Rob Linfoot - Athlete Ambassador
Have you always been into sport?
I started with football at a young age in the local team, progressing on to cricket as a teenager, reaching 1st team standard in a good Yorkshire league before finding athletics with the 200m and javelin where I represented Yorkshire. Now ultra running and road cycling have become my go to sports. In all honesty anything to be outdoors and exerting myself was and remains my go to coping mechanism something that was an integral part of my military service.
How did you first get into triathlon?
I have dabbled with each discipline on and off over the years and never got to the stage of putting the sports together. I got injured in 2018 and could no longer participate in the sports I was doing at the time. Running and cycling were initially used to lose the weight gained post injury and swimming was included as part of the rehab program I had set. It became apparent that I should put all three together and give triathlon a go. Swimming has been the most difficult to regain a degree of proficiency as this movement causes most irritation of the injury. This has led me to compete in duathlons for now and aim to attempt my first triathlon later this year when I feel the swimming is at the right level.
If you are interested in getting into Triathlon, Sundried's kit is suitable for beginners as well as seasoned athletes. We have both men's and women's options available.
What has been your favourite race to date and why?
My favourite run to date was the GB Ultras Snowdon 50 Mile ultra marathon. My favourite duathlon was the Bucks sprint duathlon.
What is your proudest achievement?
My first completion of the Yorkshire Three Peaks in just over 7 hours was my first long distance event as a teenager and was the first time that I accomplished a serious event. This has probably led to me pushing myself throughout life and is a proud moment to look back on.
Have you ever had any racing disasters?
During an attempt of a double welsh 3000’s, I had 5 hours of stomach issues. This led to me calling off the attempt after 15 hours due to not keeping any food or fluids down. Knowing when to quit has been something I have only discovered later in life, constantly pushing forward without understanding the process and issues has not worked well for me.
How do you overcome setbacks?
After learning the hard way that blindly pushing forward does not always work. I believe I now utilise a more thought out process, attempting to understand any issues/ injuries or training problems before using experts to assist in planning the route ahead.
What advice do you wish you'd been given when you first started out?
Concentrate on each sport individually and have a plan. Trying to achieve everything at once, unplanned, usually led me to failure and on top of this have faith in yourself, we can be our own worst critics.
What are your goals?
- Keep the weight off to ensure my injury doesn’t effect me as much and hopefully live as pain free as possible which will enable me to complete the following, hopefully.
- Complete a 100 mile ultra marathon.
- Qualify for the UTMB
- Complete a triathlon
- If I can swim pain free in the future complete an iron man distance tri.
Who inspires you?
- Very recently a close member of the family was diagnosed with cancer at 28. Watching how they have taken the fight to that disease whilst caring for their 6 month old son has been a huge inspiration, seeing this incredible attitude and effort is truly humbling.
- Lucy Charles Barclay for her devotion to the sport
- Kilian Jornet for the exceptional performances he is capable of
- Beth Pascal for the juggling of her career and sporting capabilities.
- Joss Naylor for being a legend of fell running for over 50 years.
- Nicky Spinks for overcoming adversity and achieving outstanding long distance records
Why work with Sundried?
Having tried several brands I have found that Sundried offer the best package of eco-friendly, value and style that I now look for in a brand. Any garment in this day and age should last like Sundried clothing does and not be part of the wear and forget generation we have become. Something I hope to instil in my daughter over the coming years. Making a positive change on my lifestyle and embracing fitness in an eco-friendly way has really helped me in my ongoing recovery.
To hear more from our ambassadors and get free tips on workout plans and more, connect with the Sundried Personal Trainers on our app.
