Jim McConnel
D.O.B: 21/07/1973
Club/County/Country: Driventotri.com
Occupation: Triathlete / Triathlon Coach / Sports Masseuse
Personal Profile:
Background: I grew up as a track runner and competed for the South West at 800 and 1500m until I was 18. Moving to Oxford Brookes Uni to study Human Biology I switched to cycling and got involved in mountain biking. After several years of working full time in marketing, I took the decision to follow my heart and let sport lead the way - retraining at the same time as developing my skills as a triathlete. Now today I do a varied job I love as well as compete as a professional athlete on the XTERRA World Offroad Triathlon Circuit. I'm part of a small family of athletes who love to explore and seek out new expereinces in this world.
Ambitions/Future aspirations:
My aim is ongoing .. and that's to give my best in the races I choose to compete in. I always try to find the time to smile .. otherwise, what are we doing it for?! I guess my aspiration would be to place inside the Top 10 at the World XTERRA Champs in Maui.
Schedule:
I will travel to San Diego for training, then out to Guam for XTERRA on Aril 5th, Saipan for XTERRA World Cup on April 18th, Tagaman 1/2 IM on April 26th, Las Vegas for XTERRA on May 2nd and then hopefully two more XTERRA's in the US providing the body is still all in one piece! Return to UK at the end of May.
Best Races:
XTERRA World Champs 2008 - 21st .. I had just an awesome day .. not the quickest bike leg, but managed to get the 9th quickest run split of the day and finish strong!
XTERRA Guam 2007 - 3rd place .. my highest ever World Cup result brought a big smile to my face that day to stand on the podium with Olivier Marceau.
Craziest Runs:
On the XTERRA world circuit we get to go to some pretty far out places . and one of these is a small pacific island called Saipan. The trail run there in the XTERRA race is plain surreal .. you start near a beach and cross a road heading up away from the urban area. You start through a jungle, winding your way upwards until you enter a bamboo area where you jump over these huge poles of bamboo. Then onto the World War 2 caves where you navigate your way through them by candle light.. and once out of there you are ducking and diving through the undergrowth and trees to finally emerge at the beach again for the finish. Crazy or what!
Jim's favourite shoes:
are the offroad focussed Cascadia's, owing to their light weight and good secure grip pattern, offering a fast stable base to push hard on those trails encountered in XTERRA triathlon racing.
Brooks Company