Rob Sears was told at his first parents’ evening that he would never do anything in sport. Today sport is his job, his hobby and, in his words, everything to him.

Rob races in the visually impaired (VI) category. He has choroideremia, a genetic eye condition that has reduced his sight to somewhere between 5 and 10 percent. What remains is a pinprick of central vision, like looking through the straw of a kids’ carton drink. I first met Rob through our high performance coaches programme in Leeds, and I have wanted him on the podcast for years.

Knowing when to stop going it alone

Rob did his first triathlon as one of 30 new things in his 30th year. He followed the nearest swim hat, followed the yellow line through the London tunnel, and spent ten minutes looking for his bike in transition. He was hooked.

For six years he raced solo, and Weymouth 70.3 ended that. The sea was rough and the sun was low. Riders cut across him and pushed him into the gravel, and on the run he missed a kerb and hurt his knee.

He stepped away for three years to coach.

----------------------------------------------

Listen to the full conversation with Rob: “The Character Is Full” — Blindness, a Broken Pelvis and the Inner Tube That Got Him to Nice​

----------------------------------------------

Giving up control

Coming back meant racing with a guide. In the swim they are tethered at the thigh, and on the bike Rob rides on the back of a tandem. The hardest part was not physical.

At school, Rob struggled because asking for help didn’t feel cool. Plenty of athletes over 50 do the same thing with a coach, a physio or a training partner. Accepting support is not giving up. It’s how you keep going.

The fall

In July 2025 Rob tripped over Hugo, one of his four dogs, at the top of the stairs. He cracked his pelvis, fractured his sacrum, tore a shoulder tendon, damaged two discs in his neck and had a bleed on the brain. He spent two weeks in intensive care, then had to relearn how to walk, sit on a bike and swim.

Fatigue now slurs his speech and affects his balance, so he has become ruthlessly honest about recovery.

This echoes what Louise Hanley said last week. Read your own signals and respect them, because after 50 the cost of ignoring them goes up.

A year of DNFs, and a phone call

At Ironman Hamburg, metal shards on the bike course caused a puncture, a crash and a ripped tyre. A stranger ran past with a flat and no spare, so Rob gave him his tube. That man went on to finish his first Ironman, and later he found Rob’s guide, Ant, on Instagram to say thank you.

Weeks later, a second mechanical ended Rob’s Outlaw. Days after that, Ironman phoned to invite him to the 70.3 World Championships in Nice because of the sportsmanship he showed in Hamburg. The rear brake rubbed all the way up the climb, and he missed the bike cut-off by two minutes. He calls it a success.

Fall in love with the journey

Rob still hasn’t finished a full iron-distance race. Next year he is chasing a GB middle distance place, starting at Nottingham in May, and Kona is the big goal. I have already told him I’ll be the one calling him across the Outlaw finish line.

Most of us will never face what Rob has faced, but we all have reasons why we can’t. Rob has more than most, and he is still planning his winter training.

That is what Battle Ready looks like.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Accepting support is a strength. Rob raced solo for years because he didn’t want to give up control. Coming back with a guide made him safer and more competitive. Whether it’s a coach, a physio or a training partner, asking for help is how you stay in the sport.
• Listen to your body on the bad days. Since his accident, Rob’s rule is simple: if he doesn’t feel like training, he probably shouldn’t, and on the days he does, he trains properly. For athletes over 50, respecting recovery is what makes the good sessions possible.
• Control the controllables, then love the journey. Punctures, brakes and debris on the road cost Rob races, so he is putting better systems in place for next year. He also accepts that race day won’t always go to plan, and that the journey is where most of the time goes.

CTA​
Rob’s approach is to accept support, listen to your body, control what you can and enjoy the journey. The SWAT Inner Circle is built around exactly that. It’s coaching and community for endurance athletes over 50 who want to keep performing without burning out. New members join at £65 a month with no minimum commitment. Find out more HERE:

Simon Ward​ Performance coach for endurance athletes over 50 Helping you train smarter, race stronger, and stay in the sport for the long haul.