Ashley O’Loughlin
1. Red Dog AOTM, how do you feel about that?
Pleasantly surprised! Red Dog has so many amazing athletes, it wasn’t even on my radar.
2. When did you join, and what attracted you to the club?
I started coming to swim right at the end of 2025 after much persistence from Sam Timbrell. I was facing an extended period off running with a knee injury and resolutely NOT a triathlete.
After months grinding out solo elliptical, swim and gym sessions to try and maintain fitness, coming into such a supportive, challenging environment felt amazing. So I kept going, and squad became part of what kept me sane.
Now I’m back running and still showing up to swim three times a week. It’s almost like I’ve started to like it or something…
3. How much training do you do at the moment?
I train in some capacity every day. I’m a nightmare to be around if I don’t!
I’m still figuring out exactly how to balance things now that I’m building running volume again, but currently it looks like about four runs, three swims and a bunch of gym work to try and keep the knee healthy.
Hopefully soon, some more cycling!
4. What’s your favourite session and why?
Sunday morning long trail run with the girls.
However, Friday morning swim is a very close second, and that’s saying something. There’s just nothing quite like that post-swim feeling to start your Friday.
5. Who’s your ideal training partner and why? Swim, Bike, Run
Unfortunately, Red Dog runs are a bit hard for me to get to, but luckily I have some great friends who share the same strange affinity for running up mountains.
For swim, I’m a big fan of the whole middle lane crew. They’re all so supportive, even when I somehow find myself leading the lane and lose count.
Bike used to be Sam before she rudely moved back to the UK. I’m currently taking applications.
6. Favourite motivational quote?
“You’re fine. This is fine. Everything is fine. Keep moving.”
— Courtney Dauwalter
7. What’s the one bit of advice you’d give to a newbie?
You don’t have to run a marathon to be a runner!
I love that we’re seeing such an uptake in running and triathlons, but I think we’ve gone too far the other way in normalising these huge distances.
Don’t tell me you “just” ran your first 5K. That’s just as worthy of celebration.
Run, swim or cycle because it’s fun, challenging and rewarding, not because you feel pressure to progress too quickly towards an arbitrary distance. Trust me, it’s not worth the injury.
Oh, and don’t forget to strength train.
8. What’s your next event?
I’m running the Shoreditch Half Marathon when I’m in London next month.
Hopefully some more trail events and, gasp, a tri on the horizon when I get back.
9. What do you do outside of training?
I’m a physio, so mostly that!
Right now, most of my spare time is spent travel planning.
10. What’s your one guilty pleasure?
Fat choccy milk after a long run.
Zero guilt though, because a dietician once told me this was the best recovery food and I will die on this hill!
Congratulations to our latest Red Dog Athlete of the Month! We love hearing about the people behind the training and what keeps our members motivated, challenged and turning up each week.