Always Aim High Events – Interview with co-founder Tim Lloyd
Always Aim High Events celebrated a decade of organising events and races in North Wales and further afield this year, which include the famous Sandman, Slateman and Snowman series as well as other events such as the Cardiff Triathlon, which will be next year’s British Sprint Distance Championship. As well as putting on events that attract athletes from all over, Always Aim High have donated over £250,000 to local charities and groups as a direct result of their races. We spoke to Tim Lloyd, one of the co-founders of Always Aim High, to find out what it’s like being on the other side of the fence on race day.
Tomos Land – How do you come about founding a company like Always Aim High?
Tim Lloyd – I’ll try and keep it brief! My background is in sport, I was a ski racer and I raced internationally all through my youth. I gave up skiing when I was 20 and studied Sports Coaching at Edinburgh. I was offered a job after the diploma on the British Ski Team and went to the Olympic Games in 1992 as the coach of the women’s team. After 1992 the funding dried up and I stopped working with the ski team and started working as a fireman. I continued to coach the British Junior team however and in around 1999 I was contacted by S4C (Welsh Language TV Channel) and was asked to manage some athletes selected for a TV show. I worked with the athletes, who were all summer athletes, for a couple of years and we had some success, which lead to me getting a contract with Salomon to manage their international team, Team Saab Salomon, in around 2001. I did this for twelve years and it’s what really led to Always Aim High, the reason being that I’d been organizing races for several years, and after travelling with the Salomon Team for several years, I pitched the idea of putting some races on back home (In North Wales), with my friend Kenny, and we decided to put on a race in three counties, Conwy, Gwynedd and Anglesey. We set the business up in 2010, and in 2011 we put on the Slateman in Llanberis and the Sandman in Newbrough before organizing the Snowman in Conwy in 2012. The races were much more popular than we ever imagined, and it really grew from there, we were putting on exciting races that were drawing people in.
Tomos Land – What was it about North Wales that you thought made it perfect for races?
Tim Lloyd – It was because I’d traveled all over the place competing, but North Wales was home. I really saw the events as a way to showcase where I live and bring in new visitors to the area. It was all about selling North Wales to triathletes, as before AAH there were very few races in the area. It sounds a little cliché, but the idea worked, and North Wales is now well and truly on the triathlon map.
Tomos Land – What do you enjoy the most about putting on events?
Tim Lloyd – The races are incredibly satisfying and rewarding to put on when you see how much the competitors are enjoying themself. I love working with the people too who help us put the events on.
Tomos Land – On the other hand, what is the hardest part of putting on events?
Tim Lloyd – Whilst it’s not an easy way to make a living it is very rewarding. It takes a lot of time and effort which means a lot of nights with little sleep but the highs, race day, make it worthwhile.
Tomos Land – After a decade of Always Aim High, what is your favorite event?
Tim Lloyd – The Snowman. It is the event that is most local to me. My parents ran the Pen Y Pass Youth Hostel, so I grew up in the area, and the fact that the race is just down the road at Plas Y Brenin is special. That is where I learnt to ski and what led me to a life in sports, and to hold a race in the area that I call home is amazing.
Tomos Land – What do you think it is that makes Always Aim High so popular?
Tim Lloyd – We did use to have a slightly cliché caption, ‘Great Races in Beautiful Places’, but really it is so much more than that. Using a sport to showcase a location, or locations, is our key ingredient. Wherever we go we try to showcase the beauty of an area, celebrating locations and in Wales celebrate the culture, the language and the history. Putting all these factors together into an event is what we are all about.
Tomos Land – Having been in the sport for over a decade now, what kind of trends have you seen in participation?
Tim Lloyd – There has been a large growth in the number of participants, not just in triathlons but in other sports as well such as trail running. What’s great is that because our events are so friendly, we have seen growth in the sport across a diverse spectrum of people. We make events so everyone can do them, from super sprint to middle distance, meaning there’s something for everyone. If I had to highlight something, it’s the uptake of entries over longer distances. I’d say even though the growth is across the board, in all demographics, we are seeing more and more people tackling the longer races.
Tomos Land – Changing the subject slightly, onto Covid-19, what has it been like to be an event’s organiser during the pandemic?
Tim Lloyd – It was really hard. It was tough for us, with twelve full time staff here at AAH and seasonal staff. With furlough nobody lost their work, but it was a tough job keeping the company going. We are proudly independent, whereas most of our competitors are multinational conglomerates. It was really challenging, but our customers have stuck with us through these tough times, and we have a lot to thank them for. Thanks to their understanding, generosity and kindness, AAH events can be enjoyed for many years to come.
Tomos Land – Now that we are hopefully on the back end of the pandemic, what does the future hold for AAH?
Tim Lloyd – We’ve spent the past 18 months working hard to plan future events. We have a lot going on, with a full calendar next year. We are bringing in some big brands to the UK which we will be excited to announce soon. We haven’t just been sitting around during Covid, we’ve put a lot of thought into new and exciting events for the next few years. There’s a lot to come.
After a tough last 18 months, there is a lot to be excited about on the domestic scene in the triathlon world!
If you’re interested in an Always Aim High, check out the events schedule for next year on their website HERE
