Stef started in triathlon as an age group triathlete, and like most civilians who dare step across the start line of a swim, bike, run event, she too was instantly addicted.

A chance meeting with an editor of one of the triathlon magazines resulted in an offer to add her expertise as a personal trainer/coach to the pages of the publication

During her time in the sport she started to recognise these trends throughout the industry:

• Women’s coverage in race reports and previews in comparison to the men’s was poor;
• Female triathletes didn’t get as much exposure as many of the men;
• The women’s racing seemed to be an after thought;
• The female to male ratio in participation numbers was small – growing over the years, but still between 18-30% depending on the distance of the event, and;
• The barriers to entry for the sport were high for women especially – anything from walking into a bike shop to swimming in the open water.

So with her experience, passion, observations and drive the idea of WITSUP.com was born. The concept of WITSUP.com was to provide an online and real life community for women in triathlon.

Key points of the episode:

• The value of community and atmosphere in a sport
• The gap between men and women’s representation
• How much the gap has closed and how far there is still to go
• The common theme among the best triathletes in the world on how they achieve success
• Why it’s dangerous to rely solely on triathlon for happiness
• How important it is to share the negatives as well as the positive highlights
• Being open about previously “taboo” topics
• The one character trait you need to be successful in triathlons
• Why copying the pros is a bad idea
• Most importantly, remembering why we do the sport, for fun and enjoyment!

If you want to learn how to TRAIN SMARTER and RACE FASTER, you can join our weekly email, just go to: getfastpodcast.com

The Get Fast Podcast is brought to you by TriVelo Coaching, where we help triathletes and cyclists like you, Train Smarter to Race Faster. You are joined as always by your hosts, Australian Triathlon Ironman Champion and HEAD COACH of TriVelo Coaching Gerard Donnelly, and his son Jordan Donnelly.