From sacrificing her job to pursue triathlon, to sharing tips for beginners and the spirit of races like the MetaSprint Series, Rachel Longstaff's love for triathlon shines
It’s never easy to leave everything you know behind in search of an uncertain path and follow your heart. But if you don’t take that risk to embark on unchartered waters, you may never discover your fullest potential and be left to rue what could’ve been.
“Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars.” - Les Brown.
Spend just ten minutes with her, and you won’t just hear about her love for triathlon—you’ll feel it for yourself. Set to kick off a big 2025 with the MetaSprint Series Duathlon in February and the MetaSprint Series Triathlon the following month, Rachel Longstaff has set her eyes on making her mark on the Singapore triathlon scene in a significant year for Southeast Asian sports.
Whether or not you're a triathlete, listening to how she lights up when sharing her ambitions, paired with an unwavering tenacity, makes it impossible for her self-belief not to inspire you.
The 27-year-old began her sporting career as a competitive 5km and 10km runner. Ever since she caught the multi-sport bug in 2024 though, she’s never looked back since. Finding her overflowing love for the sport too hard to ignore, Rachel decided it was time to risk leaving her stable job to pursue triathlon full time.
“Once I’d planted that seed in my head about six months ago, I got to a point at my job where I realised I didn't want to look 20 or 30 years down the line and think about the ‘what ifs’,” shared the Mathematics teacher by day.
“Working and training, I found it challenging to work out what I truly want and what my calling is. I’m in my 20s and I do truly love the sport to bits. I’ve gotten this far having never taken it on as a full time pursuit. I want to see what I can do and pour my all into it.”
Currently in her final six months as a teacher, Rachel is balancing her job with rigorous training, pushing through until June before fully dedicating herself to triathlon and the journey towards breaking records under the Singapore flag.
On most, if not all days, she’s up at 5am for her first training session before heading to work. And while many look forward to some much-needed rest after a long day, Rachel is back on her bike or out for a run for her second session of the day.
For many, making the switch from running to triathlon might seem daunting due to the perception of three sports having a higher strain on the body. For Rachel, however, it’s had the opposite effect, offering her body a balance and relief she hadn’t expected.
“I do a lot more hours than I ever did running but I think it’s more manageable because you’re varying the sport. I think I felt more under recovered as a runner than I ever felt as a triathlete because you can swim and run a hard track session on the same day and they’re working different muscles,” she explained.
“I was a runner who was always slightly injury prone so I did have to do a little bit of swimming and cycling but I didn't have to take it seriously. Now that I train in all three sports, it’s ramped up obviously. If there’s people wanting to get into triathlon, rest assured it’s helped me more from an injury point of view. It’s more manageable even though the hours have gone up.”
Having only truly embraced triathlon in 2024, Rachel knows just how crucial it is to have a positive and electrifying maiden race. With the MetaSprint Series Duathlon 2025 on the horizon, it’s the community building opportunities that draws her in, and is something she feels will help spark interest in the sport that’s given her so much.
“I ride four hours every Saturday and if you told me that a year and a half ago, I wouldn’t have believed you. That’s the beauty of MetaSprint Series, they give people the triathlon experience and the joy of the sport. People get to meet one another and build the community, which is a key aspect of the sport. Community is everything.” she emphasized.
“People think it’s an individual sport but it’s really not. I actually tried triathlon during lockdown and I got to a point where I felt it wasn't for me. I was training a lot on my own but then I came to Singapore and started training out here and for me, the community is a huge part of what makes me go after my goals. I absolutely love the swim squad that I'm a part of. It’s the people I wake up to. I’m up at 5.15am and I know who I’m going to be with and they’re good people.”
The MetaSprint Series isn’t the only triathlon taking to Singapore’s roads early in the year, with the Singapore T100 making its highly anticipated return this April. While the T100 is a larger race, Rachel believes that smaller events like the MetaSprint Series play a vital role in setting the stage and building momentum for challenges like the Singapore T100.
“I’ve always learned in training that you need the race day feeling in practice. These beginner-friendly races give you all the simulations that you need to be adequately prepared for things like the transitions in the T100, the atmosphere you’ll experience and how to start well. It gives you everything you need to know what the key moments are in T100,” shared the athlete.
Sharing her biggest tip for aspiring triathletes, Rachel advises, “Know your why. You’ll have moments where you think, ‘Why the hell am I doing this? I don't want to do this anymore.’ But if you’ve got the right people around you and you know your why, it helps a lot.”
Training twice a day alongside a job is no easy feat. For Rachel, thinking about those she’s shared her toughest times with is where she pulls strength from when she feels as though she can’t go any further. Having grown up in England and Singapore, Rachel has had the privilege of watching some of her friends make it to the Olympics. With that came the realization that the stars are, in fact, within reach.
“I truly believe that being surrounded by them and feeling as though I’ve got the same potential as them, makes me feel like I can go further,” she gushed.
“I’m fascinated by the unlimited bounds of human performance. When it’s tough, your brain will quit first, so you have to be mentally strong. In the toughest of sessions, knowing how good you could be and having that vision of what your goals are really helps.”
For the 27-year-old, who is in the process of securing Singaporean citizenship, the Southeast Asian Games in Thailand at the end of the year is her ultimate goal. Her self-belief, a gift from her journey in endurance sports, shines through clearly.
“I think the fascinating thing about endurance sport is that everybody who starts it probably thought they couldn't do it. It’s a sport that proves to yourself that what you once thought was not possible really is possible,” shared Rachel.
“Once you’ve proven to yourself physically that you can do a lot of things, you can go into things you were daunted by. You’ll think, ‘I can do great things,’ and that’ll transcend to other aspects of life.
“There is more inside of me.” #MetaSprintSeries #MetasprintSeries2025 #MetaSportSG