Agegroup Multisport Podcast (Triathlon,Duathlon,Aquabike,Aquathlon) · AMP

Mum of 3 to Kona Finisher: How Jo O’Regan Qualified for Team GB

·51 min·3 clips

Jo O’Regan says Kona 2024 turned into a “death march to the finish” in heat and humidity.

1. Agegroup Multisport Podcast features Jo O’Regan, a former elite marathon runner who moved from running into long-distance triathlon. 2. Jo O’Regan is the guest, and the host frames her as a mum of three in Cambridgeshire whose running background mattered after injury changed her path. 3. The episode asks how a marathon runner with a 2:40 personal best ended up qualifying for Team GB age-group triathlon. 4. Jo says she grew up doing cross-country, school 800 metres, and bleep tests rather than structured club sport. 5. She explains that her parents were not sporty, so she did not grow up with the pathways that she now sees for her own children. 6. After university, Jo returned to running in Histon near Cambridge and joined a social running group through work. 7. She says she ran marathons, travelled with large groups, and kept racing until she had children. 8. Jo describes a long period before breaking three hours, even though she qualified for the London Marathon championship start with a sub-3:15 time. 9. She says coaching changed everything after a six-year break and produced a 2:53 marathon almost immediately. 10. Jo says running became her structure and her way to stay sane when she had three children under the age of four. 11. She represented England, joined the England Athletics Development Squad, and was invited to the Olympic Marathon at Kew Gardens. 12. A stress fracture stopped that opportunity, which she calls one of the most crushing moments of her life. 13. Because only non-weight-bearing exercise was allowed, she took up swimming and then moved toward triathlon. 14. Friends kept suggesting Kona, and Jo eventually entered Ironman Vitoria-Gasteiz after buying a turbo trainer and committing to a full-distance race. 15. She says her first triathlon was Vitoria-Gasteiz, and she treated it as a learning experience rather than taking a shorter-course route. 16. Jo explains that transitions, tri suits, and equipment choices were all part of learning the sport through doing. 17. Her swim story is unusual because she says front crawl kept getting slower, so she returned to breaststroke, which she used to swim before work. 18. She says breaststroke gave her a swim PB at Challenge Roth, and at Outlaw she swam 1:14, then finished second female and 10th overall. 19. The interview is conversational and practical, with the host and Jo comparing race experiences, family life, and what motivates athletes at different stages. 20. Listeners who like age-group triathlon, marathon-to-Ironman transitions, and unconventional training choices will get the most from it, while people wanting only short race results may skip it.

Listen to the show on

Apple Podcasts Spotify

Play clips from this episode More from Agegroup Multisport Podcast (Triathlon,Duathlon,Aquabike,Aquathlon)