Camille King - Ambassadors during Lockdown

Triathlete, Runner, Rock-climber, Mum of three active little ones, Lover of sports and adventures.

I started running in 2007 when I went on an adventure around the world running half marathons on every continent (except Antarctica) and completed the journey by running the NYC marathon.  I’ve never looked back and have since been competing in races regularly.

Over the years my focus evolved from running to triathlon.  I am now fortunate to have been selected to represent Great Britain in long distance triathlon.  Last year, I raced the iconic IRONMAN World Championship in Kona Hawaii and obtained a silver medal in my age group at the ITU World  Championships in long distance tri.  I feel I have so much more to learn and so much more to give. 

I believe in taking risks in life, dreaming big and reaching for the impossible.  I am really passionate about sports and I am driven by an uncontrollable urge to test my physical limits.  I want to keep pushing my limits and reach a new level in all the sports I practice. This is my dream.

What are your personal bests?

Recent personal PBs/accomplishments in triathlon (2019): 

IRONMAN (2019 IRONMAN Vittoria-Gasteiz, Spain) – 9h 53m

Silver medal at ITU World Championship long distance triathlon: 2nd age group (1st British) (ITU World Champs 2019, Pontevedra Spain) 

IRONMAN World Championship: 11th age group (1st British) (Kona Hawaii 2019)

IRONMAN 70.3 Staffordshire (UK): 1st age group (2019 Staffs UK)

In 2019, 11 podiums out of 12 races.

I have a modest website I use to blog and where you can find more of my sporting accomplishments (including ultra-running, duathlon and rock climbing): http://www.farandhigh.co.uk/aboutme/

What have you been doing during lockdown?

During lockdown, I spent a considerable amount of time with the family, looking after our 3 primary school aged children and learning to home school them.

We are very fortunate that my husband has his own business and he was able to work remotely from home. Even though I wasn’t able to train as much as usual, this still allowed me to still to train when I wasn’t busy home schooling.

Did COVID-19 affect many events / training?

Yes definitely, the impact of COVID 19 has affected both my race schedule and training.

ALL my planned events for 2020 have been cancelled!

This includes the A race I was really looking forward to, the ITU World Championships long distance triathlon due to take place in Almere in the Netherlands in September.

I’m a very goal-oriented person and I struggled to find motivation when all my planned races kept disappearing from my race calendar. So, to keep my mojo and the fire burning inside, I took part in some virtual events, including the Ironman Virtual Championship Series (4 races on 4 consecutive weekends in July – ranging from Olympic to 70.3 distances).

I found it really difficult to push myself in those virtual events with no one to chase and no one chasing me! It definitely has been a learning curve! 

How did you cope with training during lockdown?

We were very fortunate in England that we were allowed to exercise outside once per day during lockdown. It must have been so difficult in countries were the restrictions were stricter. That meant I was able to continue running outdoors on a regular basis.

Bike wise I mainly cycled indoors using Zwift, which suited me well with the children at home. 

Swimming however has been the biggest challenge. I attempted to swim using a paddling pool (officially purchased for the children haha!). But the reality is that it’s too shallow to swim properly. More recently, I’ve been swimming in the sea which feels like such a treat.

During lockdown, I also stopped my structured approach to training which would normally build up to events, and I went back to a more base type/off season type of training. Also, I started incorporating more strength & conditioning, something I’ve been meaning to do for a while but I also found excuse not to! 

How have you found being an ambassador for XMiles?

I feel very privilege to help represent the XMiles brand. However, I feel that I haven’t been able to help as much as I wish with lack of events and performances to communicate about so far this year.

On a side note, I must say that the SNB anti-chaffing salve has been a saviour with my increase use of sweaty indoor Zwift sessions during lockdown, and I’ve just ordered more.

What do you have planned for the future?

No personal ventures to promote, just happy to help in any way I can.

Race wise, I’m hoping to race IRONMAN Portugal in November, but who knows if the event will go ahead… However, never give up and keep dreaming.