Newcastle Life Issue 25.qxp_Newcastle Life 06/03/2020 10:27 Page 12
NEwCasTlE TriaThloN Club
Newcastle Triathlon Club crown
T
here were celebrations all round recently as Newcastle Triathlon Club took home first place in the Triathlon England Awards 2019 – to be crowned England’s Club of the Year. The club, which has over 300 adult and junior members from across the area, was presented with the award by double Commonwealth gold medalist Jodie Stimpson at a ceremony held at the end of 2019 in Birmingham. With a strong team spirit, friendly atmosphere and drive to achieve at all ages and abilities, it’s easy to see why this inclusive and vibrant club are now national award
winners and continue to grow from strength to strength. Newcastle Triathlon Club was set up in 2007 by Julia Matheson, Ken Matheson and Fiona Ridley to be a welcoming club for people of all abilities to swim, cycle and run. It started out as a small group of friends, mainly from a running background, who enjoyed training and competing together with a common interest in triathlon. Now it has grown to cover much of North Staffordshire and Cheshire, providing expert coaching across all three disciplines in a safe and supportive environment. These sessions, held in various locations in Stoke-on-Trent
and Newcastle, are tailored to the needs of the person – whether you are a beginner or competing against international triathletes. Founding member Julia Matheson explained: “The club originally came about as a result of a major injury to myself which prevented me from running (and walking!). Following surgery for a herniated disc I turned to cycling to regain some health and fitness in the hope that one day I may also return to running. It was then that I discovered a love of cycling and with guidance from Ken, entered the National Duathlon Championships which I won. As a result, we decided to start
June 2020, Stafford Showground relays event