In his own words, Tom Wills shares how a simple decision to join MetaSport training sessions snowballed into an extraordinary journey. What began as a way to stay active quickly became months of discipline, camaraderie with the MetaMates, and ultimately his first-ever Ironman.
When I first joined MetaSport almost two years ago, I thought the free triathlon training sessions would just be a nice perk — a way to stay fit, meet new people, and explore the city. What I didn’t expect was that those “free sessions” would spiral into nine months of 5am alarms, endless laps in the pool, and a ticket to my first full Ironman.
At first, my goal was simple: show up, keep active, enjoy the team. But training with the MetaMates has a way of pulling you in. Everyone’s working towards something — a sprint tri, a 70.3, or the big one. Before long, I’d signed up for a full Ironman. The only catch? I first had to learn how to swim 3.8km.
If I’m honest, swimming was the part that worried me most. In the early days, even 200 metres felt like a fight, and I often left the pool feeling like I’d battled the water rather than moved through it.
The turning point came when I learned to exhale gradually underwater rather than saving it all up for the breath. That one small change transformed everything. Suddenly I could stay relaxed, find some rhythm, and actually enjoy the sessions.
Swimming with the MetaMates two to three times a week made all the difference. The routine of Monday, Wednesday, and sometimes Friday sessions created accountability, and the shared effort made the hard sets easier. Leaning to swim is deeply satisfying, it’s technical, tiring and frustrating, but when you put some good strokes together its rewarding.
On race day, I managed to swim the 3.8km in 1 hour 9 minutes, comfortably under my target. More importantly, I enjoyed the swim, which is a sentence I never thought I’d be able to say.
The bike has always been the most comfortable discipline for me. In Singapore, it’s also the most sociable part of triathlon training. The roads are smooth, the mornings start early, and there’s always a café at the end of the ride to enjoy with your mates.
One ride stands out above all the others. I floated the idea of riding to Kuala Lumpur over two days (about 400km in total) half expecting everyone to laugh it off. Instead, five MetaMates signed up immediately, no hesitation. That attitude is what makes cycling with this group so motivating, we egg each other on.
Most of my training time went into the bike. I knew it was where I could make up time, so I invested in long rides, hill sessions, and plenty of hours in the saddle. All that work came together on race day. I finished in 5h04, bang on my target, but more importantly I got off the bike feeling strong and ready to run.
Running in Singapore brings its own set of challenges. The humidity means you’re drenched before you’ve reached the end of your street, and the weather often adds a sudden downpour for good measure. But with a routine of Tuesday track sessions, Thursday tempos, and long weekend runs, I managed to build up to about 50–55km a week in the final stretch of training.
Everyone warned me that the Ironman “only really starts halfway through the marathon” It wasn’t exactly reassuring advice, but it turned out to be true. By 30km, the legs felt heavy, and the real battle began. What kept me moving was the atmosphere on the course. Supporters lined the route, cheering everyone on, and the surprise sight of friends and family popping up at unexpected points gave me bursts of energy just when I needed them. I crossed the line in 10h55. It was short of my target, but given the bike leg, on reflection, it felt like a success.
The race itself was fantastic. Everything went according to plan — the swim was fast and fun, the bike was beautiful, and the run was incredibly memorable. Crossing the finish line didn’t bring the huge wave of emotion I had expected; instead, it felt like a job well done, the natural result of months of preparation. The real satisfaction has come afterwards, looking back at the nine months of training with the MetaMates. Having that structure, drive, and team spirit during such a long and tiring build-up made all the difference. In the end, the real achievement wasn’t just race day, it was the consistency of waking up early week after week, and the willingness to keep going come rain or shine. That’s what I can learn from and take forward into the next challenge down the road.
