"I will keep going as long as my body lets me" - Portsmouth mum racks up endurance challenges with off-road duathlon world title in sights - video Dailymotion

The News, Portsmouth

Watch "I will keep going as long as my body lets me" - Portsmouth mum racks up endurance challenges with off-road duathlon world title in sights - The News, Portsmouth on Dailymotion

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00:00My name is Dawn Haynes-Saw. I'm 53, married, six kids. I wouldn't advise that.

00:10So you've got a unique hobby, I guess you could say.

00:15Unique hobby? I've not heard that before, yeah.

00:19I do enjoy sport, always have done, but as I've got a bit older I've got quite competitive, which I don't need to be.

00:26I really don't need to be. I do a lot of racing, but equally if I come last I'm happy.

00:32If I come first, I'm more happy. But yeah, definitely a unique hobby.

00:38Yes, obviously you're number four in the world at the moment in a certain sport.

00:44So if you cross duathlon, last two years I've got fourth at Europeans and fourth at Worlds.

00:51So I do feel this year's the year to up that a bit.

00:54Yeah, go for the next one. For those that don't know, what is cross duathlon? What does that entail?

01:00So it's off-road running, mountain biking and then off-road running again, but there's normally many, many hills in that.

01:07Is it always a similar sort of distance? What kind of distance are you talking about?

01:11It's anything from, so generally the first one's longer, so it can be about 8km.

01:18The bike's between 20 and 30km and then the final one's generally about 4 to 6km.

01:25So how did you get into it and where does it all start?

01:28So I ran a lot when I was younger, to the point where I got to the trials for the Commonwealth Games when I was 22.

01:35Then I got run over and then for whatever reason never went back to sport and then joined the army, as you do.

01:41I then left the army, got married, had far too many kids and then sadly both my parents passed.

01:47I needed to channel my energy into something positive, so I got back into running.

01:52Then I met an elderly couple who, in their retirement, took up triathlons and now literally travel the world racing.

01:58I was just like, I want that.

02:00Then I had a bit of a near-miss road cycling, then went off-road and thought, oh this is much more fun.

02:08Then I've been glued ever since, literally.

02:12You say you've come fourth in the European and the last World Championships.

02:16Have they done every year?

02:19Every year, yeah.

02:20They're yet to happen this year. When do they start?

02:24So it's the 25th of June in Ponte Vendra in Spain.

02:30So it'll be quite hot there as well.

02:35It's going to be very warm and it's going to be probably a two o'clock start.

02:40Just to test you physically and mentally.

02:43Is that a specific age group or is that all in?

02:49It will be age group racing, so it starts from under 18, I think.

02:55I'm not sure with Cross actually, no.

02:57So you've normally got 18 to 20, 20 to 25 and it goes up yearly, five yearly, until nobody does it anymore.

03:04So there's not many in my age group, there's not many in the one above it for the ladies,

03:08and there aren't many above that where men go a lot, lot longer.

03:11I think because most ladies are sensible and don't do silly things in their old age.

03:16Is that something you're aiming for, to keep going for as long as possible?

03:21I will keep going as long as my body lets me.

03:23And then when it says no more to that, then I might just stick to track racing.

03:27So the one in Spain, is that the Europeans or the Worlds?

03:30That's the Worlds. The Europeans is in Prague this year.

03:33Okay, and is that a little bit later in the year?

03:35That's August, mid-August, midday again.

03:38Okay, yeah. And what is your aim for this year in terms of Worlds and Europeans, are you looking to win?

03:46To be fair, I'd love to win something, but equally I'd like to finish and not crash as well.

03:51I had an accident one year and it took a year to get over it,

03:55so I'm more than happy with a good finish and a good race

03:59than pushing myself to get something and then paying the price.

04:03Yeah, yeah. Was that an off-road?

04:06That was the race in Italy in 2019 and not my fault, a Frenchman crashed into me, took me out

04:12and I was currently in third, so I was gutted.

04:15But it did take me a year to recover from my injuries, yeah.

04:19You broke broken bones?

04:21My whole left side, yeah, I had dislocations, breaks, stitches, it was awful.

04:26But not to the day to...

04:29I think because it wasn't my fault, it didn't bother me.

04:32I think had it been my fault, then it probably would have been a bit, yeah.

04:37Yeah, it might have changed you.

04:39Might have changed my attitude slightly, yeah. We'll see.

04:42So I've not done Worlds and Europeans in this one yet, but I do do what's called enduro mountain biking,

04:47which is going downhill, horribly, with the big jumps and drops and things.

04:51So I do that just in England and I do that for the army as well.

04:55And I have won some of my age group in some big events.

04:58We do Ard Rock, which is one of the biggest ones in England.

05:01I've won my age group in that. That definitely pushes your limits.

05:05And I've won lots of local events as well in my age group and overall as well,

05:10because a lot of ladies do that, because it's not normal.

05:14Yeah, that sounds scary to be honest.

05:16But my husband often comes and most of the kids come, I get them along.

05:19Yeah, yeah.

05:20They do it more for fun, which is fine.

05:22Yeah, what do they think of you doing all these challenges?

05:24They just think I'm mad. Just think I'm mad, yeah.

"I will keep going as long as my body lets me" - Portsmouth mum racks up endurance challenges with off-road duathlon world title in sights

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