When Lauren Hogg's soccer career came to an end, she needed a new challenge.

Hogg, a former member of Queen's Women's Soccer, had to retire from the sport due to injuries, and looking to fill her time and stay active during the COVID-19 pandemic, started getting into long distance running. And that opened the door to triathlon competitions.

"I watched my dad do Ironman as a kid, so I wanted to do one, but I never really planned when it would happen," Hogg said. "In February this year, I started training for my first Ironman. It went right from there; I went all in."

Now a member of Queen's Triathlon team, Hogg's first foray into the sport was the Ironman Mont Tremblant. She went into the ultra-endurance competition without putting too many expectations on her result. Instead Hogg said she wanted just wanted to enjoy the experience.

"I knew I was fit enough and I could be competitive compared to the girls in my age group. But triathlon and Ironman specifically are very difficult mentally. The most important part of this first season for me has been just enjoying it, being able to kind of see if I've got the longevity in this sport, and not really putting a lot of pressure on myself. Just test the waters, see where it's going, and if I've got a future in the sport."

That mind frame lasted until the second half of the run, when Hogg said her coach told her she was leading her age group, and her competitive mindset kicked back in. With just six months of training for ultra-endurance events, Hogg won her age group in her first Ironman and qualified for the Ironman World Championships.

The feat was all the more impressive considering a bike crash robbed Hogg of a month of training ahead of the event in Mont Tremblant. Hogg said she had planned to compete in two triathlon events leading up to Mont Tremblant, but lost time recovering from a concussion resulting from the bike crash.

While she was confined to just light training for a month, Hogg said getting over the injury mentally was a challenge as well.

"My first ride back was actually on the same route I crashed on. And it was kind of the same weather. It was super shaky, I couldn't even get into my arrow bars. It was just about taking it slow, getting used to being balanced on the bike again, getting used to going fast on the bike. There's a lot to think about while you're on a bike. It took about three long rides to really get back into it."

But fully recovered from her injury and with a terrific result in her first event, Hogg said it was love at first competition.

"It's funny, all Ironmans tell you this, when you cross the finish line, you're going to be addicted to this sport. It's unlike any feeling I've ever experienced. For 12 hours, I was kind of numb to any pain, numb to any feeling, trying not to think about anything. And for the last 100 metres, it just all poured out. And you want to chase that feeling, forever and forever. And I think that's what I'm going to be doing."

Hogg trains in the discipline regularly. She said she'll take part in up to three sessions a day, 2-3 times a week, alternating between biking, swimming, and running, and usually logging 15-20 hours a week, but getting heavier as she peaks towards race day.

Hogg just returned from Hawaii where she competed in the Ironman World Championship in Kona. She battled through tough weather conditions and some mechanical issues on her bike, but still finished 18^th with a time of 12:48:49.

As Hogg said, she's hooked on the sport. Moving forward she said she has ambitious competitive goals but also wants to help grow the sport of Ironman.

"There aren't a lot of young Canadian women in Ironman. It's so important for women to increase their knowledge about triathlon. Ironman has started an initiative called Women for Tri, where they have programmed ambassadorships for women to get involved in Ironman and triathlon. I would love to be a voice for that.

"But also competitively, I would love to make a mark in this sport. From having such a pretty stellar first season, I think it opened my eyes to the potential I have in this sport. It is definitely a long game, I know the next few years will be about building endurance and getting comfortable, biking, running, swimming for kilometres and kilometres and hours and hours. It's about building that endurance foundation. And then I'd like to think I've got a pretty awesome future in this sport."