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00:00My name is Dawn Haynes-Saw. I'm 53, married, six kids. I wouldn't advise that.
00:10So you've got a unique hobby, I guess you could say.
00:15Unique hobby? I've not heard that before, yeah.
00:19I do enjoy sport, always have done, but as I've got a bit older I've got quite competitive, which I don't need to be.
00:26I really don't need to be. I do a lot of racing, but equally if I come last I'm happy.
00:32If I come first, I'm more happy. But yeah, definitely a unique hobby.
00:38Yes, obviously you're number four in the world at the moment in a certain sport.
00:44So if you cross duathlon, last two years I've got fourth at Europeans and fourth at Worlds.
00:51So I do feel this year's the year to up that a bit.
00:54Yeah, go for the next one. For those that don't know, what is cross duathlon? What does that entail?
01:00So it's off-road running, mountain biking and then off-road running again, but there's normally many, many hills in that.
01:07Is it always a similar sort of distance? What kind of distance are you talking about?
01:11It's anything from, so generally the first one's longer, so it can be about 8km.
01:18The bike's between 20 and 30km and then the final one's generally about 4 to 6km.
01:25So how did you get into it and where does it all start?
01:28So I ran a lot when I was younger, to the point where I got to the trials for the Commonwealth Games when I was 22.
01:35Then I got run over and then for whatever reason never went back to sport and then joined the army, as you do.
01:41I then left the army, got married, had far too many kids and then sadly both my parents passed.
01:47I needed to channel my energy into something positive, so I got back into running.
01:52Then I met an elderly couple who, in their retirement, took up triathlons and now literally travel the world racing.
01:58I was just like, I want that.
02:00Then I had a bit of a near-miss road cycling, then went off-road and thought, oh this is much more fun.
02:08Then I've been glued ever since, literally.
02:12You say you've come fourth in the European and the last World Championships.
02:16Have they done every year?
02:19Every year, yeah.
02:20They're yet to happen this year. When do they start?
02:24So it's the 25th of June in Ponte Vendra in Spain.
02:30So it'll be quite hot there as well.
02:35It's going to be very warm and it's going to be probably a two o'clock start.
02:40Just to test you physically and mentally.
02:43Is that a specific age group or is that all in?
02:49It will be age group racing, so it starts from under 18, I think.
02:55I'm not sure with Cross actually, no.
02:57So you've normally got 18 to 20, 20 to 25 and it goes up yearly, five yearly, until nobody does it anymore.
03:04So there's not many in my age group, there's not many in the one above it for the ladies,
03:08and there aren't many above that where men go a lot, lot longer.
03:11I think because most ladies are sensible and don't do silly things in their old age.
03:16Is that something you're aiming for, to keep going for as long as possible?
03:21I will keep going as long as my body lets me.
03:23And then when it says no more to that, then I might just stick to track racing.
03:27So the one in Spain, is that the Europeans or the Worlds?
03:30That's the Worlds. The Europeans is in Prague this year.
03:33Okay, and is that a little bit later in the year?
03:35That's August, mid-August, midday again.
03:38Okay, yeah. And what is your aim for this year in terms of Worlds and Europeans, are you looking to win?
03:46To be fair, I'd love to win something, but equally I'd like to finish and not crash as well.
03:51I had an accident one year and it took a year to get over it,
03:55so I'm more than happy with a good finish and a good race
03:59than pushing myself to get something and then paying the price.
04:03Yeah, yeah. Was that an off-road?
04:06That was the race in Italy in 2019 and not my fault, a Frenchman crashed into me, took me out
04:12and I was currently in third, so I was gutted.
04:15But it did take me a year to recover from my injuries, yeah.
04:19You broke broken bones?
04:21My whole left side, yeah, I had dislocations, breaks, stitches, it was awful.
04:26But not to the day to...
04:29I think because it wasn't my fault, it didn't bother me.
04:32I think had it been my fault, then it probably would have been a bit, yeah.
04:37Yeah, it might have changed you.
04:39Might have changed my attitude slightly, yeah. We'll see.
04:42So I've not done Worlds and Europeans in this one yet, but I do do what's called enduro mountain biking,
04:47which is going downhill, horribly, with the big jumps and drops and things.
04:51So I do that just in England and I do that for the army as well.
04:55And I have won some of my age group in some big events.
04:58We do Ard Rock, which is one of the biggest ones in England.
05:01I've won my age group in that. That definitely pushes your limits.
05:05And I've won lots of local events as well in my age group and overall as well,
05:10because a lot of ladies do that, because it's not normal.
05:14Yeah, that sounds scary to be honest.
05:16But my husband often comes and most of the kids come, I get them along.
05:19Yeah, yeah.
05:20They do it more for fun, which is fine.
05:22Yeah, what do they think of you doing all these challenges?
05:24They just think I'm mad. Just think I'm mad, yeah.