Meet the Committee
Claire Brooker
Chairperson & Kit/Resources Manager
My journey to Triathlon started with a bet … well actually the group of guys that I ran with regularly saying I was too chicken to enter one. So I entered the London Olympic Distance triathlon in 2012 having not ridden a bike since I was 8 when I fell off racing my brother down a hill, and not swam properly since my Coca Cola badge at school. It was the most horrendous day possible with torrential rain and the wind making the Thames even more delightful, but with some help from ATC I finished but vowed never again, sold my bike and went back to running.
A year later I found running never gave the same challenge and now seemed dull. So I re-joined the club in 2014, next thing I know I have a shiny new bike and a wet suit and I’m training for my second Half Iron Man Distance triathlon and haven’t looked back since. Until I joined this club I always thought I was the only adult that couldn’t ride a bike or swim but actually I was not alone, the coached sessions are excellent and I am now a competent swimmer and can keep up with the Intermediate rides. It’s never too late to start!
Alex Milne
Welfare Officer & Vice Chair
Out training all year round the primary focus remains along the lines of taking part in standalone running, cycling and duathlon events to push myself to be as competitive as possible within these events.
I have now been a member of the club since 2009 and on the committee since 2010 coming to the club from a running/cycling background.
More recently I have also taken on the role of co-ordination of the clubs efforts in the Triathlon England: South East Region Series.
Jim Hawkins
Club Secretary & Events Coordinator
Jim has been actively involved with Triathlon since early 2006 and is the only ATC club member to have completed the infamous “Helvellyn Tri” three times!
Other events have included Ironman Wales in 2012, completing the Jurassic Coast Challenge in 2015. However he considers the Bewl Standard as equally tough!
Jim also manages events including ATC’s Hythe Bay Tri and the Kingswood 666 race.
Mark Thomas
Treasurer
Biography TBC.
Peter Heckel
Membership Secretary
Despite holding the rather important-sounding title of Membership Secretary, my primary role at Ashford Tri Club is to serve as a warning to others. I’m an okay runner, a questionable cyclist, and a swimmer in the same way a cat is: reluctantly and poorly.
My racing career is a string of underwhelming performances and meteorological anomalies. I have a proven ability to summon storms just by entering events. I start every race like I’ve forgotten there’s more than one kilometre involved, and usually end up spectacularly blowing up somewhere around the halfway mark.
A personal highlight—if you can call it that—was being kindly removed from a mountain mid-race by mountain rescue. To be fair, they had a lovely dog, so it wasn’t a total loss.
Clubmates now double-check the start list before signing up to avoid being caught in my wake (or thundercloud). I may not win races, but I do make them memorable.
Lorna Cheshire
Ladies Captain
Biography TBC.
Max Ransley
Men’s Captain
I’ve been Men’s Captain for the club since the start of 2022 having joined back in 2013. Over the years I’ve re-learnt to swim, run and ride properly and raced sprint, standard, half iron and iron distance events. As part of the ATC team that set up the original Ashford parkrun I have since developed an obsession for parkrun which I’ll always incorporate into my weekly training. I have a Level 1 coaching qualification and I’ve spent a few seasons pool and track side helping others improve their swim and run. A firm believer in the ethos of “leave no one behind “and “anyone can do triathlon” it is great to support club members old and new, share in their successes and challenges, whilst forming good friendships along the way. We have a team saying in the club “#allabouttheblue’ which is very apt sums what we are all about.
Mark ‘Higgs’ Higginson
Media Officer
After realising that I was massively unfit back in 2015, I looked at joining a run club when I moved to the Ashford area. I found one with Beginners2Runners. I went from not running very far to 5k, then onto 10k and a half marathon…or two. While with B2R, I became a Team Leader (Their version of a coach) and helped others to run and reach their personal running goals.
In 2019 I entered and completed my first marathon – Brighton! What a ‘race’ that was… I ran that marathon with friends until about mile 16 where we began to part ways as we moved into our marathon grooves, or at least I’d say that. Mile 18 was a nightmare as my knee “popped” and I had to walk 3 miles. I then stupidly decided to run walk to the finish, but at least I completed it. In 2021 I then moved onto my first ultra-marathon (Run to the Sea – Brighton) that was fun to a point but doing it alone was tough. From there a friend of mine kept talking to me about Tri-Clubs, telling me I need to join one as I would not regret it or even look back; so after about a year of him mentioning Tri’s to me I gave in and began speaking with Ashford Tri Club, eventually joining them after all the Covid-19 lockdowns. I can say that my friend was right… I haven’t regretted joining. Dorney Lake Tri has become my favourite tri, finishing 2nd in my age category on my first attempt. I have also completed a few Duathlons and another Ultra marathon – Escape Meriden.
I have also completed British Triathlon’s Swim, Bike, Run Leadership course and regularly lead training sessions for the club.
Adey Porter
Social Secretary & Communications Officer
Biography TBC.
Peter Pickering
Co-opted Member
My first triathlon was a super sprint distance race at the London Triathlon in 2015. I was competing it to raise money for charity and was only ever planning on it being my one and only triathlon. I loved everything about it, the buzz, the excitement and meeting all the different people along the way. From living a heavily sedentary and unhealthy lifestyle, triathlons changed my life for the better. It’s been a fun journey from not being able to swim a full length of a 25m pool in front crawl, to completing two Ironmans and all the distances in between.
I joined Ashford Tri Club in 2024 and have met some wonderful people. As much as I love training, motivating myself to get out can definitely be a struggle, thankfully I’ve got a great group to train with at the Tri club who help encourage and keep me motivated.
Chris Wicks
Webmaster
I got bit by the triathlon bug back in 2012, Inspired by the Brownlee’s Olympic exploits, along with the stark realisation that my only weekly exercise was walking to the car in the morning. So rather than dipping my toe into the world of exercise, I signed up for a Triathlon, and started learning all three sports at once.
Since then I’ve curated a long and storied career as a deeply-average triathlete, completing every distance from super-sprint to Iron-man, and finishing staunchly mid-pack at every level.
In 2024, having moved to Ashford, and fully fallen off the exercise & social band-wagons, I took the plunge and joined ATC. It’s the best decision I ever made. Not only have my triathlon results progressed from “average” to “slightly above average”, but I have met the most wonderful, interesting, and supportive group of people, that I am so proud to be a part of.