Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 74, September 2015 | Seite 20

Ma Feature

Grabbed
Having recently returned from a first European tour to race on
the international triathlon circuit, 25-year-old Boksburg-based
elite Lauren Dance sat down to answer a few questions on her
love of the tri life. – BY SEAN FALCONER

MA: You took up triathlon at 18, with a background in
swimming, athletics, lifesaving and biathlon. Was triathlon
just the logical next step?

MA: You won the junior category of your next race, at the old
Energade Series. Did that light the fire in your belly to really give
tri a go?
LAUREN: That was the first proper tri I did after five months of coaching
with Mike, and that lit a huge bonfire in my belly, as I started to see
rewards for my hard work. I also realised how much more work I needed
to do to be good, which was really motivating, because I was used to
sport coming pretty easy for me, but this was hard. Mike was always very
positive, so every training session and race he was always leading me to
believe in my ability. Having a coach that is so passionate about what he
does and believes in my big dreams is a real blessing, and makes the hard
graft possible.
MA: What do you rate as the highlight of your tri career thus far?
You were SA u23 Champ in 2011, and brought home a win in the
junior section of the European Cup in Turkey, but what about
more recent results?
LAUREN: Wow, those results seem like a lifetime ago, but they are
definitely highlights. When things get tough, I often think about those

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ISSUE 74 SEPTEMBER 2015 / www.modernathlete.co.za

races to get me going again. Last year I came
second in the African Championships in Zimbabwe, which is another
highlight, and at the beginning of this year I had a really good race in
Cape Town at the Africa Cup, coming second again, but I had made a few
personal mini-breakthroughs that stand out for me.
MA: You’ve just returned from racing on the European Circuit. Tell
us about the experience.
LAUREN: I did a couple of ITU races and then a 5150 race. After my
breakthrough race in February, I was in the best form of my life, mentally,
physically and emotionally, and was planning a big season ahead. However,
the day before SA Champs I went for a warm-up activation run and tripped
over the pavement, twisted my ankle and tore a ligament in the process.
The next few months proved the most testing, battling to stay fit, and I
also struggled with bad bouts of flu and bronchitis. So this European tour
was my first racing in five months and served as a big test for me. I was
just super excited to be racing again, knowing that I was there for four
weeks and would be able to work on my race fitness and training intensity.
The first race was a massive shock to the system, however, because the
level of European racing is out of this world, but that motivated me to get
back to decent training so that I would be at a competitive level by the
time I got to race the Tiszauvjaros World Cup event. I was feeling ready
for that, but the race turned out to be bitter-sweet. I had a decent swim to
get me into a bike pack, then I worked hard on the bike and bridged the
gap to the second pack and then also the lead pack, and for the first time
in my tri career I was in the lead pack of an international race. However, a
lack of experience cost me, because working much too hard on the bike in
36-degree heat proved fatal for my run. I watched the lead bunch of girls
run away from me with no comeback in my body, and I ended the race
unconscious in the medical tent with heat exhaustion. It was the best-worst
race of my life, marking significant improvements and confirming belief in

Images: Courtesy Lauren Dance

LAUREN: I had always been active, so my parents got me involved
in as many sports as possible to keep me busy and motivated. I was
generally athletic and found I was pretty good at most sports, I loved
being outdoors, and I was ultra competitive. When I was 17 going on 18 a
family friend, Herman Steyn, who is involved in cycling, said I should give
triathlon a try and organised me my first racing bicycle. I did my first tri
with no training at all, and by luck met my current coach, ZZ