Borrowed Bikes to Ironman - Hills, Second Chapters and Refusing to Wait with Donna McConnell

Send us Fan Mail Donna McConnell came to cycling late. To triathlon late. To the version of herself that would complete an Ironman, late. And she'll be the first to tell you that none of that was a disadvantage. She found her tribe in her 50s. Completed an Ironman. Ran the London Marathon. And came back from all of it not just fitter,but fundamentally different. Bolder. Clearer. Less willing to accept the ceiling she'd quietly been living under.At 57 she's still racing, still building, and completely uninterested in the idea that this is the age you start winding down.In this conversation Donna talks about the mental game behind endurance sport, what 500 miles through the Scottish Highlands does to your relationship with fear, and why perimenopause and peak performance aren't the opposites the fitness world would have you believe.In this episode you'll discover:Why visualising enjoying a race, not just finishing it changes everything about how you show upWhat 500 miles through the Scottish Highlands taught her about fear that years of training couldn'tHow completing an Ironman changed what she thought she deserved in sport and in lifeWhy perimenopause and peak athletic performance aren't opposites and why the timing of her Ironman mattered more than she expectedWhat women over 40 are doing in elite endurance sport that nobody's talking about enoughThis is a conversation for anyone who has ever wondered whether they've left it too late, set the ceiling too low, or talked themselves out of something before they even started.Connect with Donna: @the_ironempressFollow us on Instagram: @unshrinkablemidlifemoves Find out more about Onika on Instagram: @lifeopenedupThe Grit and Grace Games — 12th September 2026, Crystal Palace National SPorts Centre, London. www.gritandgracegames.com