Ella Webley

Ella Webley is a Team Manager at Aviva insurance in Perth, and she's really good at it.  I can tell you that from first-hand experience because she used to manage me when I worked as a customer advisor there.  During her working day, she listens to calls and gives feedback and coaching and speaks on the phone with Aviva's corporate partners.  However, when she isn't working Ella is all about the running, swimming and cycling.  Since she took up running four years ago she has completed a huge amount of increasingly exhausting events including triathlons and full marathons... next stop a full Ironman.  I used to love hearing all about them on Monday morning as I tucked into my bacon roll and drank my Costa coffee latte with hazelnut syrup.

If that wasn't enough, since June 2015 Ella has written a popular blog on Wordpress entitled Tri.runner.ella. to chart her running journey.  It's a really entertaining read, it's both funny, honest and gives a great insight into how she balances work, training and family life.  This week Ella took some time out of her busy schedule to answer our questions and tell us all about training, work, and her plans for the future including a 75 mile run around the Isle of Man!

Tell us the weirdest/ funniest thing that has ever happened to you at work?

I managed a team of jokers so I would often come into work to find random objects on my desk (if you ever need a dog poo bag there are millions on my desk and in my drawers) or that my computer monitor had been turned upside.  Spontaneous rounds of applause were always the most embarrassing though.

What signals the start of your days off?

When I wake up I start thinking about what housework needs to be done and all the domestic jobs requiring my attention but then I quickly forget about them and head out for a run. 

What might people be surprised to know about you?

When I had my youngest I suffered really badly from postnatal depression and anxiety.  To get out the house I tried running with the buggy.  It took a while as I was in no way a runner at that time.  Eventually, I wanted to take it further so I started running around the Inch in one direction whilst my mum pushed the buggy around the other way so I was never too far away from my baby.  He is 4 now and this year I am running a 100km race - just a little bit further than a lap or two of the Inch!

What is at the top of your bucket list?

So many things are on my list!  Marathon De Sables, camping on the top of a Munro, London Marathon - but top of the list would have to be completing a full Ironman.  And it will happen!

What is the worst job you’ve ever had?

Cleaning the kennels at P.A.D.S wasn’t much fun but it wasn’t any worse than cleaning the toilets at City Nightclub.  You could find some really questionable items in there at the end of the night.

Who or what inspires you?

Dame Kelly Holmes.  Definitely.  She is completely open and honest, doesn’t hide what she does in her workouts and is happy to post the ‘not so perfect’ pictures of sweat and hair everywhere, face pulling during a race - the real pictures!  She also takes time out to speak to people and encourage them.  The adventurer and author Anna McNuff is another person I really look up to.  Thanks to reading her book about running the length of New Zealand I am now planning an adventure of my own.

Tell us about the day you’d love to live again?

This would have to be the day my husband and I both did Edinburgh Ironman 70.3.  An awful lot of blood, sweat, crashes, injuries, and tears went into making that start line.  I was hit by a van when out on a training ride and there were a few more close encounters where I came close to drowning.  We are just ever so slightly competitive, so beating him in the swim is most definitely up there with my all-time greatest achievements.  Of course, he wiped the floor with me overall that day (pretty sure he finished almost an hour ahead of me) but it was worth it - and I would do it all over again.

What’s the best part about your job?

It has to be the people I work with in my team.  There is never a dull day with them.  They are the most eclectic group of people you could ever meet and even though they increase my stress levels to an all-time high, I wouldn’t change them.

Complete this sentence; the best things in life are….

The moments that turn into memories.

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You can keep up with Ella on her WordPress blog, Tri.runner.ella here >>>