Claire Walton is just arriving in Kailua-Kona for a third consecutive year for the prestigious Ironman World Championship. The 35-year-old English and Literature teacher at an international school in Malaysia will be racing in PURPOSE at the most exciting endurance race this weekend!

“Kona, for me, is a few days away from normality, where I can revel in the beauty of the island, where I can listen and watch those around me knowing they too have gotten up at 5am daily, regardless of exhaustion, that they too have pounded the streets relentlessly, have swam until their arms are dropping off. Triathlon should not be about the individual, but the collective shared experiences,” she said.

“I race to feel
the energy and to push, to smile, to know I am trying my hardest.”

Claire got to
know of PURPOSE when she won a trisuit as a prize at a race. “I immediately
loved the colours, the style, and the obvious time and thought that had gone
into designing and crafting the clothing.

“After trying the suit in a race, it ticked many boxes: comfort, lack of chafing, easy to move the zipper, the right thickness for hotter climates – these may sound like small things, but when you are pushing to your limits, these are necessary.  As the company has grown, I follow with a smile. The founder is a genuine, down-to-earth man with a passion for what he does. I hope to see them flourish further.”

Sports have always
been in Claire’s blood. As a child, she loved anything that allowed her to
move, to sweat, to compete. She played netball competitively and would spend
hours with her brother and father on a field playing rounders, cricket and
badminton. At school, she would be kicking a football at lunch break and she held
records for the 800m, 1500m and triple jump.

“My inspiration will
always be my father – although his humility won’t allow him to accept that
without protest. My father and I are very similar, but the one trait that
stands out is we ‘just get on with it’: it is stubbornness inextricably bound
with determination.

“He encouraged me
to run and to race. He taught me to play squash. He decided we needed to learn
to swim so we could complete a triathlon. 
Without sport, I would not cope in the chaos and business of modern
life, so in more ways that one I owe my life to my dad.”

Without ever
doing a triathlon in her life, Claire went straight into Ironman Austria in
2008 – yes, the full 140.6 miles. Her passion for sports and competition is
incredible. Other key races for her include an age group win in the Powerman
Zofingen World Championships Duathlon 2013 and winning the Tahoe Rim to Rim 100-mile.

We wish you all
the best for Kona, Claire! Rooting for you from Asia!!