Teachers takes a triathlon break from school

Teaching was the last thing on Julia Blewitt-Jenkins' mind as she raced to the finish line at an international sporting event.

The Loughborough-based secondary school teacher has taken part in the ITU Sprint World Championships in Canada, finishing an impressive seventh, reports the Loughborough Echo.

A particularly impressive feat given that Ms Blewitt-Jenkins only took up the sport just 18 months ago, the Shepshed High School teacher said she was completely surprised by her success.

Furthermore, she had to face some pretty horrible weather along the way.

"I was up against athletes who had been doing triathlon for years and beating them. It was especially awful given the weather conditions with a number of athletes having to drop out due to hypothermia," she told the paper.

Ms Blewitt-Jenkins qualified for the Vancouver championship after taking part in an event in Northampton, putting her in the position to represent Great Britain.

Another active teacher is Ewen Hardie from Edinburgh, who is currently raising awareness of the Burmese political situation by walking from the Scottish capital to Westminster, barefoot.