{"alias":"blogEntry","byline":"Sean Conway, Scouts Adventurer","standfirst":"Scouts Adventurer, Sean Conway, is one of the world\u2019s greatest endurance athletes. Not content with running, swimming and cycling the length of Britain (oh, and cycling round the world), he\u2019s recently completed an astonishing 105 Ironman triathlons in 105 days. He even once ran the London Marathon dressed as a giant Scout badge.","content":{"layouts":[{"type":"singleColumn","areas":[{"items":[{"gridType":"gridImageBlock","gtmId":"","gtmClass":"","image":"/media/pjjmj5wa/sean-in-petra.png","width":790,"height":828,"altText":"Sean\u0027s wearing goggles and a hat as he stands in the sun in Petra. He\u0027s stood in front of an old building and is holding his camera with his left hand as he takes a selfie.","caption":"","link":null},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Cp\u003EThe idea that I did 105 Ironmans in a row has only recently sunk in.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EI swam 2.4 miles, cycled 112 miles and ran a marathon every day from 10 April to 21 July. For anyone who\u2019s counting, that\u2019s 244.8 miles of swimming, 11,424 miles of cycling and 2,672.4 miles of running.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EI was really tired for the first month afterwards. I had a good base level of fitness (I did 90 hours of exercise a week for three and a half months) so I was motivated to do more stuff afterwards, but my body really said no.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThis week has been the first time I\u2019ve been out for a run when my body felt like it was getting back to normal. I had a hip issue from day 65 of the Ironman challenge that stayed to the end, but this last week it\u2019s felt better. Fingers crossed I\u2019m over the worst of it. For a challenge of this size, it\u2019s definitely a head game and a body game.\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"gridType":"gridImageBlock","gtmId":"","gtmClass":"","image":"/media/0amje12k/sean-conway-bike.jpg","width":1100,"height":733,"altText":"Sean is sat on his bike in biking gear and a helmet on his head. He\u0027s perched next to a brick wall and is drinking from a black water bottle. The photo\u0027s taken from the side of him.","caption":"","link":null},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Ch3\u003EA day in the life\u003C/h3\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EA typical day for me starts at 5.30am. I do half an hour of Pilates or yoga before getting my kids ready, so from then until 8.30am, it\u2019s breakfast and the school run.\u0026nbsp;\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThen, it\u2019s training every day of the week, except for weekends. After that, I\u2019m scribbling \u2018to do\u2019 lists, reacting to enquiries, such as requests for interviews, podcasts, fundraising or charity work. Then it\u2019s the speaking circuit \u2013 I do keynote events. In fact, I had one this morning at 8am in Birmingham.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EI go to lots of events. I ran to CarFest this year and it was great to see Chris Evans. He\u2019s super supportive and it was great to have him on board promoting the Ironman challenge. When he gets behind someone or something, he gets really passionate. He helped us raise thousands more for charity than we would have. So far, we\u2019ve raised \u00A395,000 for the True Venture Foundation, which helps improve children\u2019s lives through sport.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Ch3\u003EWhat 105 Ironmans in a row feel like\u003C/h3\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe challenge was an accumulation of little tough things that made it incredibly difficult. It was the fatigue, being away from my family, having to eat 8,000 calories a day, as well as managing all the little niggles that come from doing something repetitive day after day.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EA little blister can turn into a \u0027something that means you have to quit\u0027 thing, unless you manage it. There was no off button. You couldn\u2019t average an Ironman a day across the challenge, I had to actually do one each day.\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"gridType":"gridImageBlock","gtmId":"","gtmClass":"","image":"/media/wd0pr3im/sean-badge.png","width":903,"height":900,"altText":"Sean\u0027s wearing a navy, red and white necker and is stood in the Scouts badge costume he made to wear while running a marathon.","caption":"","link":null},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Ch3\u003EFinding the motivation\u003C/h3\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ELuckily I\u2019m quite self-motivated, so getting up at 4.29am every day was sort of a non-negotiable. I didn\u2019t question it. It was like brushing my teeth. I set a plan and put a system in place, and stuck to it. It was non-negotiable that I got up at 4.29am, non-negotiable that I got in the pool at 5am and swam 2.4 miles. You make an agreement with yourself, really believe in it, then you just crack on.\u00A0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Ch3\u003ENo plan B\u003C/h3\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe other thing was: Have no plan B. I could\u0027ve celebrated the British record at 21 days, or the European record at 61. But if things got tough on day 63, then I could\u0027ve said: \u2018Well, I\u2019ve got the European record, let\u2019s call it a day.\u2019 I didn\u2019t want there to be any temptation to stop.\u00A0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIt was easier for me to do it than not to do it. I don\u2019t know if that\u2019s just me. The only analogy I can think of is this: I had a terrier. When I threw a ball, he chased the ball. If I had held his collar and threw the ball, he would have gone mad. He would\u0027ve been: \u2018Let me chase the ball!\u2019\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn the five years I owned him, never once did he not chase the ball. I guess I\u2019m a bit similar. If there\u2019s ball being thrown in the shape of these world records, then I have to chase them. It\u2019s easier for me to chase them, than not to chase them.\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"gridType":"gridImageBlock","gtmId":"","gtmClass":"","image":"/media/dwclw4ir/sean-running.jpg","width":1100,"height":733,"altText":"Sean\u0027s wearing a sports top, a cap and goggles and is running towards the camera. There are people in the background running behind him with trees in the distance.","caption":"","link":null},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Ch3\u003EThe next challenge\u003C/h3\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAs for my next big challenge, I\u2019ve got lots of ideas, but they need to wait until 2025. I need to take some family time. I\u2019m probably still going to do some short things like a double or triple Ironman. There\u2019s a round Wales record that\u2019s up for grabs, which I\u2019m pretty interested in. But my kids want me home, so I need to focus on that for now.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Ch3\u003ELooking back\u003C/h3\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAs a kid, I was adventurous, but not sporty. I didn\u2019t do any sporting-based challenges until I was 30. It was a question of confidence. I didn\u2019t believe I could do them. It was partly from coming from a school that was very sporty and a bit intimidating. And it was partly because I was small (and still am). Probably until I was 18, I was only 60kg, while everyone else was 80kg.\u00A0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWhen I was 30, I just wanted to get out of the job I had. I was a school portrait photographer, and wanted to go travelling, but I didn\u2019t have any money. So I thought: \u2018Let me break some sort of a record that has a travel element to it,\u2019 and that set me up in my new world.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EI must admit, not all of my challenges have been enjoyable. A lot of my challenges are Type 3 Fun: It\u2019s horrible at the time, then you look back ten years later, and it\u2019s still horrible!\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"gridType":"gridImageBlock","gtmId":"","gtmClass":"","image":"/media/sjil1cvd/sean-bike-2.jpg","width":1100,"height":733,"altText":"Sean is riding his bike wearing cycling gear, a helmet and sunglasses. There are other bike riders around him and there are trees and houses in the background.","caption":"","link":null},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Ch3\u003EAdvice for those new to triathlons\u003C/h3\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ETo someone thinking of taking on a big challenge like a triathlon, my advice is \u2018just do it, but you\u2019ve got to put in the time.\u2019 A triathlon is three different sports you\u2019ve got to be pretty good at. The swim is scary for a lot of people but it\u2019s actually the easiest bit. It\u2019s a fifth of the time. However, of course if you\u2019re not a strong swimmer, it\u2019s terrifying.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EFor the swim, my recommendation is go to the side. All the pros will want to go on the inside. If you\u2019re not competing to win, go wide. What\u2019s an extra 50m? If you\u2019re going to spending 15 hours on this, what\u2019s an extra minute or two?\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EDon\u2019t overthink it, but it takes time. For the Ironman challenge, I did a full 25 hour a week training programme for nine months and even with that I only just got to the start line fit enough. Set a game plan that\u2019s a year away and put in the time.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Ch3\u003EWhy Scouts is good for you\u003C/h3\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EScouts is so good for young people because it builds confidence. It gives you practical skills of course, but one of the key elements of endurance is community, and that\u2019s a big part of Scouts. You push each other more when you\u2019re in a group. Doing things with a like-minded group of people you\u2019ll stay friends with the rest of your life is super cool. I had that when I was growing up, and that gave me confidence for sure.\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"type":"Promo","cta":"","body":"\u003Cp class=\u0022MsoNormal\u0022\u003EKeep up to date with more of \u003Cspan class=\u0022MsoHyperlink\u0022\u003E\u003Ca rel=\u0022noopener\u0022 href=\u0022https://www.seanconway.com/\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003ESean\u2019s challenges\u003C/a\u003E\u00A0\u003C/span\u003Eand \u003Ca rel=\u0022noopener\u0022 href=\u0022https://www.trueventure.org.uk/donate\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan style=\u0022color: blue;\u0022\u003Edonate to True Venture.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\u0022MsoNormal\u0022\u003ERead Sean\u2019s blog on \u003Ca rel=\u0022noopener\u0022 href=\u0022https://www.seanconway.com/londonmarathon.html\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003Erunning the 2019 London marathon dressed as a giant badge.\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E","link":null,"colour":"#f1f1f1","title":"Find out more","image":null,"imageFocus":"","imageId":0,"imageKey":"00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000","imageCrop":"","gridType":"card","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""}]}],"config":null}]},"searchDescription":null,"pageType":null,"location":null,"versionDate":"24 October 2023","reviewDate":null,"furtherReading":[{"caption":"","title":"Scout Adventurers","url":"/about-us/our-people/scout-adventurers/","newWindow":false}],"relatedLinks":[],"id":77447,"nodeName":"Meet the real Iron Man, Sean Conway","title":"Meet the real Iron Man, Sean Conway","type":"blogEntry","image":{"url":"/media/wd0pr3im/sean-badge.png?cc=0,0,0,0.435626875\u0026width=800\u0026height=450\u0026v=1da066d00d964e0","caption":"Sean Badge","type":"png","size":1480291,"width":903,"height":900,"altText":""},"assets":null,"headerOptions":{"headerTitle":"Meet the real Iron Man, Sean Conway","headerSubTitle":null,"headerCta":null,"headerCtaText":null,"headerCtaLink":null,"headerBackgroundColour":null,"showSEOImage":false,"headerBackgroundImage":null,"quickLinks":null},"subHeader":"Scouts Adventurer, Sean Conway, recently completed 105 Iron Man triathlons in 105 days. Read his story here.","browserTitle":null,"silktide":"eyJjbXMiOiJVbWJyYWNvIiwiZWRpdG9yVXJsIjoiaHR0cHM6Ly9wcm9kLWNtcy5zY291dHMub3JnLnVrLy91bWJyYWNvIy9jb250ZW50L2NvbnRlbnQvZWRpdC83NzQ0NyJ9","canonicalUrl":"https://www.scouts.org.uk/news/2023/october/meet-the-real-iron-man-sean-conway/"}