Fay Chester

Yardi

By Yardi Blog Staff on Sep 26, 2012 in People | 1 Comment

Fay Chester hasn’t always been a competitive athlete. Heck, she hasn’t always been an athlete.  A member of Yardi’s Professional Services Group in London, Fay told us she “was very much the person to avoid sports at school…but this situation changed and I realized taking up a sport and an interest outside of work was most needed, and have absolutely loved every minute of it.”

With the encouragement of close friends, Fay joined a running club, the David Lloyd Redway Runners Club in Milton Keynes, UK.  Just a few weeks after joining, she participated in a Duathlon/Triathlon training run lead by Great Britain Ironman specialist Campbell Noon.  While Fay never had the intention of becoming a marathon runner, the thought of combining these three unique sports was interesting, so she decided to go for it.

The three standard components of a triathlon are swimming, running, and cycling. Races range from a Sprint event (400m lake swim, 20K cycle, 5K run) to an Ironman (3.86km swim, 180km cycle, 42.2K run). Success demands some of the same dedicated focus that has aided Fay in her 11-year asset management/software career.

While she hasn’t worked up to the challenging Ironman distance, this former sports avoider has already competed in a duathlon, which was a total of 4 miles running and 11.5 miles cycling. Then she moved on to her very first triathlon, “which was hell,” with a 750m swim, 10K cycle, and a 5K run. What was so hard about this specific triathlon? The cycling was off-road on a mountain bike! There were a few tumbles and spills (we won’t name names) but in the end Fay said she loved it.

And that’s not the finish line of this athletic journey for Fay.  She plans another triathlon Sept. 30, a running challenge that involves 4 races in 4 days. On Sept. 15 she competed in her first charity event, the Woburn Sprint Triathlon, that supports British Heart Foundation, Cancer Research, Great Ormond Street, Whizz Kids, and Breakthrough Cancer.

If you’re interested in sponsoring Fay in her upcoming event, visit the Just Giving page or if you can be there to cheer her on in person, feel free to meet her at the finish line in Woburn Abbey with a cup of tea and a slice of cake.

For this “normal girl from Milton Keynes who works hard and these days trains hard” those two items combined with the personal challenge and support of friends, family, and colleagues is what she’s looking forward to most.

If you can’t make it to the race, cheer Fay on in the comments below.

Learn more about Fay:

What is your favorite type of music?

Everything and anything, diverse is a good way to look at it.

What is your favorite book of all time?

 I clearly don’t read unless it’s a glossy weekly or interior book on the train 

If you have an hour of free time to spare, what do you do with it?

Pop to see a friend, pour a glass of wine, pick the phone up to my family, or catch-up on some trashy tv with some chocolate

What kinds of food do you like?

Spicy! Thai

Where is the most interesting place you’ve ever traveled?

That’s a tough choice, I think either Cuba – Colorful, exciting and fun people, beautiful scenery or Singapore, such an amazing place.  

What do you like best about your job?

Every day is never the same and it challenges the mind all the time, definitely keeps me on my toes!

If you could have dinner with anyone, alive or historical, who would it be?

Johnny Depp

What are the words you live by?

Smile, laugh and carry on..

What do you want to be when you grow up?

I hope I am already  .. but Happy and Healthy, and if I have a residence in France and a fleet of cars as well I won’t complain

Do you speak any other languages, and which ones?

I attempt but fail. English it is.

What are some things on your bucket list?

Climb Snowdon, complete the 3 peaks challenge and train for an Olympic Tri

What was your last Do It Yourself project?

Decorating my spare bedrooms; painting is not my forte! I’m definitely more  soft furnishings! 

What athlete or sports figure do you most admire?

My friend Jules, she is a bionic super marathon runner! Nothing stops her!

What online sites do you visit?

Retail of course there are never enough shoes and handbags a girl can have, well now it also extends to trainers etc..

If you could have a super power, what would it be?

To know the lottery numbers…. If that fails, fly 

What’s something about you that few people know?

I did actually study A level Geography.. that will shock a few people as my coordination of travel and general skills in geography are very poor