Travel, Sweat and Fun

The physical challenges of triathlons offer the chance to bond for one Club family.

Simon Roué is sitting in his Azabudai home, a punctured bicycle tire propped between his knees. He has just returned from a 168-kilometer ride to a park in western Tokyo. His 11-year-old son, William, looks on as his father pries the inner tube from the tire.

“How far have I gone since the accident?” Simon asks him.

“525 kilometers,” William replies, without skipping a beat.

The accident Roué is referring to happened the previous month. Cruising at 60 kilometers per hour down a road as steep as the toughest Tour de France climbs, he plowed into a teenage cyclist attempting a U-turn in the middle of the road.

Roué was catapulted from his saddle. The bone-crunching landing split his helmet open and snapped his collarbone in two. The metal plate and six screws from the subsequent surgery are visible as ridges through his skin.

But the injury hasn’t stopped Roué, 39, resuming his training for an upcoming triathlon with his wife, Naseema. “The great thing about triathlons is if you don’t do the training, you can’t do it,” he says. “The same thing with injuries. If you don’t do the recovery work, if you don’t do the physio, you won’t recover.”

The Briton took up the sport when he moved to Japan in 2011. At the urging of a friend, he competed in a triathlon in Okinawa. They raised more than $35,000 for a Fukushima charity.

After challenging himself in Olympic-distance triathlons, in which competitors swim 1.5 kilometers, cycle 40 kilometers and run 10 kilometers, and the longer Half Ironman events, he eventually entered a full Ironman (3.8-kilometer swim, 180-kilometer ride and 42.2-kilometer run) in Hokkaido in 2013. He has now completed 15 races, including four Ironman events, shedding 20 kilograms along the way.

Initially, Roué’s family accompanied him to provide support and enjoy a holiday. “I saw people, bigger, thinner, older, whatever, just having a go,” says Naseema, 44. “And I said, ‘You know, I am just going to see what happens.’”

She completed two sprint triathlons, which consist of a 750-meter swim, 20-kilometer ride and 5-kilometer run, in Japan, followed by an Olympic-distance race in Hawaii last year. She has since taken part in three Half Ironmans, finishing sixth in her age group at one event.

“Simon and I use it as a way to see Asia. We were in the Philippines already this year,” she says. “We try to take the children when we can. …A lot of the Ironman races have family weekend festivals.”

William, and their daughter, Annabel, 9, have raced in seven Ironkids competitions in Japan, Australia and Hawaii. Annabel, who says she prefers the aquatic leg of the race, finished first at a race in Hokkaido. Her brother, meanwhile, swam 100 meters, cycled 5 kilometers and ran 1.25 kilometers to cross the line in third place in his age group at a recent race in Chiba.

“The thing I like about it for the children is when we are in Hawaii or in Australia, it’s about the children being healthy,” says Naseema. “They not only compete, and, yes, it does get competitive, but it’s a lot of fun.”

Both Simon and Naseema train at the Sky Pool while Naseema is a treadmill regular at the Fitness Center. “The lunch is good, too,” says Simon. “After you have been cycling for eight hours, to get back to TAC for the lunch buffet is just genius.”

The travel to events hasn’t been without its trials, though. After their reserved bikes weren’t available in Australia, Simon had to buy two secondhand kids’ bikes. “Ultimately, those are the things you remember when you talk to people about the races,” he says. “It’s the disasters.”

Funding the hobby for a family of four can prove expensive, says Naseema. Still, the family will compete in Sydney in November and they are searching for races for next year.

“All in all, we are a bit of a triathlon family,” says Simon. “It gives us great opportunities to travel, it’s something we all share and enjoy, and it keeps us fit and healthy. Whether we could do it without TAC is highly doubtful.”

Words: Nick Narigon