all abilities  |  supportive |  inclusive

MARK GLEESON

Head Coach

MARK has been participating in Triathlons for over 25 years and has covered all distances up to Ironman. Mark is a Triathlon Australia Accredited Development Coach and Cycling Australia Community Club Coach.

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Some of Mark’s achievements include:

• Triathlon Queensland Club Coach of the Year (2020/21)

• 15 x Ironman Finisher (PB 9:23)

• 3 x Hawaiian Ironman Finisher (5 times Qualifier)

• Ironman Asia Pacific Age Group Champion (2017)

• Ironman 70.3 Sunny Coast Age Group Champion (2017)

• Ironman 70.3 Worlds Sunny Coast (2016 - 22nd out of 235 in 45-49 Age Group)

• Sub 3hr Marathon

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Mark understands the importance of having a flexible approach to training by maintaining the balance between training, work, family and friends. Mark believes in the importance of using your time wisely to achieve your individual goals, and at all times #trainwithpurpose.

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Mark's Motto:  Talent only gets you so far, ‘Grit’ is the key to success - it requires persistence and resilience with a focused goal. Grit can be developed over time in a supportive environment with a mentor who can provide leadership and guidance. To achieve your potential in Triathlon, you can develop Grit through getting feedback and continual learning. Mark enjoys sharing his knowledge of the sport and providing guidance and support to help athletes reach their full potential.

TARYN AXELSEN

TARYN comes from a non-competitive youth, only being consistently involved in Triathlons for 7 years and participating in running events up to marathon length. Since joining Energy Lab Triathlon in 2018, Taryn’s skill development has improved immensely resulting in some noteworthy results:

• National Champion Olympic Distance (35-39) (2019)

• 3rd Ironman Australia (35-39) and 4th Female amateur overall (2019)

• 1st Springfield Marathon female winner (2018)

• 3rd female Park2Park half marathon (2018)

• Triathlon Australia Accredited Foundation Coach

Taryn has participated in all distances from Sprint to Ironman - including 6 Ironmans, 18 Half Ironmans and 4 Marathons. In her spare time, she is a Lecturer in Statistics and Mathematics and is involved in community engagement encouraging high school students to become interested in mathematics.

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Taryn’s Motto:  Firstly, have fun. Some sessions will test you mentally and physically but ultimately we have to have fun.  Secondly, I believe one of the key factors, often overlooked, is confidence - your ability to fully believe in your ability to achieve your goals. You may have all of the ability in the world but without confidence, you won’t have the belief to “shoot for the stars” and “step outside your limits”. When confidence is developed you have faith in your ability and your preparation, without expecting success. Focusing on winning rather than confidently performing at your best can lead to self-imposed pressure and a fear of failure.

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Gleeso's Words:  Taryn has been with Energy Lab from the start, with her son Bailey. She is at sessions when it is cold and dark. She brings so much to Energy Lab, by demonstrating the behaviours required to be successful. Interestingly, success came to Taryn when she focused on continual improvement and not achievement. When I think of 'Relentless Pursuit of Continual Improvement' I think of Taryn, who consistently trains week in,  week out, all year round. Taryn has played a huge part in becoming a Mentor,  providing encouragement, advice and guidance. 

LISA TODD

Beginner/All Abilities

LISA competed in her first Triathlon in 2012.  She got involved in Triathlons as a result of having to stop playing Hockey due to injury.  Doctors said to her "either fuse your foot or stop playing hockey" - so she chose Triathlon!

Lisa focused on sprint Triathlons until 2018, as she could not swim very well due to needing a shoulder re-construction, which she got in mid 2017.  She went full steam after that - racing in her first Olympic Triathlon at Noosa in 2018, then her first Ironman 70.3 at Western Sydney three weeks later. 
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Lisa is a Triathlon Australia Accredited Foundation Coach and will focus on the Beginner / All Abilities and knows how to go from Beginner through to Ironman 70.3.  She balances her love of Triathlon with a corporate career.

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Gleeso's Words: Lisa has an inherent Grit - she chooses a goal and focuses on achieving it. Lisa is the ideal person to help our Beginner and All Abilities athletes as she started out as a beginner back in 2012 and has gradually progressed through Triathlon. One story I have of Lisa's determination was when she did her first Ironman 70.3 at Western Sydney and it was amazing to see her focus on finishing - there was never a doubt. Lisa is goal orientated, she just loves targeting a race and then focusing on doing the training to get to the finish line. 

 S W I M     
MONDAY + WEDNESDAY
6:00pm - 6:45pm  |  6:45pm - 7:30pm
 

The swim sessions are Triathlon specific where we focus on  technique and open water swimming skills. 

These sessions cater for someone new to swimming who wants to complete their first Triathlon through to those who are more experienced and want to improve their technique and open water swimming.

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Location: 
Clayfield College Swimming Pool 
95 Bayview Terrace, Clayfield (entrance at Gate 5)

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 R U N

THURSDAY

5:30am - 6:45am

The Run sessions are open to all abilities with everyone starting and finishing together.  These are coached sessions where you will receive feedback on your running to allow for self-adjustment of technique.

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Thursday's Interval Session - the focus of this session is on technique by incorporating drills to improve running efficiency. The specific intervals will be a combination of easy and fast running which will allow you to put the drills into practice. There is a broad range of abilities at this group and is open to everyone.

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Location:   
Kalinga Park, Park Avenue, Clayfield (meet in carpark)

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 B I K E  
WEDNESDAY + FRIDAY
5:30am - 6:45am

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The Bike sessions are designed by Gleeso who has 25 years of experience riding and racing bikes. The key focus of these sessions is group and individual riding catering for all abilities through to experienced riders. 

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The sessions are conducted at Nundah Crit Track which is only open for cyclists, allowing us to target specific sessions without the risks of riding on the road. 

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On arrival, the group warms up with a couple of easy laps of the Nundah Crit Track. We then break into groups of equal ability for the main part of the session, which is typically team based riding. We change the format of the session based on upcoming races and different athlete focuses.

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Location:   

Nundah Crit Track, 111 Hedley Avenue, Nundah

 B R I C K   (Bike+Run) 

T U E S D A Y
5:30am - 6:45am

6:30am - 7:15am (Kids Brick)

​The Brick sessions are designed to be race specific and improve the transition from Bike to Run. The format of the session is to improve the transition technique, mount and dismount. 

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From a performance perspective, we also do intervals which are designed to improve speed. The bike is non-drafting to teach everyone to maintain the draft distance. The run is typically at race pace. 

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During the Triathlon season the Brick session is one of the most popular, as it is fun and high energy. 

Location:   

Nundah Crit Track, 111 Hedley Avenue, Nundah

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