Forth Valley College and Grangemouth Triathlon club chief's fitness goals lead to duathlete GB spot

Robert Myler, who is also EPOS Coordinator at the Forth Valley College’s Stirling Campus, recently qualified to represent GB in cycling and running duathlon 60-64 age-group, in the European Championships in May 2024, in a country still to be decided.

He will also compete in Queensland, Australia in August 2024 at the World Championships.

Robert, 59, who began his role in the college’s hospitality department in 2019, will compete in the Standard race at the Euros in a 10k run, 40k bike ride and then a 5k run, while in the Worlds down under he will compete in the sprint distances which involves a 5k run, 20k cycle and a then a 2.5k run to finish.

He revealed how he only took up the sport when he started Grangemouth Triathlon Club in 2015 in an effort to keep fit to spend quality activity time with his young grandkids Harrison, six, Maddison, four, and Elise, three.

He said: “I am really delighted and honoured to have qualified and can’t wait for the championships to arrive. They will correspond with my wife Yvonne and I reaching our 60th birthdays, so we will be making sure we combine the competitions with a good holiday around them – especially in Australia where we will be hiring a camper van and doing some touring.

“My children Christopher, 37, and Helen-Jane , 33, were looking to start their families and I realised I would need to try to keep as fit as I could to be able to keep up with my grandkids. I had never done any serious cycling or running before I had started the club, let alone competing in elite sport such as the Masters series, so it has been an amazing journey to this point. However, now that I have qualified, I don’t just want to go to take part, I want to compete for a medal place on the podium.”