“Excuse me.” “On your left.” “Well done.” “Looking great.” “Zuper!” I ran out of things to say as I overtook a steady stream of runners, and I felt a bit awkward. I wondered if this is what it’s like being a really fast runner, though presumably they start at the front rather than at the back to run through field.

I hadn’t knocked half an hour of my half marathon PB overnight, I was the runner in a half Ironman relay. Out of a field of about 2,200 taking on Ironman 70.3 in Zell Austria, there were 50 relay teams. By the time the baton (well, the timing chip) was passed to me, most of the other competitors around me had already done a 1.2 mile swim and a 56 mile cycle. I, on the other hand, had got up at a leisurely hour, had a hearty hotel breakfast before strolling down to the lake to watch the swim, eaten a waffle smothered in Nutella and hung out in the hotel avoiding the rain. Even the several pints and local schnapps I’d had the night before had had plenty of time to wear off.

Around 2pm I headed to the relay change-over box where I waited for Ben, a guy I’d met just two days earlier and who was somewhere out on the bike course. We’d been brought together as a relay team by the Austrian Tourist Board along with Amy our swimmer, a second relay team and a solo competitor. We’d taken full advantage of their hospitality eating and drinking in Zell, staring at the massive mountains and Instagramming the amazing surroundings. But then we had to do a half Ironman.

I cheered on the other competitors as they rushed out of T2 to start their runs and was enjoying being a spectator. I turned to Steve, the runner from the other relay team: “I don’t think I can run a half marathon. I’m quite enjoying doing the cheering.” And right at that moment Ben headed towards me, soaking wet from getting rained on as he cycled through the Alps but smiling. I took the timing chip off his ankle, wrapped it round my own and I was off.

I ran along the lake towards Zell, through the town and along the lake the other side for the start of two laps. I passed a lot of runners. Correction: I passed a lot of triathletes. I saw Dom, the solo competitor, and Steve on the out and back sections. I stared at the mountains and the lake and the pretty town. I felt glad that I was just doing the run as I passed triathletes who’d given it their all. I’d had a good season of racing triathlons but I was back where I felt most at home: running.

As the runner I got the privilege of running down the finishing straight, right through the heart of Zell. Crowds had lined either side of the last hundred meters. I high-fived a lot of kids, ran under the finish line and collected three medals. Our team had finished in 6 hours 19 minutes. I’d done the run in 1:48. Not bad for a triathlete, I thought.

Running and triathlon can be a bit of a lonesome sport. Whether you’ve done a triathlon as a solo competitor before or not, I really recommend taking part in a relay event. It’s a great way into the sport if you’re new and a brilliant way to enjoy it with friends. Or even, as I did, complete strangers who you can have a good time with.