Endurance athlete Dougal Allan shares the experiences that have helped him transition from life as an individual IRONMAN athlete to being part of successful racing teams...
"}},"slug":"how-to-transition-from-individual-sports-to-team-sport","blogTags":"Performance","featuredPost":false,"author":{"name":"Dougal Allan","slug":"dougal-allan","facebookHandle":"https://www.facebook.com/DAendurance/","twitterHandle":"https://twitter.com/dougalallan?lang=en","instagramHandle":"https://www.instagram.com/dougal_allan/?hl=en","linkedInProfile":"https://www.linkedin.com/in/dougal-allan-763649144/?originalSubdomain=nz","stravaProfile":null,"bio":{"childMarkdownRemark":{"html":"Dougal Allan is a professional athlete who has twice won the 243km Coast To Coast Longest Day Race in New Zealand, in 2019 and 2021.
\nSince he first started competing in endurance sport in 2006, Dougal has also won Challenge Wanaka twice (and set a course record), as well as winning XTERRAs and finishing on the podiums of IRONMAN and adventure races around the world.
\nDougal has an honours degree in Physical Education from the University of Otago and he is the Head Coach of DA Endurance Coaching. Dougal is always upskilling and he's an accredited Level 2 TrainingPeaks Coach.\nImage credit: Kurt Matthews Photography ©
"}},"title":"Professional Athlete and Endurance Coach","headshot":{"file":{"url":"//images.ctfassets.net/428xzyjdw7rf/1XJmpCjRZEsTe1fV2U6LKp/95b9e2295b0be5dc78b25220151f1694/DougalAllan.png"}}},"scientificallyReviewed":null,"image":{"resize":{"src":"//images.ctfassets.net/428xzyjdw7rf/RyqJqidnfXxDTOAI8iJor/fe3e287d750753079000c2e6e8d43a85/ezgif.com-resize__33_.jpg?w=1200&h=630&q=70&fit=fill","width":1200,"height":630}},"socialMediaImage":null,"body":{"childMarkdownRemark":{"excerpt":"Much of my early years training for endurance races were spent becoming tuned into my own body and mind. I spent a lot of time honing in on what worked for me…","html":"Much of my early years training for endurance races were spent becoming tuned into my own body and mind. I spent a lot of time honing in on what worked for me personally in terms of training, pacing, fueling and motivating myself to perform in IRONMAN and Coast To Coast races.
\nAs a result, I saw improvements in my performance and became better at understanding how I responded to different stimuli during this journey of 'self-discovery'.
\nI believe that many of the best endurance athletes are successful because they know themselves better than most. They know what works best for them in training and they know how to execute on race day according to their own unique attributes.
\nSo, what happens when an athlete who's been focused for years on maximising their performance as an individual makes the transition to competing in a team format?
\nIn 2009, I flew to China to take part in a four-day adventure race called the Wulong Mountain Quest. The team format was fairly typical of adventure racing and included three male and one female athlete. There were many stressful decisions being made under high levels of fatigue which was a baptism of fire for me in terms of team racing. Since then, I've competed in a wide range of team formats across adventure racing, cycling and now sailing.
\nWith the benefit of these experiences, I've shared five things I've learned about achieving success in a team environment (be that in sport, work or life)...
\nI think the first step when looking to enhance your performance in a team environment is spending time reflecting and developing a strong sense of who you are and what you bring to the team.
\nWhen I came into a team for the first time back in 2009, I knew I was bringing youthful enthusiasm, a high level of physical strength and fitness, determination and competitiveness that would make me reliable and highly likely to keep going to the finish.
\nHowever, I knew I lacked experience in a team and needed to be led by my teammates around key decisions and strategy. I wasn’t familiar with China and the intricacies specific to racing there, I didn’t know how best to support my teammates when required, nor how to receive or ask for support when I needed it.
\nWithin this team there are more than 100 people that I call teammates. They're electricians, lawyers, accountants, builders, sail makers, film makers, sailors, and ‘cyclors' (which is my role in the team - I'm basically a grinder that uses leg power rather than arms). Every lunchtime we eat together on site and there's no status involved. I might sit and eat with the hydraulics guy, the chef, the design engineer and the boat builder. We see each other as equal parts of a team that shares a common goal. Each of us can only do our job if the people around us are doing theirs. When status doesn’t exist and a common goal is the focal point, it can be a tremendously unifying experience. Any sports team, work place and other group or team environment can benefit from this approach. To summarise what I have learned as part of numerous successful teams across a variety of sports, the move from solo racing to team racing requires a shift in focus and awareness from what is best for self into what is best for the team. If I'm racing solo and want to get a mental advantage over my competition, I’d often get in front of them and control the race. To me, this would provoke a sense of superiority and hopefully force my competitor to feel inferior. For the same reason, when I was feeling strong in a team adventure racing situation, I’d often place myself at the back so a teammate who might be struggling at the time could benefit from the psychology of being in front. The former example being an individual tactic that is flipped upside down in the latter example where the best interests of the team are the priority. As is often said in adventure racing: We can only ever move as fast as our slowest teammate. So, the challenge (and often the fun) is in the continuous consideration of how best to move the slowest team member most efficiently. The best teammates I've had have always placed the best interests of the team ahead of their own. That's ultimately where any team - in sport, work or life - will likely achieve and perform closest to their potential.5. Team-centric
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\nFurther reading
\n","timeToRead":7,"headings":[{"depth":3,"value":"1. Who are you?"},{"depth":3,"value":"2. Who are your teammates?"},{"depth":3,"value":"3. Who are we?"},{"depth":3,"value":"4. Ego (or lack of) for the greater good"},{"depth":3,"value":"5. Team-centric"},{"depth":3,"value":"Further reading"}]}},"reviewer":null}},"pageContext":{"slug":"how-to-transition-from-individual-sports-to-team-sport","noIndex":false}},"staticQueryHashes":["1095528202","1204021508","142052947","1485196607","1527722960","2488678560","266977044","2746441856","2932112381","3035445994","3266792109","3683832922","3998591504","4055654595","4087350428","473255425","608825219","657160472"]}