Lesley Paterson

Coming from the muddy fields of rugby playing and ‘Fell’ running in Scotland, my dad decided that triathlon might be a good outlet for my athletic drive!  He was right…

I joined the local swim club, borrowed a bike from a pal and got going on my first race. Needless to say that first race was a bit of a disaster when I simply couldn’t understand why my legs were spinning so fast on the bike and I wasn’t going anywhere. I guess that’s what they call a big chain ring! Hey at the age of 14, how was I supposed to know?

Anyways, I quickly fell in love with the sport – the gritty determination of my fellow athletes, the insurmountable challenge of putting together 3 sports and the sheer joy of experiencing so many different movements and motions. How hard could I push myself? How much pain could I feel? How could I get my mind more in touch with my body…

And so, I jumped onto the triathlon scene with dreams of Olympic medals and world titles. I climbed my way up into the national Scottish then British team though never really fulfilled my potential in the early years. After an injury break and some time to find my other creative passion in film, I’m now back to the sport. I’ve reinvigorated my love of all things swimming, biking and running and am finally discovering my untapped talent!