Whirlwind Activity Partner Katie Walker

Katie Walker - my triathlon journey.

At the age of 9 I joined the local running/triathlon club, Mounts Bay Harriers. This is where my journey started and my passion for sport began. Alongside running, I was a member of Penzance Swimming Club, training multiple times a week throughout my time at both primary and secondary school.

I completed in many of the local races varying from swimming galas, triathlons to cross country running. As I reached my college years, I was still swimming and running, however this part of my journey did come to a natural pause as life got busy with college studies and work.

A couple of years later, when the pandemic hit, I decided to get back into running. Shortly after this I injured my knee, turning to cycling as an alternative form of exercise. This was inspired by my Dad who loves cycling and has been a competitive athlete himself in the past. We decided to enter a hilly 100-mile sportive across Dartmoor, to give us something to train for. This was one of the hardest challenges I have done, and the feeling of accomplishment was very different to any of my previous sporting experiences.

After this, I decided to get back into swimming. I was running and cycling a lot, so felt it made sense to give triathlon a go! I entered two triathlons that year, finishing 3rd place overall female in both.

The following year, I decided I would complete for a series prize at the Cornish Triathlon Series. To qualify for the overall series prize, you needed to compete in four races across the summer, aiming to achieve the highest points in each race, which would accumulate to make up the series rankings.

After training hard during the winter, I went into the first race of the season, surprising myself with the overall win. Following on from this race, I went on to win the following three races which I competed in that summer, resulting in being the overall series winner for 2023.

At this point in my journey, I had become very passionate about triathlon, and intrigued to see what I could do over a longer distance, against a field of athletes outside of Cornwall.

I stepped up to the 70.3 distance the following year, which consists of a 1.9km swim, 90km bike and a 21km run.

I joined a local running club; Cornwall Athletics Club, based at Carn Brea track, the local triathlon club, Tri-Logic and the MK Endurance Squad, which is a community of runners & multi-sport athletes, coached by Mark King. This made a significant difference to my training & performance. Having a coach to guide my training, and being able to train with a great group of athletes, to do the tough sessions with each week has been very motivating. It is a great community to be a part of.

During 2024 I competed at Outlaw Half Nottingham, finishing 10th women and first in my age group, 20-24. Following this I raced at the British Championships, placing 8th women and first in my age group, becoming the 20-24 British Middle-Distance Champion.

After a successful season in 2024, I qualified for the European Age Group Championships which took place in Pamplona, Spain, in May 2025.

I finished this race as the first overall non-elite female, and 10th overall including the professionals.

Three weeks later I raced again at Ironman Bolton 70.3, finishing first overall female and qualifying for the Ironman 70.3 World Championships, taking place in Marbella, in November this year.

The world championships is my next big goal, and I am excited to race against the best, on what is going to be a very challenging, hilly course!