"I will keep going as long as my body lets me" - Portsmouth mum racks up endurance challenges with world title in sights

Meeting Dawn Haynes-Sewell where she works at BH live in Portsmouth Pyramids, I thought I was just coming to speak to her about her endeavours in cross duathlon, a sport she finished fourth in both the World and European Championship over the last two years. However, as the conversation went on, Dawn would nonchalantly bring up other feats that were worthy of a story of their own.

The 53-year-old mother of six from Portsmouth said at the end of our conversation: “You don't know what you are capable of until you do it.” It is clear that she is determined to test her limits in a number of different endurance races around the world.

Dawn has always been sporty, to the point where an elite career could have been on the cards, but an accident changed that. She said: “I ran a lot when I was younger, to the point where I got to the trials for the Commonwealth Games when I was 22. Then I got run over and for whatever reason never went back to sport and joined the army instead.”

From there it has been a winding road to get back to competing. She left the army, got married and had six children before suffering a loss that made her search for an outlet for her grief.

Dawn said: “Sadly, both my parents passed. I needed to channel my energy into something positive, so I got back into running. Then I met an elderly couple who, in their retirement, took up triathlons and now literally travel the world racing. I was just like, ‘I want that’.”

Having initially taken part in traditional triathlons, a near miss on the roads led her to cross duathlon, and she hasn't looked back since. The discipline varies but is usually around 8km running, then a 20-30km bike ride, before finishing with a 4-6k run. All off-road and involving steep hills.

Dawn now has her eyes set on the World and European championships this year. The 2025 World Triathlon Cross Duathlon Championships is taking place in Pontevedra, Spain on June 26 this year. The time of year and location means the challenge will be made even more difficult due to the heat.

Then on August 7 it is the 2025 Europe Triathlon XTERRA Cross Duathlon Championships, in Prachatice, Czech Republic. Dawn is hoping to pick up a win in her age group in one of these events, but more importantly is hoping to come through unscathed after suffering a bad injury in 2019.

She said: “I'd love to win something, but equally I'd like to finish and not crash as well. I had an accident one year and it took a year to get over it, so I'm more than happy with a good finish and a good race rather than pushing myself to get something and then paying the price.

“The incident happened at a race in Italy in 2019 and was not my fault. A French athlete crashed into me, took me out, and I was currently in third, so I was gutted. It did take me a year to recover from my injuries. I had dislocations, breaks, stitches, it was awful.”

Despite the lengthy rehabilitation, it did not dissuade her from competing again. She said: “I think because it wasn't my fault, it didn't bother me. I think had it been my fault, then it might have changed my attitude slightly.”

While many of those competing in the World Championship will be ramping their training down in the weeks ahead of the race, Dawn is going for a different tactic. On the weekend of June 6, she will taking on the 54-mile Cateran Yomp, seeking to break the record for the fastest time by a woman which would need to be under 12 hours.

As it turns out, cross duathlon is not the only string to Dawn’s bow. Most weeks you will find her competing for the army in endurance events, including enduro mountain biking, a form of bike racing where the downhills (steep) are timed while the uphill sections are not timed but are mandatory.

She has won a number of local events in her age group as well as for the army as well. She has also competed in Ard Rock, a popular mountain bike festival, where she took top spot in her age group. It also an event in which she enjoys with her family, although they do it more for fun.

When asked what her family think of her taking part in these challenges she says they are supportive but “they just think I am mad”.

Looking ahead, in both cross duathlon and enduro mountain biking, the competitors can start to thin out as the age group goes up.

Currently competing in the 50+ group, Dawn said: “The age groups go up five yearly until there is no-one competing. There is not many people in my age group and there is not many in the age group above for ladies, but the men go a lot longer. I think because most ladies are sensible and don’t do silly things like this in their old age.”

Dawn is intending to carry on as long as possible though. She said: “I will keep going as long as my body lets me. Then when it says no more to that, I might just stick to track racing.”

It is fair to say that Dawn is certainly finding out what she is capable of.

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