of the Year at the 2011 UK Jewellery Awards.”

What makes their story especially interesting is that they are making sustantial in-roads into a market dominated by two key factors; the Swiss and History – neither of which apply to Bremont.

Today’s interview discusses exactly why Bremont is succeeding despite such barriers, whilst also focusing on the inspirational and very personal story behind how the company came into existence.

So, please enjoy this interview with Nick English, one of the joint founders of the 2008 emerging luxury brand of the year, Bremont Watches . . .

Additional notes and resources (just click on the links for more information):

• Visit the Bremont Watch website
• Follow Bremont on Facebook
• Marc Koska – Safepoint
• Book: Longitude
• Book: Lonely Sea in the Sky
  

CHARITY PHOTO COMPETITION:

• CLICK HERE to enter the Jenrick Charity Photo Competition

TRANSCRIPTION:

• Transcript: Nick English – Bremont Watches (Max#30)

Knowing how to maximise the return on your website and online brand is one of the most complex issues faced by managers in this increasingly complex part of the marketing mix.

Neil McCarthy, Sales Director at Shopzilla, the largest shopping comparison website in the World, is widely regarded as one of the leading voices within the field of Online Marketing having devoted the last decade or so to developing highly effective strategies for Search Engine Optimisation, Affiliate Marketing, Pay per Click Advertising and much more.

Within this interview, Neil shares his vast experience to proivde us all with a clear framework we can all apply to maximise the potential of our own websites and online marketing.

Additional notes and resources:

• CLICK HERE to visit the Shopzilla website

CHARITY PHOTO COMPETITION:

• CLICK HERE to enter the Jenrick Charity Photo Competition

Transcription:

• Transcript: Neil McCarthy – Online Marketing Expert (Max#29)
  

Traditionally, the title of the “World’s Greatest Athlete” has been given to the man who wins the decathlon.

Dean Macey, or the Dean Machine, as he was so frequently referred to, is one of the unique individuals to have achieved this accolade, doing so at the 2006 Commonwealth Games.

Dean would undoubtedly have finished his career with a host of additional World, Olympic and Commonwealth Medals if it had not been so heavily blighted by injury.

Yet, his ability to continually battle back to fitness consolidated his position, not just as one of the very best athletes on the globe, but as someone with a unique level of determination and mental strength.

Additional notes and resources:

• CLICK HERE to visit Dean Macey’s website
• CLICK HERE to watch Dean Macey bursting onto the scene at the 1999 World Championships
  

Maximise Your Career Podcast from Jenrick IT:

• CLICK HERE to listen to the podcast now

Transcription:

• Transcript: Dean Macey – International Decathlete (Max#28)

Jora Gill has developed a reputation for being one of the very best CTO’s (Chief Technical Officers) on the globe. He is regularly featured in leading Management publications and is a frequent guest speaker and panelist at global conferences regarding innovative Management Techniques and the future of IT.

He is seen as a pioneer who regularly seeks to apply management techniques from other industries within his own departments – normally resulting in substantial improvements.

As a person, Jora is dedicated to on-going learning and development, and is quick to emphasise that he is no way near the finished article and that he learns something new everyday.

He thrives on creating an environment where individuals are given every opportunity to succeed.

Additional notes and resources:

• CLICK HERE to read an interview with Jora on www.cio.co.uk

Bremont Watches:

• CLICK HERE to visit the Bremont Watch website
  

Transcription:

• Transcript: Jora Gill – global CTO (Max#27)
  

Matthew Syed has been an achiever all of his life.

A triple Commonwealth Champion and two-time Olympian, Graduating with a first from Oxford, A writer for The Times since 1999 and to top it all off, he’s also a winner of Sports Journalist of the Year.

His most recent accolade however, and the focus for our interview on Maximise Potential, has been the launch of his first book, called ‘BOUNCE’, where he creates a compelling argument which dismisses the traditional view that success is based around talent.

Here’s Matthew to explain his perspective in far more detail whilst relating it to his own life and career.

SYNOPSIS:

Everyone knows that David Beckham crosses the ball better than anyone else and that Tiger Woods never “chokes”. But what are the hidden factors which allow the most successful sports stars to rise above their competitors – and are they shared by virtuosos in other fields?

In Bounce Matthew Syed – an award-winning Times columnist and three-time Commonwealth table-tennis champion – reveals what really lies behind world-beating achievement in sport, and other walks of life besides. The answers – taking in the latest in neuroscience, psychology and economics – will change the way we look at sports stars and revolutionise our ideas about what it takes to become the best.

From the upbringing of Mozart to the mindset of Mohammed Ali – via the recruitment policies of Enron – Bounce weaves together fascinating stories and telling insights and statistics into a wonderfully thought-provoking read. Bounce looks at big questions – such as the real nature of talent, what kind of practice actually works, how to achieve motivation, drugs in both sport and life, and whether black people really are faster runners.

Along the way Matthew talks to a Hungarian father whose educational theories saw his daughters become three of the best chess players of all time, meets a female East German athlete who became a man, and explains why one small street in Reading – his own – has produced more top table-tennis players than the rest of Britain put together. Fresh, ground-breaking and tackling subjects with broad appeal, Bounce is sure to be one of the most talked about books of the year.

TESTIMONIALS FROM PEOPLE WHO HAVE READ ‘BOUNCE’:

Thought provoking read – ounce is a very interesting and thought provoking book. It basically argues that for any significantly complex human activity (especially sports like tennis, football and golf, and games like chess) natural talent is of pretty low importance because the wiring of the brain required to succeed can only be achieved through a massive amount of “purposeful” practice.

life changing insights – Bounce is a remarkable book. Its central argument is that there is no such thing as natural talent and that top achievement is the consequence of huge amounts of a very particular kind of practice. This may sound radical, but the evidence is compelling.

What a moorish read! – Wow what a great book. It’s extemely well written and full of substantive, supportive evidence to back up each point. Even for a non sports fan like me (my husband actually bought this book for himself) I would thouroughly recommend this book -you’ll be hooked once you read it.

Bounce – Bounce is the most interesting book that I read in 2010.

Very informative and challenging – This is a challenging book. The author rejects the concept of talent, innate ability and genetic pre-disposition almost entirely. He backs up the thesis with some impressive anecdotes and makes a good case.

Additional notes and resources:

• CLICK HERE to learn more about BOUNCE and buy the book on AMAZON
• CLICH HERE to go to AUDIBLE for the audio version of BOUNCE
  
• Learn more about Matthew Syed through his website

Transcription:

• Transcript: Matthew Syed, author of BOUNCE (Max#26)
  

Morgan Motor Company is Britain’s sole surviving car manufacturer, yet far from just surviving, the car company is currently experiencing one of its most successful ever commercial periods and is being increasingly seen as one of Britain’s global success stories.

Following on from our interview with Head Designer, Matt Humphries, featured on episode 21 and Director of Operations, Steve Morris (episode 23), we now have the pleasure of releasing our interview with the Finance Director for Morgan, Tim Whitworth.

Tim Whitworth, Finance Director of Morgan, has the unenviable task of making the numbers balance within this last remaining marquee of British Motoring history.

Yet Tim views this responsibility as one of the best challenges he could ever be faced with, due to his clear passion and genuine attachment to the brand.

He considers himself to be an unconventional Finance Director, who takes as much interest in the human aspects of the company as the numbers, citing Morgan’s collaborative working culture as key to so much of the company’s success.

This is a great opportunity to go behind the scenes of Morgan and also the man responsible for it’s finances, in this very informative and candid interview.

Additional notes and resources:

• FOR HIRE – treat yourself and rent a Morgan for a day, weekend or special event
• Morgan Motor Company – Official Website
• Morgan Motor Company – Wikipedia Page
  
• Morgan Car News Blog

Links to the other Morgan Motor Company interviews on Maximise Potential:

• Max 21 – Matthew Humphries, Morgan’s Head of Design
• Max 23 – Steve Morris, Morgan’s Director of Production
  

Job Advice / Online Career Advice from Jenrick:

• Daily Telegraph Careers Event featuring Philip Fanthom

Transcription:

• Transcript: Tim Whitworth – Finance Director at Morgan Motor Company (Max#25)
  

In response to the amount of interest that our interviews have generated within the subject of NLP, we decided to interview one of the most prominent trainer’s and coaches within this field.

Fiona Campbell is one of the UK’s most distinguished NLP Trainers, who specialises in NLP for Business Success.

She is has over 20 years of NLP and Business Coaching experience, having been personally trained by the Founder of NLP, Richard Bandler, who she continues to work with today.

When I was preparing for the interview I amazed by the abundance of glowing testimonials that Fiona has received from so many of the people she has trained. Here are just some of the quotes . . .

“Fiona really helped me to become more positive in my workplace and become a better leader.”

“She has helped me particularly in improving my communication and influencing skills in sales situations and making me more successful.”

“As Fiona works regularly with Richard Bandler, she has firsthand knowledge of new ideas and developments that make her the most current NLP trainer in the country.”

So, in between a hectic schedule of courses, we managed to sit down with Fiona to record this interview, where she very eloquently explains the fundamentals of NLP and then gives us all NLP techniques which we can immediately apply on the phone, in person and through email to improve the effectiveness of our communication within business.

Additional notes and resources:

• Fiona Campbell Consultancy – NLP Website
• Current NLP for Business Courses

Transcription:

• Transcript: Introduction to NLP-  Fiona Campbell (Max#24)

Morgan Motor Company is Britain’s sole surviving car manufacturer, yet far from just surviving, the car company is currently experiencing one of its most successful ever commercial periods and is being increasingly seen as one of Britain’s global success stories.

Following on from our interview with Head Designer, Matt Humphries, featured on episode 21, we now have the pleasure of interviewing Director of Operations, Steve Morris.

Steve has a wonderful personal attachment to Morgan, having started as an Apprentice on the production line, before pushing on to becoming to his current role as one of the Directors for the organisation.

He has seen, as he calls it, an evolution at Morgan, that has wintessed every corner of the business being radically overhauled throughout the last decade, propelling it to become one of the most innovative independent car producers on the Globe.

Here’s Steve to tell you the complete story in his own words . . .

Additional notes and resources:

• NEW – Morgan Three Wheeler Micro-site
• Morgan Motor Company – Official Website
• Morgan Motor Company – Wikipedia Page
  
• Morgan Car News Blog

Kay White Communication Strategy Session:

• Click here to Listen to Kay’s interview & apply for your Complimentary Strategy Session

Transcription:

• Transcript: Steve Morris, Director of Operations, Morgan Motor Company (Max#23)
  

Sam Brown is the current World Taekwon-Do Champion, achieving this incredible feat in the first ever World Championships to be held in the founding country of the martial art, Korea. In today’s interview with Maximise Potential, Sam shares the interesting journey he has taken over the last eight years in order for him to achieve his goal.

Additional notes and resources:

• Syndenham Taekwon-Do School with Sam Brown
• The Hogan Institute – Taekwon-Do School
• Spit and Sawdust Gym – Surbiton
• History of Taekwon-Do – Wikipedia
• International Taekwon-Do Federation- Official Website

Transcription:

• Transcript: Sam Brown – World Taekwon-Do Champion (Max#22)

Morgan Motor Company is Britain’s sole surviving car manufacturer, yet far from just surviving, the car company is currently experiencing one of its most successful ever commercial periods and is being increasingly seen as one of Britain’s global success stories.

I recently recorded this four part interview series at the Morgan factory in Malvern with key personnel from the company, starting with Morgan’s Head of Design – Matt Humphries.

I interviewed Matt because of the way, due to his innovative and pro-active personality, he became Head of Design for Morgan whilst also rapidly becoming one of the most respected automotive design engineers in the industry.

Additional notes and resources:

• Morgan Motor Company – Official Website
• Morgan Motor Company – Wikipedia Page
  
• Morgan Car News Blog
  

Transcription:

• Transcript: Matt Humphries -  Morgan Motor Company, Head of Design (Max#21)
  

Finding and then encouraging the best individuals to join your company is widely regarded as the key determinant for business success or failure.

Kos Lesses, is a project manager with an extremely strong record of implementing ‘Talent Management’ and ‘Workforce Planning’ programmes within a string of major City organisations, such as JP Morgan. He is regularly engaged by companies to take on ‘High Profile, Business Critical Talent Acquisition Projects.’ He has done this time and time again within tight deadlines or for very high volumes of recruitment. He is known for his end-to-end project management skills and ability to deliver.

In today’s interview Kos shares much of his approach to maximising the recruitment process within a company, giving anyone who is involved within the hiring of staff and excellent insight into the strategy he employs.

For those of you who are directly involved within recruitment you’ll be pleased to know that we have an extended version of this interview available which includes a detailed case study of an actual high volume recruitment programme which Kos created and implemented.

If you would like to receive a copy, please just send an email to podcast@maximisepotential.co.uk. Please ensure you include some personal details so that we know who to send it to. You’ll also find this email address on the webpage for this episode, so just go episode 20 on the Maximise Potential website.

Additional notes and resources:

• Please send me the extended interview: podcast@maximisepotential.co.uk
  

Transcription:

• Transcript: Kos Lesses -Maximising your Workforce Plannning (Max#20)
  

The latest episode to be uploaded to the Maximise Potential Podcast is an incredibly inspiring interview with David Weir, Great Britain’s Top Wheelchair Racer who has completely re-written the record books within the sport.

This phenomenal racer has won four London Marathons, three of those consecutively. At the 2008 Beijing Paralympics, he won two golds, a silver and a bronze. He holds every single British record from the sprints to the marathon, plus numerous world records AND to top it all off he has an MBE.

Yet when I had the opportunity to meet with David after his regular morning training session in Richmond Park, I was taken aback by how down-to-earth and humble he is – and how different the off-the-track David Weir is to the on-the-track person.

Here is our unique opportunity to learn more about the highs and lows of David’s career, what drives him to be a winner and his goals for London 2012 and beyond.

Additional notes and resources:

• David Weir – Wikipedia
• That Paralympic Show on Channel Four
• Definitive Sports – the agency representing David Weir
• British Paralympic Association
  

Transcription:

• Transcript: David Weir – Wheelchair Racer
  

The lastest episode to be uploaded to the Maximise Potential Podcast is an incredibly inspiring interview with Bonita Norris, the youngest British women ever to climb Mount Everest at the age of 22, an incredible feat that took amazing courage and skill,  inspiring people all over the World to maximise their own potential and be successful in life.

Additional notes and resources:

If you have been inspired by this motivating interview with Bonita Norris and are interested in learning more about climbing the World’s highest peaks then please click on the following links to take you directly to some of the best-selling books on the subject:

• BOOK- Die Trying: One Man’s Quest to Conquer the Seven Summits, by Bo Parfet
• BOOK- No Shortcuts to the Top: Climbing the World’s 14 Highest Peaks, by Ed Viesturs
• BOOK- Learning to Breathe, by Andy Cave
• BOOK- Chris Bonington’s Everest, by Chris Bonington
• BOOK- Savage Summit: True Stories of the 5 Women who climbed K2, by Jennifer Jordan

Transcription:

• Transcript: Bonia Norris – How I became the youngest woman to climb Mount Everest
  

Today’s interview is with Tony Dobbyn, The Global Head of Service Operations for one of the largest Financial Corporations in the World.

Tony has gained a worldwide reputation for being one of the most effective managers at maximising the productivity of teams, especially in relation to helping teams adjust after a merger or acquistion.

Tony’s interview highlights an incredible variety of techniques and skills that he has applied within his management career, as well as explaining the approach he has adopted to maximise his own career.

Some of the interview highlights include:

• How to make yourself  ‘available’ to opportunities
• Research Techniques to use if you wish to understand the issues that exist within your department
• Communication Methods to gain support from your team and enable them to embrace change
• How to reduce the negative feelings associated with change
• How to create a team which is empowered, motivated and proud of what they do

As we have already said, Tony is widely respected as being one of the most effective change agents within this industry, having effectively transformed teams in countries such as the UK, France, Japan and the USA.

Any manager repsonsible for a team (no matter what size the team is) will gain some superb advice from this interview on team dynamics and team motivation and empowerment.

In addition, if you listen to our podcast for career development and enhancement, then you will benefit from the experiences Tony shares regarding how he has approached his own career in order to maximise it and gain the job roles he has strived for.

Additional notes and resources:

• BOOK – “The Monk who sold his Ferrari”
• BOOK – “Illuminate: Harnessing the positive power of negative thinking”

Transcription:

• Transcript: Tony Dobbyn – Maximising Teams (Max#17)
  

Today’s interview is with Triathlete, Elliott Cole who is giving us his regular training and event diary update. In this interview Elliott discusses:

• How well he competed in the London Triathlon 2010
• How important the Maximise Potential Podcast has been in keeping him motivated throughout the season
• How he motivates himself towards maximising his own potential
• Who are his biggest influencers and why
• His goal for next year to enter his first Iron Man Competition

Transcription:

• Transcript: Elliott Cole Traithlete, Diary Update (max #16)
  

One of the key objectives of the Maximise Potential Podcast is to bring our audience real stories of success from real people, with the goal of inspiring others to take positive action in their lives in order to be motivated and successful.

Today’s interview is no exception as I am extremely proud to welcome our first Olympic & World Champion to the Maximise Potential Podcast.

Greg Searle won Olympic Gold, within Rowing, at the Barcelona Olympics of 1992 when he was just 20 years old and in the following year won Gold at the World Championships. In addition, Greg has won several other Silver and Bronze Olympic and World Medals, proving year after year that he was one of the very best in the world within this profession.

Today Greg Searle will share the approach he has taken throughout his life to maximise his potential plus share an incredible ambition that he still has – to represent Great Britain once again at the Olympics and to be successful in winning another medal at the London 2012 Games when he will be forty.

Due to the incredible contraints on Greg’s time currently, we recorded this interview via Skype, in between Greg returning from a training camp in Austria and returning to work.

FURTHER INFORMATION:

• Greg Searle – Wikipedia
• British Rowing – Greg Searle Bio

TRANSCRIPTION:

• Transcript: Greg Searle, Olympic and World Championship Rower, Max#15
  

Maximising the potential of your communication from Communication Specialist and Trainer, Kay White. Kay shares with us some superb tips and advice on how we can all improve the effectiveness of our communication in order to gain more from our career and life in general.

In this interview with Kay, discover:

• How to construct your sentences to make them more positive, persuasive and compelling
• How to use communication to get what you want (vs what you want to avoid)
• What to avoid! How you can sabotage yourself and tips on how to avoid it
• Using NLP tools in your communication, everywhere
• How to utilise your communication as a leader AND
• What to do to begin to understand your personal brand
• A limited opportunity Kay offers you to maximise your potential as you communicate

Some excellent practical advice which you can implement immediately within your personal life or working envrionment.

Thank you very much Kay for sharing this with us!

APPLY HERE FOR YOUR STRATEGY SESSION WITH KAY:

• Apply for your strategy session with Kay – http://www.linkingyourthinking.com/strategy

GO HERE TO VIEW JOBS AND GAIN CAREER ADVICE FROM JENRICK:

• Jenrick – award winning recruitment consultancy and sponsors of Maximise Potential

TRANSCRIPTION:

• Transcript: Kay White, Effective and Powerful Communication
  

In our final interview with record-breaking polar explorer Pen Hadow we discuss:

• How Pen’s life changed when he returned home after his record-breaking feat.
• What his achievements taught him with regards to the need for work/life balance.
• How ‘Maximising one’s Potential’ is all within the mind.
• The model Pen applies in his own life to continue challenging himself.

As with our previous interviews, Pen speaks with an openness and honesty that really enables you to visualise the sheer extremities of the challenge that he successfully undertook.

This interview is for you if you really want to maximise your own potential as it will give you a firsthand account of how someone has come up against some of the greatest physical and mental challenges to man and pushed on through them, when everyone else had failed.  He kept on going past the point where every other person had decided to give up – and as a result, claimed his place in the history books.

Additional notes and resources:

• YOU TUBE – an introduction to Pen Hadow
  

Transcription:

• Transcript: Pen Hadow Interview, life after Solo

In this interview with record-breaking polar explorer Pen Hadow we discuss:

• Pen’s successful trek to the North Pole, solo and without re-supply, where he made history by becoming the first (and only) person to do so.
• How he had to dig deeper into his mental and physical resources than he had ever done so before
• How it felt to finally achieve the goal that had consumed him for most of his adult life.

As with our previous interviews, Pen speaks with an openness and honesty that really enables you to visualise the sheer extremities of the challenge that he successfully undertook.

This interview is for you if you really want to maximise your own potential as it will give you a firsthand account of how someone has come up against some of the greatest physical and mental challenges to man and pushed on through them, when everyone else had failed.  He kept on going past the point where every other person had decided to give up – and as a result, claimed his place in the history books.

Transcription:

• Transcript: Pen Hadow Interview – how I walked 440 miles to the North Pole and claimed my place in history

This is our second interview with record-breaking polar explorer Pen Hadow where he discusses:

• how his desire to constantly challenge himself, even as a child, had  - and still has  - a massive bearing on his life
• also how it made him accustomed to being totally out of his comfort zone AND
• gave him the inner belief that ANYTHING  is possible.

Despite two unsuccessful attempts to reach the Pole,  learn what Pen learned from the experiences and how it  improved his mental toughness and strategic thinking capacity – crucial  for all of us, where ever we are!

This interview is for you if you really want to maximise your own potential as it will give you a firsthand account of how someone has come up against some of the greatest physical and mental challenges to man and pushed on through them, when everyone else had failed.  He kept on going past the point where every other person had decided to give up – and as a result, claimed his place in the history books.

Transcription:

• Transcript: Pen Hadow Interview, you can achieve any goal you set your mind to

Pen Hadow became the first man in the world to walk unsupported and without re-supply to the North Pole in 2003 – a feat which many have tried to emulate and all have failed. To this day, it is his name alone that is in the record books for completing this incredible journey, which has been compared to ‘climbing Everest without oxygen.’

We are fortunate to have recorded a series of interviews with Pen, the first of which is attached to this article / blog post.

It focuses on how Pen has trained himself to deal with ‘Failure.’ The reason he spoke about this subject in such detail is that he personally has had to deal with so much failure (or temporary set-backs as he refers to them) in his own life (through the numerous unsuccessful attempts he made to the North Pole, as well as set-backs with sponsorship, equipments and so on). As a result he needed to learn to how equip himself to deal with failure in a positive manner – in a way that would not affect him from moving on towards his goals.

Pen also has witnessed over the years, in his personal life, exploration and in business, how most individuals are unprepared for the onset of failure and how they so often are unable to move beyond it and as a result do not reach their goals.

Transcription:

• Transcript of interview with Pen Hadow

Today’s interview is with Triathlete, Elliott Cole who is giving us his regular training and event diary update. In this interview Elliott discusses how well he competed in his first two Olympic Distance Triathlons for the season, as well as highlighting some excellent (yet so simple) fitness tips for people to implement to take advantage of the summer weather, while we still have it!

Transcription:

• Transcript: Elliott Cole Traithlete, Diary Update

Today’s interview the second in our series with Award Winning Photographic Company, Media Wisdom, with today’s episode being with Abi Cockcroft, joint-founder and owner of the company.

Abi talks specifically about how Media Widsom was launched, 9 years ago, into an already saturated and heavily competitive marketplace. She explains the approach they have used to build a customer base, maximise customer opportunities and become one of the most respected photographic companies within the London and the South.

The interview is ideal for business owners (current or those considering starting their own business) as it provides an excellent insight into how you can build your initial customer base, differentiate yourself from your competitors and develop your own niche in the market.

Awards:

• Winner – Fine Art Photographer of the Year
• Finalist – Kodak Portrait Photographer of the Year 2009
• Award of Excellence – Master Photographer Awards 2009
• 3 x Merit Awards – Master Photographer Awards 2009
• 1 x Award of Excellence – Master Photographer Awards 2009
• 5 x Gold Awards from SWPP (society wedding & portrait photographers)2009: Architecture / Fashion / Wildlife

Additional notes and resources:

• Media Wisdom Photography – award winning photographers
• Video Wisdom – video marketing for small businesses
• Giles Christopher photography portfolio
• 4 Networking Business Group
  

Transcription:

• Transcript: Media Wisdom Photography Interview Part 2

Today’s interview is with Giles Christopher, founder and owner of Media Wisdom Photography. Giles talks about the highs and lows of his early career in the movie and film business before moving on to discuss his motivations for starting his own business.

Giles is not only interesting, but is also an incredibly passionate and articulate person to listen to and gives a valuable insight into his approach to creating a successful business, career and life.

Plus he introduces some great ideas for small business marketing.

Awards:

• Winner – Fine Art Photographer of the Year
• Finalist – Kodak Portrait Photographer of the Year 2009
• Award of Excellence – Master Photographer Awards 2009
• 3 x Merit Awards – Master Photographer Awards 2009
• 1 x Award of Excellence – Master Photographer Awards 2009
• 5 x Gold Awards from SWPP (society wedding & portrait photographers)2009: Architecture / Fashion / Wildlife

Additional notes and resources:

• Media Wisdom Photography – award winning photographers
• Video Wisdom – video marketing for small businesses
• Giles Christopher photography portfolio
• 4 Networking Business Group
  

Transcription:

• Transcript: Interview with Giles Christopher, Media Wisdom Photography

Hello everyone and welcome back to episode 6 of the Maximise Potential Podcast and part 2 of our interview with global management consultant, Steve Davies.

In the first interview Steve spoke at length about how he maximised his own career and the advice he would give to others wishing to maximise their own career and business success.

Now in this interview, Steve talks all about how he made a conscious decision just two years ago to change the entire direction of his career. In addition, Steve talks at length about the business model and framework which he applies to his internet businesses.

We appreciate that this interview is longer than our usual ones, but Steve had so much excellent information to offer that it all merrited inclusion.

Additional notes and resources:

• Skiddmark
• Skiddplayer
• Follow us on Twitter!

Transcription:

• Transcript of interview with Steve Davies, Management Consultant (part 2 of 2)

Today’s interview is with Triathlete, Elliott Cole. Today Elliott gives us an insight into the importance of Lake Swimming within his training regime, as well focusing in on why sleep is such an important part of your health.

Elliott also answers questions regarding what running shoes he uses, what make and model of bike he rides and also the type of electronic training aids he recommends.

Additional notes and resources:

• Heron Lake Swimmers
• Suunto Training Aids for Triathletes
• Focus Bikes for Triathletes
• Newton Running Shoes for Triathletes
  

Transcription:

• Transcript – Elliott Cole Triathlete Interview

Today’s interview is with global managment consultant, Steve Davies, who is one of the most energic and creative strategic management consultants of recent times and has been instrumental in the development of global brands such as X-Box, Sony Ericsson phones, O2 and was also part of the initial team who invented Bluetooth Technology.

Our aim of today is to gain an insight into how Steve has maximised his own career and how he has reached such senior positions within the corporate world, plus to also understand what characteristics Steve looks for in those wishing to take their career to the next level.

Steve also touches upon NLP and how this has influenced his career as well as talking about some of the projects he has been involved within, in particular, his role within shaping the direction of the mobile telecommunications marketplace.

We appreciate that this interview is longer than our usual ones, but Steve had so much excellent information to offer that it all merrited inclusion.

Additional notes and resources:

NLP Books worth reading -

• ‘NLP at Work’ by Sue Knight
• ‘Frogs into Princes’ by Richard Bandler and John Grinder
• ‘Using your brain: for a change’ by Richard Bandler

NLP Websites worth visiting –

• Sue Knight
• Richard Bandler on You Tube

Top 10 job interview hints and tips (Part 2 of 2); this podcast offers interview advice when job hunting, ensuring you have the best interview possible.

The podcast features an interview with Jo Taylor, Jenrick Group Marketing Executive who, along with Philip Fanthom, Managing Director of Jenrick IT, recently vounteered their time at Kingston University’s ‘Bootcamp,’  to help Graduates with their job interview preparation.

Transcription:

• Click here to read the full transcription Top 10 job interview hints and tips

Top 10 job interview hints and tips; this podcast offers exclusive interview advice when job hunting, ensuring that you are able to prepare yourself in a manner to enable you to have the best interview possible.

Job interviews are extremely stressful, especially if you have been in the same job for a number of years and are suddenly thrown into the world of job hunting. Due to excessive nerves, most people often commit basic errors within their job interview, which can have a major impact on their success – YET, so many of these issues can be avoided with some simple preparation.

So, take the time to listen to this two-part interview. The content will enable you to immediately improve your performance at your next job interview and give you the best possible chance of securing the job you really want.

The podcast features an interview with Jo Taylor, Jenrick Group Marketing Executive who, along with Philip Fanthom, Managing Director of Jenrick IT, recently vounteered their time at Kingston University’s ‘Bootcamp,’  to help Graduates with their job interview preparation.

Transcription:

• Click here to read the full transcription Top 10 job interview hints and tips

Kevin: So welcome back to the Maximize Potential podcast. Today we are here and we’re back with Elliott Cole are aspiring triathlete who is training to complete the 2011 triathlon championships but has the ultimate goal of competing in the Ironman challenge over in Hawaii, which I know he’s going to tell us a lot more about. However, The reason we are with Elliott and not with anyone else who is competing for the triathlon is because Elliott story is a bit different.

Many people devote their entire lives to training for a triathlon and when you speak to a lot of people who are involved in it or have been a part of it, you realize that it is probably one of the toughest endurance competitions actually available on the earth right now.

What is unique about Elliott story is he is actually competing in his first ever triathlon literally about four months ago, and it is the speed at which he has dedicated himself to it and learn the trade and, really, developed very quickly into an elite athlete is what became of interest to maximize potential because we felt that it summed up exactly what our podcast is all about and what our site is all about.

So that is why we are here with Elliott and we are very grateful that he has come and take a break from training to come and sit down with us and give us the latest update with what he’s been doing. Hi Elliot!  How are you?

Elliott: Hello! I’m good thank you.

Kevin: Good, excellent!  So we are in April now and the weather has finally turned into spring after a very long winter this year.

Elliott: Yes, indeed!

Kevin: We have bright sunshine outside and nothing to be registering first of all to give us a recap because this is the first one, really, of the season, that we are talking about, you want to tell us a little bit about what the winter was like in terms of winter training?  Obviously you had the London triathlon back at the tail end of last summer, and then it was really a question of dedicating yourself to winter training which I assume is predominantly indoors training, but there may have been outdoor stuff there. What was that like?

Elliott: It has been kind of a massive learning curve for me, because there was a lot of indoor training throughout the course of the winter. There were quite a lot of gym sessions and quite a lot of sessions on the turbo trainer, for people who aren’t aware, that is a trainer that you put your road-going bike on And you lift the rear wheel onto it and you can make different settings so you can make it slightly even more difficult, slightly easier.

There were quite a lot of indoor work, a lot of pool swimming, so there were a lot of early mornings before work jumping in the pool.  Because the lakes all close early part of September and then they reopen, literally the first one just opened last weekend.

Kevin: So what is a quick pool session before you go to work? For me, that could be slightly different to what it is to you… [laughing]

Elliott: It depends on what sort of sessions I’m doing. If it is a technique session, it could be ½ to 2km while for distance work, it can be 2 to 4km and upwards.

Kevin: Right. So in the 25m pool, you’re dealing with 50 lengths minimum?

Elliott: Yep.

Kevin: So for endurance you could be dealing with…

Elliott: Hundreds… there all morning! [laughing]

Kevin: Right! [laughing] That is probably a bit more than what I was thinking about like nipping into the pool before work and then hitting the sauna.  Going back to the bike, and talking about the equipment that you use, I’m assuming you use this in your house, don’t you, where you live?

Elliott: Yes, we had some accidents over the winner, Chrissie Wellington the winner of the 2009 Hawaiian Ironman, actually, came out of her bike during the winter just on a training ride. So, the kind of rule of thumb is that if the weather is not great, stick to indoors. The turbo trainer is as good as being outdoors, slightly more boring, that you have the television on and music in the background.  The scenery doesn’t change.

But, it is effectively the same workout. Your bike doesn’t go anywhere, you just put the back wheel onto the turbo trainer with different settings so that you can change the friction between the rear wheel and the trainer itself.

Kevin: And you can actually do that while you’re cycling, so you can vary the terrain?

Elliott: Yes, you can go up or down through the gears when there is actually a setting that comes with the turbo trainer that you can crank it up or loosen it off.

Kevin: Superb! You summed it up. So, safe from icy conditions… but also I guess safe from very dark conditions and a lot of other cars on the road and so forth.

Elliott: Absolutely! And a lot of it revolves around work, So did in training whenever you can and early mornings if you’re getting up at half five or six o’clock, it is not daylight.  So it is really good to get the turbo trainer out and get a few hours then.

Kevin: That was something else you spoke to me about before we actually started recording, which was the amount of training that you do. That was something that took me by surprise! At the end of the day, you worked a regular job just like everybody else, but you’re managing, from what you said, to do two training sessions a day!

Elliott: Yep!

Kevin: That is the level of dedication that you had to put into this to reach the level that you’re trying to aspire to. How does that work?  He just touched upon how early you have to get up everything…

Elliott: Yes there are a lot of long days and fitting training sessions around your work so that the gym bag or all work out stuff is in the car all the time, so if I have an hour to spare I can hit the gym, go for a run, get the bike out, or jump in the pool.  My normal kind of average day during the week, I get up about a 5:45 or six o’clock, and I normally get a ride or a swim in before work and then I go for a long run after work or at lunchtime. So I get an hour run in as well. It is just literally two sessions a day after one of the morning, one at lunchtime, or morning and evening.

Kevin: The interesting thing is that you are actually still doing your standard job. You are a career man as opposed to a full-time athlete.

Elliott: Yep!

Kevin: So what you’re showing is that it is actually possible to achieve quite heady heights for a fitness and athletic perspective but also…

Elliott: There are quite a lot of athletes out there that have to do it, for the few fortunate people where it is a way of life and it is something they can do day in and day out… it is certainly something that I would love to do full time. My dream is to be a full-time athlete and at the moment it is just…..dedication! [laughing]

Kevin: my guess is there is also a constant balancing act it seems like, as you said, regardless of whether you’re consciously sitting in a training session, subconsciously your mind is always thinking about the triathlon elements of your life.

Elliott: It is about taking advantages of any opportunity, really. If there is an hour to spare to get the gem bag out and get cracking…

Kevin: It is a good approach. I think a lot of other people, myself included, anyone else I’ve spoken to spend probably an hour thinking about those things… it sounds like you just don’t question it.  You open it up, get a change, and get started. So by the time we have started thinking about it, you actually finish getting it done. So that is good advice and a very good thing to think of.

Obviously, we are going to be doing lots of these diaries.  That makes it very easy for us to split up a lot of the content that I know I think people would find very interesting to hear about such as nutrition, specific parts of your training, and things like that.

What we will do is save a lot of that for later episodes because I know that your discipline with your nutrition is huge and that’s a massive part of how much your fitness has improved. I think that deserves an episode in itself, so I think what I would like to do is, now that we actually have this good weather and you are able to go outside, explain to us how the next few weeks are going to go because you are beginning to enter competitions now, aren’t you?

Elliott: March was the beginning of the main part of the season and is starting to pick up momentum. The early part of the season up until about May, June, tends to be a “duatholon” which is a run/bike/run as opposed to a swim/bike/run because, like I said, in the lakes at the moment the water is just too cold.  You can’t operate a triatholon.  I’ve done two duatholons this season.  It was a 5km run, a 20km bike and then a 5km run.

The first one at the beginning in March, was the first one in the season so everyone was finding their feet and seeing how much their training of the winner had paid off.  I came 12/140 athletes in that one.

Kevin: Superb!

Elliott: So it was a good start.  There were a few kind of little niggling issues, I got a cramp after about 18km on the bike, which lost me about five or six minutes, which was the difference between 3rd and 12th.

Kevin: Oh wow!  And what caused the cramp, I mean, were you able to isolate what it was?

Elliott: Yeah.  I had a friend who does nutrition stuff. And she looked at my intake before and during the race and I stupidly didn’t take in enough fluids.  So it was my own fault.  I learned from it, went back out for another duatholon a couple of weeks ago and came in 6/140 athletes again. So that was moving in the right direction.

Kevin: Didn’t you tell me a story there was little bit of a sabotage? It sounds like you are already creating ripples in the triathlon field!

Elliott: Yes!  I don’t know if it was a compliment, or someone was gunning for me at the start of the year, but yeah.  When you arrive at the start of a race you go into what they call “transition” where you lay all the gear out so the bike is on the rack and you literally hook the seat over a pole.  Your trainers go down and your shoes are already fit into the bike.  You put your helmet on the bike, and everything is ready to go so the minute you get off the first run, the helmet goes on, the traders come off, and the bike goes down and you put your cycling shoes on while you are on the move.

I set everything out as normal; I have quite a regiment in the way that I do it, so everything has got its own sequence and everything goes in its normal place, the towel goes down, the trainers go on it… I came off the first run, and someone had actually tightened my helmet on the tightest setting it would go so I put it on my head and it didn’t go on.

Kevin: That’s ridiculous!

Elliott: It was definitely slightly bizarre experience.

Kevin: Surely the only way people can work out whose stuff is what is probably by putting the number next to it hasn’t it?

Elliott: Yes, Everything is numbered. You have a number on your helmet and a number on your bike, Can you honestly have your run best on as well.

Kevin: So they would have to know what number corresponded to you and where you put your stuff.

Elliott: Either that or they were keeping an eye on me while I was out putting all my gear out in the morning.

Kevin: That is crazy! [laughing] So you are a man to be feared on the triathlon circuit already?

Elliott: Yes, making enemies. [laughing]

Kevin: [laughing] Out of interest, what did that cost you time-wise?

Elliott: It is not a massive amount, like 10 or 15 seconds, but it all adds up.  It is the psychology that goes with it as well, because you are thinking, why did that happen? Was it me? Because I always put my helmet on before I laid it on the bike to make sure there is absolutely no surprises when you come into the transition. It kind of makes you doubt yourself because you’re like, did I do it? Did I not do it this time? It was a slightly strange experience

Kevin: A bit of entertainment. That is great! It is pretty good to hear where it is all going for you.  I think when we do our next episode… Hopefully… we have already spoken about the fact that we are actually trying to do some of our recordings out and about with you.

Elliott: Fantastic.

Kevin: Filming stuff as well as just doing audio so we can actually see some of the physical training techniques that help you to understand what triathlon is. I think what I’m interested to do now to round things off of this episode is, I think it is always good that we can leave everyone with a quick tip for something that they can implement within their lives to take their steps towards maximizing their potential.

You are operating in a very different level of fitness to most of the population right now, but, put yourself back a few stages before you were at this level. What is something that we can start implementing right now that can make an immediate impact on our overall health?

Elliott: Coming back to what you’re saying about the temperature earlier and the weather that is starting to pick up and the sun is now shining… keep up your hydration levels. Increase the amount of water levels that you are taking in. Trying to get your water intake up between one and a half and 3L a day. I was told this about 12 months ago and you wouldn’t believe the impact it has on your energy levels. Your energy levels will pick up straightaway. And, your general health all around. So, get the glass out and fill it up!

Kevin: So you are saying ½ to 3L.. most people can visualize a pint glass on this episode, how many of those are you talking about?

Elliott: What I tend to do, to make it very simple, is to keep two or three bottles of Evian on me at all times, and then just top it off.  So once it is gone you know that you had two liters throughout the day. If you top it up again, great, but as long as you have one bottle then you know you’ve had your 2L.

Kevin: You are only told this to sort of less than 12 months ago, so you have the benefit guy for quite a while anyway, but prior to that how can you compare what training and what your general life was like prior to this change in habit for how much water?

Elliott: Like I said, the main aspect of it is general energy. And your whole perception of everything. I’ve always been a relatively fit guy, but the water energy is something that you kind of take for granted. You drink when you’re thirsty, and I had never looked at it like something I should be topping up throughout the day at regular intervals. So it has made a massive effect.

Kevin: And it is not about how you have to go and be buying mineral water all the time, you just need to make sure you’re having glasses of water, throughout the day, and that will have a huge impact. You’ll see in your energy and your overall health.  I think you said to me before as well that you don’t get those three o’clock downers, you know when people get that tiredness at three o’clock. It keeps that energy flowing throughout the day.

Elliott: Absolutely!  The energy is the main aspect of it. It is also for someone watching their weight out there, and for hunger. A lot of hunger and stomach rumblings and things like that is a lot of times  dehydration rather than hunger.

Kevin: I had someone come through from a corporate wellness company who had that as a feature article. I hadn’t thought about it until you just said it, but it says something about the fact that the body can’t tell the difference between thirst and hunger. So, you can get the same… You’ll often interpret it as you’re hungry, but the body could be actually saying it is thirsty.

Elliott: Yep! So the first thing I do is when the stomach starts rumbling, have a glass of water. When it is at it again, you know you need to get yourself some food. So water is always the first thing I take on board when I started a bit of the craving.

Kevin: Well I never thought about water being a weight management tool or something to help dieting, but there we go.  On that note, I think that is a perfect way to end it. Elliot, as always, we appreciate your time.  Appreciate you coming off your training and spending a bit of time with us.

Elliott: Thank you very much!

Kevin: Hopefully, next month when we get together it will be outdoors, maybe with a video.  It will actually be seeing you out there pounding the streets.

Elliott: And I’ll be getting you to the lake at some silly-oclock in the morning..

Kevin: That will be good. Well, hopefully you will be recording that one and sending it to us! [laughing] Well, thanks very much!

Elliott: [laughing] Thank you very much, cheers!

6th overall in a time of 01:07:36 (8 minutes quicker than March) and the field was a lot more competitive than before with 2 of the guys that finished in front of me both being full time athletes and racing for team GB so it’s an awesome result!

A couple of niggling things which hindered me a little bit…

- someone tampered with my helmet before the start of the race, putting it on the smallest setting it would go so when I came to put it on for the bike I had to adjust the sizing which cost me a little bit of time (I’ll be keeping a closer eye on the competition next time!)

- I had massive problems with my trainers coming off the bike and had to run the second 5km treading on the back of my trainer like a sandle… I’ve now invested in some ratchet lasses which will stop that happening again!

Apart from being dry, the conditions were horrible, the wind was the worst I’ve ever raced in which made getting the hammer down on the bike really difficult and a few people actually pulled up because of it.

Next up, a 16 mile run around Kingston next weekend (11 April), not so much a race as a bit of intense training! )

View Elliott’s personal profile