My Triathlon: Maire Marshall

To celebrate Women in Sport Week, each day we are sharing the experiences of some of the leaders in our community. This week you’ll get to meet club chairs, committee members, coaches, board members and technical officials, and find out more about their journey in triathlon.

Today, meet Maire Marshall. Triathlon is a family hobby for Maire, her husband Cornelius and their two children Molly and Nell. Maire is also Club Children’s Officer for her tri club South Coast Triathlon Club in Youghal, Co. Cork…

My first triathlon experience was participating in a small triathlon event organised by my local gym about twenty years ago! I had recently learned to swim and I was also training to complete my first women’s mini-marathon so I thought I’d give it a go.  There wasn’t many women taking part and I think we all ended up getting prizes, which of course was also great encouragement.   I focused mainly on running after that and joined a running club which I really enjoyed from a social point of view and my running really improved too. 

However as I started to run longer distances, I kept getting injuries and needed to do other sports so that’s what motivated me to get into triathlon training. My brother in law was involved with Trilogy Triathlon club and they were running triathlon sessions, similar to try -a-tri distances for their members.  I was invited to participate in them and before I knew it I had signed up for a sprint distance triathlon in Ballina, in my home county. One triathlon led to another and even though my life has got busier with work and family commitments, I have still managed to keep up a bit of training and take part in some triathlons most years. 

How long have you been a member of South Coast Triathlon Club?  What does being part of a club mean to you.

I am a relative newbie to South Coast Triathlon Club. I think this is probably my third year as a member but with the pandemic, I still feel like I am just getting to know club members.  I would know the junior parents most because of my involvement with the junior end of the club.  Many of my friendships have come from a shared interest in sports so I would be hoping that as club activities increase that I will get to make some more connections through the club.  I am also far more motivated and committed to getting out when I am meeting up with friends/ clubmates or when I’ve signed up for a club event.

Being part of the club is something that your whole family enjoys now.  Can you tell us how this came about, and your experience of enjoying sport together?

We’ve always been a very active household to be honest and my two daughters are very used of seeing their mum and dad heading out for runs or cycles and have been brought along to numerous triathlons and running events from as soon as they were portable! That’s our kind of normality. 

However  I have to give credit to my eldest daughter, Molly, for getting us involved with South Coast. Molly started talking about wanting to try doing a triathlon a few years ago.  She didn’t really see it as a big challenge even though she has cerebral palsy, which is a physical disability which affects her mobility. I think she had grown up watching triathlons and  simply wanted to give one a go.  We were aware of the Moby Dick junior triathlon and approached the South Coast TC  about Molly participating.  The club couldn’t have been more helpful and encouraging and Molly successfully completed her first triathlon, the Moby Dick Junior Triathlon almost four years ago.   Molly’s younger sister, Nell, was old enough to participate in triathlon events the following year and we decided that it made sense for all of us to join South Coast, i.e., take out a family membership.  So now when we head out to do triathlons, the car is jam packed with gear for all four of us! While it is a lot more hectic than when there was just the two of us, it is very much part of our family life. Some of our happiest days as a family has been participating in triathlon events together, aside from having to unpack the car afterwards!

What does being your Children’s Club Officer involve?

I started in the role of Children’s Club Officer about eighteen months ago and my focus has been primarily in relation to safeguarding procedures within the club.  I took advantage of the lockdown periods, to chase up paperwork with club leaders and volunteers and to update my own safeguarding training.  I’ve also advised the club in relation to updating the club website so that all relevant safeguarding information is available for our members. 

As it is very important that our junior members and their parents to get to know me so that they can approach me anytime they need to, I’ve tried to attend and help out at as many of the junior training sessions and events as possible.  In time I would like to complete some TI training courses to enable me to be more involved in club training sessions.

What kind of Junior Sessions are available in South Coast?

The club will be starting pool swimming and strengthening sessions for junior members later this month.  During the summer months, Friday evening sessions will resume, ranging from running and biking sessions and sea swimming and aquathlons along Youghal strand. 

South Coast TC plans for Women in Sport week…

Yes, the club are hoping to have organise a cycle next weekend to mark Women in Sports week.  We also had a very successful Try-a-Tri programme in 2021, with lots of female triathletes completing the programme and are planning in launching our 2022 programme during Women in Sports week in the hope that we will entice lots more women to sign up this year. 

If you had to choose one discipline swimming, cycling or running, which would you choose and why?

Hands on my heart, swimming will always be the most challenging of the three for me.  I am always relieved to be back on dry land and to have survived the swim.  Cycling is probably the one that I find the easiest but I must like a bit of suffering because I think running is my favourite at the moment! 

Have you any triathlon adventures planned for 2022?

Yes, I have entered a few sprint distance triathlons during the summer including our own Moby Dick triathlon.  I tend to choose triathlons that have a junior race as well so that the girls can participate too.  I hope to complete one Olympic distance triathlon later in the summer, Cobh’s Jail Break Triathlon and of course, I’ll be in Youghal to cheer on my husband, who is participating in Ironman Cork in August.

What advice would you give to those who are thinking about joining their tri club’s committee?

I definitely encourage anyone with an interest to get involved.  My motivation in joining was to give something back to the club for their support and encouragement, in particular in relation to my eldest daughter.  There are lots of different roles in clubs; my role is quite a small role. My point is that there are lots of different roles available (major and minor) and clubs really need people to volunteer if they can.  It’s also an opportunity to get to know other members of the club better, both junior and senior and to have an input into what your club has to offer to their members.