by Ben Haines, CAPULA Ltd., United Kingdom
As a protection and control engineer, I’ve always appreciated precision, data, and the ability to refine processes under pressure.
That same mindset drew me to triathlon and endurance sports
As a protection and control engineer working on secondary systems, I have always appreciated data analysis, and the ability to refine processes and problem solve under pressure. That same mindset drew me to triathlon and endurance sports over a decade ago and it has become a vital part of my life.
That same mindset drew me to triathlon and endurance sports over a decade ago-and it became a vital part of my life.
I grew up in Canberra, Australia, cycling to school daily on the city’s extensive bike paths. Moving to Sydney for university, I was daunted by the roads and I enjoyed university life a little too much. I gained a lot of weight (peaking at 115kg.) A colleague introduced me to running (first half marathon in 2011) and then lent me a road bike, convincing me to enter a sprint triathlon. “All I had to do” was survive a 750m open water swim in Botany Bay, then I believed I could do the 20km bike and 5km run through a national park. The rest is history, I was hooked. The parallels were immediate: measuring pace, heart rate, and power to optimize performance felt like tuning sensors and control schemes for reliability and output. Except now the “process” was my own body, and the goal was health, especially after welcoming my daughter.
The rest is history, I was hooked. The parallels were immediate: measuring pace, heart rate, and power to optimize performance felt like tuning sensors and control schemes for reliability and output-except now the “process” was my own body, and the goal was health, especially after welcoming my daughter.
Progression came steadily; sprint triathlons led to my first Half Ironman 70.3 Triathlon. The scale of this event scared me:
- 1.8km open water swim
- 90km bike
- finished with 21.1km half marathon
Nine months of training ahead of me, I set to work, learning the sport and started training as consistently as possible. I also joined the Bondi Running and Triathlon (BRAT) Club. Falling in love with the community of support it provided, as well as the overall training process, seeing slow but steady improvements.
I remember my first race weekend finally arriving. Nothing truly compares to an Ironman event. Knowing you are on the threshold of hours of activity, attempting something so big with no idea if you can complete it or not. Hoping that the months of training have done the job.
Arriving the day before to register, you feel like an athlete. Signing your life away on waivers, receiving the transition bags, race tattoos, and ceremonially branded with a race bracelet. The last thing you can do after months of preparation is prepare the bike in transition, ready for the big day.
Alarm blared at 4:30 am, RACE DAY!.
Bleary eyed, I found the transition in the dark and prepared the bike. Packed it full of food for the day. Double, triple checking everything is in place.
All I could do now was join the crowds of other people in black wetsuits, waiting in the staging pens.
AC/DC, Thunderstruck blared over the PA system. It still sends shivers down my spine to this day. Taking me right back to that moment with the anticipation of jumping in the water and the full day ahead. This race was a mass start, so over 60 other men in my age group wadded out to tread water, waiting for the starter gun.
Boom, arms and legs everywhere in the foaming lake water as we started the swim. Finally finding a bit of free space, I tried to take it slow and steady.
Emerging from the water, through Transition 1, I was quickly onto the bike, my favorite discipline. Here I could settle into a rhythm, passing quite a few people as well. I got carried away with the excitement of the day, always chasing the next person up the road. I was in the moment. The feeling of pushing at threshold, feeling every fiber of my body pulsing with oxygen and lactate.
Transition 2, bike done and running shoes on. I remember thinking to myself “Only a half marathon to go!” All things a relative right?
Little did I know the pain and suffering I was in for. It was also December in Sydney on a +30C degree day, running around a course that hugged the 2000 Olympic rowing lakes, with no tree cover.
I quickly discovered that I had overcooked the bike. I am barely able to hold a shuffle with my quads cramping. All I could do was take all the ice, water and cola I could stomach to try cool down and get some energy to finish the race. I knew I just had to keep moving. Five and half hours after I had started, the half marathon was over. I crossed the finish line, and I was overcome with emotion and tears of relief.
Every time I enter an event, it is to chase that feeling again. But that doesn’t happen without the discipline of training and getting my body ready to compete. The training gives structure to my weeks, and that daily investment in my health pays me back in experiences and events that I will never forget.
In a life defining moment, in 2025 I collapsed on a flight from Sydney to Singapore.
Necrotising Fasciitis had led to multi organ failure, and I was in a coma for 2 weeks undergoing 5 surgeries. With a high mortality rate, doctors attribute part of my recovery to my underlying fitness before I was ill.
I lost 15kgs of muscle mass while in ICU and had to learn how to do everything again. Through the rehabilitation process, learning how to walk, eat and care for myself, it reinforced the power of small consistent habits,
Triathlon has also taught me a lot about planning and attention to details. The complexity of the bikes now and managing the wetsuits, bike shoes, running shoes and nutrition all add to the challenge. Planning your training effectively and making sure that everything is right for Raceday is critical with no room for error, much like planning for testing and commissioning of secondary systems on live networks.
If it does go wrong, you also need to think on the fly, keep calm and problem solve, repair the flat tire or adjust the nutrition plan because your stomach is having a bad day.
Prior to 2025 I completed seven Half Ironmans and one full Ironman. My other favorite event was completing the Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon in San Francisco. The event starts by jumping off the San Francisco Belle paddle steamer, near the Alcatraz Island and then swimming to shore. I missed the planned landing point due to an unusually strong current that year, but I did complete the 4km swim. I love having the general fitness to go for long adventure mountain bike rides when I choose to and even long trail runs.
For fellow PAC professionals: Pick a big goal that scares you. One so big, you are forced to implement a plan and learn the discipline and complete the training. Now in recovery from my illness, I am again enjoying the training process, building another big event.
The event/race day then becomes the expression of your hard work and what you have achieved in the preceding months. In order to fit in all the training, you need to plan your life, and be purposeful with your time, which benefits all aspects of your life. I wouldn’t be without it
Biography:
Ben Haines has over 22 years’ experience in the PACS industry working on power systems across UK, Australia and Asia. Currently as Principal Protection and Control Engineer at CAPULA Ltd, based in Stone UK, provides integrated protection and substation control system solutions for clients including National Grid Transmission, SSE, EPCs and renewable transmission connections. He has authored papers presenting at several CIGRE and PAC WORLD conferences and is the GB representative to CIGRE B5, contributing to the G5.86 working group on PACS Interfaced Asset Management and Condition Monitoring.
