Hi Guys - Afshan here

Dawn and I are enjoying a summer away from our adopted home Dubai, but are always thinking about you, our listeners, and how we can bring you the most diverse and relatable chats with athletes from the region and beyond.

If you’ve arrived at our show for the first time - welcome, there’s a lot of amazing content to go through, and hit that like and subscribe button for future updates and episodes. If you’ve been following us for a while, you’re always in good company. Keep listening and loving, as always. Please also follow us on our social @themettleset on Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn .

Dawn introduced our summer series in the last episode, dedicated to the Beginner Mindset which, undoubtedly, will take anyone listening down memory lane.

I vividly remember mine was a 90km undulating gradient bike race in the Liwa desert, in the far-flung western region of the UAE, just two months after learning how to ride a bike in 2020, having missed that milestone as a child.

Unshackled from any pressure of time, power or performance, and unknown in the strava -sphere, the goal was to keep pedalling and be in the moment, enjoy it. And no matter how the race goes, the outcome would lead to growth - personal and athletic.

Ultra-cyclists who Dawn interviews in this EP41: 🚴‍♀️🚴‍♀️🚴‍♂️ Ultra-Cycling & the Beginner’s Mindset: Three Ultra-Cyclists share their first race experience recount the first time they found themselves on the start line of a race. Their journey is energising , so do give it a listen. You’ll find the show wherever you get your podcasts fix.

Today, I’m bringing you start line stories from athletes who don’t just take on one challenge but three different ones in a single day. Triathletes compete in swimming, biking and running - in that order - over total distances ranging from short sprints of 12.9km to long-distances that go up to 226km.

You’ll hear from Asma Al Janahi, John Senger, Katerina Malhi and Zahraa Alkhaleesi , all triathletes who found this multiport at different stages of their lives. You’ll find yourself in their experiences - jumping into the unknown, fear of doing something for the first time, falling ill but showing up to see how resilient you can be. What’s uplifting is that they all endured and kept returning to learn and grow from each race.

In her book A Life Without Limits: A World Champion’s Journey, Chrissie Wellington OBE, the English former professional triathlete, and four-time Ironman Triathlon World Champion describes her mindset as: “There is never a destination, just the impulse to grow. My only policy through, she says “has been to keep an open mind and whatever I may do, to give it my all,”, which is exactly what I took away from listening to the experiences shared in this episode.

Before I give the floor to the athletes in today’s show, I’d like to say that there are few commonalities in beginners - the eagerness to improve, building one’s self-confidence, enthusiasm to transform and above all humility. Even as we grow in our sports, it...

ÖTILLÖ! Meeting Nature Writ Large