Articles

Test of Endurance is the New Golf

by Tim Smedley

It is a hot, cloudless Sunday morning in London’s Docklands, near the business hub of Canary Wharf. Some 14,000 people are getting ready for a 1,500 metre swim in the far from sanitary Thames, followed by a 40km bike ride and a 10km run as part of the Virgin Active London Triathlon.

Among them, 37-year-old Neil Owen, director of London operations for financial recruitment group Robert Half International, is preparing to run in the 12.50pm “wave” (start time) alongside his colleagues. “There are events now specifically aimed at the City,” he says. “[Another triathlon] had a City wave as the last wave of the day so those working could make the 7:.30 - 8pm start.”

Indeed, given the growing number of financial and business executives taking up the challenge, one could be forgiven for thinking the triathlon is threatening to replace golf as the executive sport of choice.

“The mental skills needed to succeed in business are very similar to the mental skills needed to get through a triathlon,” explains Richard Allen, a former professional triathlete who, through Triathlon 4 Business, coaches executives. “Triathlon is the ultimate all-round sporting challenge and these kind of people need challenges to stay fulfilled in their life.”

Looking surprisingly fresh for a man who’s just completed the 6.50am wave, 43-year-old Panos Kakoullis, UK audit leader at professional services firm Deloitte, notes that there are even events specifically for CEOs, such as the Ironman Arizona CEO challenge. “You pay a little bit more, go to a nice hotel, elite athletes give you coaching, your wives get VIP access,” he explains. But, he adds, “no one runs it for you”.

The Ironman is the ultimate triathlon discipline: comprising a 3.8km swim, 180km cycle followed by a marathon (42.2km). Another high-profile executive who has completed more than three Ironman triathlons is Jason Gatenby, CEO of Montagu, HSBC’s former buy-out division. Gary Lubner, CEO of Belron International, the windscreen repair and replacement company, has completed 10 triathlons at Olympic distance. About 1,000 of his company’s 25,000 employees took part in the London Triathlon.

Such an extreme endurance sport seems a little, well, extreme. Mr Kakoullis explains its appeal as a counterbalance to work: “It gives a lot more discipline and structure to what you do day-to-day, making you work more efficiently.”

Richard Batten, the 57-year-old UK executive chairman of property company Jones Lang LaSalle, competes in triathlons worldwide in the 55-60 age group. Five years ago, he established a property industry triathlon, which this year saw 2,300 people compete – making it the fifth-largest triathlon in the UK.

“I liken it to a cocktail party for the property industry fuelled on adrenalin rather than alcohol,” he says. “Even if age is not on your side you can still do it. You’ve got to give up rugby or football at some stage, but age doesn’t reduce your stamina in the same way as it does your speed.”

After examining all the kit involved as executives clad in expensive neoprene sit astride the latest in carbon fibre bike, one wonders if there is a tiny element of geeks-with-gadgets to it all.

“It’s not tiny at all, it’s huge,” laughs Andrew Buchanan, a 44-year-old recruiter at Robert Half International. “Just walk through the event and you’ll see grown men lovingly touching bikes. A good bike will start at £2,000 [$3,265].”

Even Batten, a veteran of some 50 triathlons, admits he is not immune: “Everything can be compared, from running shoes to shades . . . It can get very techy.”

Batten sat out the London Triathlon to take part in London’s Hyde Park Triathlon this weekend. It will again attract a multitude of business people – GE Capital alone is putting 45 teams of employees into the relay. The event is also the first trial for what will be the course in next year’s Olympic Games. Batten likens it to “a golfer playing at Sandwich before the Open Championship”.