rpg athlete feature - ryan block

Taking the time to meet part of the RPG team courtesy of Coach Clint Rowlings

How did you find your way to Triathlon and RPG?

I’m the classic team sport dropout to endurance sports pipeline. I stopped playing rugby and was looking for something to do, so I actually just whacked on some Lycra and purchased a bike because I’d always loved watching the Tour de France. Next thing I know, I’m travelling around the world for races.

I found RPG through knowing and following a few people who were coached by them. I really liked their approach, all the coaches seemed great, and the testimonials on the website were pretty convincing. I also liked that I could choose a coach who aligned with my values, which is how I ended up with Clint.

I did look at a few other coaching businesses, but quite frankly, red looks shit on me (everyone). 

You’ve recently shifted Jobs, from where-to where and how has it changed the day to day life?

I’ve had a massive life shake up. I was actually a registered nurse and had dedicated a significant part of my life to that career. I completed four degrees, including a Masters, and was most recently working as a Clinical Nurse Consultant in critical care and clinical emergency response systems.

When I started that job, it was honestly a dream job. I was incredibly passionate about it and loved what I did. On the side, I was doing a bit of consulting for a litigation funder around medical negligence, really enjoyed that side of the work, and eventually decided that after 11 years of nursing, I needed a bit of a shake up and try something different. 

I’m now a Portfolio Manager at that same litigation funder, where I’m involved in deciding which cases we invest in, managing the portfolio and day to day processes, conducting due diligence and negotiating the terms. 

My life has completely changed. I used to be 8:00–4:30, Monday to Friday, at the hospital. Now I wear a suit and fly two or three times a week. It’s a completely different world, and it’s still pretty crazy to think I don’t work in a hospital anymore. I have much less free time and have a really weird schedule now which actually is a bit like the night shift days for a lot of my years in nursing. 

Have you got any unfulfilled goals in sport you will share with us?

First and foremost, it’s just being consistently fit and healthy. I think exercise is so incredibly important for both your mental and physical health, so my biggest goal is to stay injury free and keep consistently training and following Clint’s coaching program.

Then there’s the more egotistical side of me, which is putting together a really strong marathon and chasing the illustrious sub-3. Mostly because it would be great to have bragging rights on my faster mates! 

I’d also love to run all of the World Marathon Majors one day. I love travelling, so being able to combine that with a running race or triathlon is pretty much my idea of a perfect holiday.

I definitely want to go back and nail another Ironman. I was so happy with my first one honestly, just finishing was enough for me. But the addictive part, which I’m sure everyone can relate to, is that there’s always something you can improve, I also think rather than having an arbitrary time goal it would just be the feeling of going out there knowing I executed perfectly!

You recently did your first Ironman, if "post Ironman Ryan" had 5 mins to info dump to "pre Ironman Ryan" what would you tell him?

It’s going to suck so much more than you could ever imagine, but also, no feeling in the world will ever match walking down that red carpet and ringing that bell. Seriously the bloody best! So keep going no matter what!

You will want to quit so many times. Nothing you do will change that, so just accept it and keep running! The swim wasn’t actually that bad, either, so stop stressing about that.

No amount of carb loading or gut training can fully prepare you for what’s coming and just embrace the fact that during the marathon, you aren’t going to tolerate anything other than Coke and your so called nutrition plan needs to be abandoned so just adapt overcome and consume 1L of Coke if you have to (I had to).

Oh, and try to actually sleep for more than two hours the night before.

Favourite triathlete and why? of the Professionals is there anyone you like to see get beaten and why?

Lucy Charles-Barclay and Kat Matthews. They’re both such awesome athletes. Their attitudes are incredible they’re fierce competitors but you can tell they genuinely love the sport and their fans.

I also really enjoy watching the dynamic of both of them being coached by their partners, it’s such an interesting part of their lives, and I think they’re both great ambassadors for the sport.

Can’t forget Matt Hauser. I think he’s awesome. I’ve loved watching his journey and I really hope he can keep that momentum and peak again at the next Olympics. It would be great to see him beat Hayden at an Olympics, purely because Hayden seems pretty bloody unbeatable at the moment. 

If I was to check your youtube search history what would I find?

Geez, thankfully you didn’t ask to see my chat gpt history!

My YouTube history is a pretty weird mix. There’s definitely been a few “how to change an inner tube” searches I eventually gave up on that and went tubeless.

There’s a lot of niche watch brand movement reviews, which is very boring interest of mine I’ve been told. 

Then there’s “how to dance” tutorials because I’m getting married soon, have two left feet and absolutely zero rhythm.

And finally, an unhealthy amount of dog training videos because I have a six month old puppy who is basically running the household.

Reach out to info@rpgcoaching.com if you would like to know more about being part of the RPG team. We’d love to help you work towards your endurance sports goals!