Sean Conway

Sean is a hugely popular endurance athlete known for pushing his limits. His talks are tailored for each audience and Sean can draw on a wide variety of endurance challenges.

Sean understands the long game.  Over ten years, Sean has set and broken endurance world records. Drawing on his experience running, swimming and cycling his way into history books, Sean’s powerful messages are hard-won. Discover how Sean transformed his life from a former corporate photographer to a world-record-setting endurance adventurer. Learn how he created an endurance mindset, enabling him to go further and faster and achieve a world first.

In 2015, Sean became the first person to complete the Great British Triathlon: cycling, swimming and running the length of Britain from Land’s End to John O’Groats.  The swim was considered impossible, too dangerous and had never even been attempted, but Sean defied the doubters and completed this world first. With an adventure documentary by Discovery TV and considerable media interest, Sean and his trademark beard had arrived.

Sean completed a self-supported continuous Ultra Triathlon around the coast of Britain: cycling 3,350 miles, running 800 miles and swimming from Brighton to Lulworth Cove to complete the coastal route (approximately the distance from London to Delhi) in 2016. Discovery Channel followed Sean’s incredible challenge to produce a three-part TV series: ‘On the Edge’ as he finished the world’s longest ultra triathlon.

In 2018, Sean became the fastest person to cycle the 4,000 miles across Europe from Portugal to Russia, solo and unsupported. He completed this in 24 days, 18 hours and 39 minutes.

During the COVID pandemic, Sean launched the 496 Challenge: running the day of the month in kilometres each day (from 1km to 31km). A huge hit through Sean’s social media engagement, 496 remains a popular endurance challenge to start the year. By thinking creatively when larger adventures were postponed, Sean inspired many others to set their own challenges, small and large. Sean also ran 15 marathons in 15 British National Parks on 15 days in 2021, and completed a triathlon around the edge of Wales in 2022. Sean reminds us to ask, no matter what the restrictions, what can be achieved?

In 2023, Sean achieved 105 consecutive full distance triathlons, a new world-record. He swam 2.5 miles, cycled 112 miles and ran a marathon of 26.2 miles each day. It was unbelievably tough. It helped Sean to know he was raising funds and awareness for a charity close to his heart: The True Venture Foundation, which inspires and supports children and young athletes by improving access to opportunities through sport.

Although now well-known for his quirky take on endurance sports and adventures, Sean’s earlier life may surprise many. Sean came to the UK in 2002 with just £100 in his wallet and started working in Cambridge, cutting 12,000 cabbages a day.  Later, having made his living as a photographer, Sean sold his business for £1 knowing he had to take a risk and change his life and its purpose. He found he had a talent for setting and reaching outrageous adventure goals.

Sean is passionate about encouraging others to take on a challenge, to be outside in nature and to live more adventurously, no matter how that looks for each one of us. His messages are built around his unique perspective on endurance, training for an endurance mindset, developing resilience and taking on the seemingly impossible.

Sean’s talks are memorable and entertaining. He delivers powerful messages around setting outrageous goals, coping with setbacks, maintaining a positive attitude and staying motivated when it gets tough. While focused on achieving his goal, Sean effectively engages others on social media, communicating the realities of his extreme adventures with candid humour.

Sean’s talks chart the highs and lows, share the successes and the setbacks to inspire us to believe we can succeed against the odds in work, adventure and any life challenges we may face, large and small.

Sean’s Achievements:

• 105 Iron Mans (full distance triathlons) in a row: a new world record
• First person to swim the length of Britain
• Fastest person to cycle across Europe solo and unsupported
• 4,200 mile continuous triathlon
• Cycled around the world