Alice Gray runs out of the water at the Beltie Triathlon 2024

Equally, her Sunday run may last a few hours and even when she knows the clock is ticking on a deal, she will still manage to schedule a late evening gym session before returning to her desk.

Naturally, this hard training regime has a purpose. By January, the young lawyer and former lifeguard hopes to learn if she’s been successful in her bid to join the Aquathlon GB Age Group (25–29 years) squad. Her recent achievements in running and swimming will surely not go unnoticed by selectors as she chases her dream to compete at a European or World Championship. 

In August, the former pupil of Boroughmuir High and graduate of University of Glasgow finished third (and first in her age category) in the aptly named Chill Swim. Competing against 500 other athletes, the race demanded a cool 11-mile end-to-end swim of Lake Windermere in the Lake District, which Alice completed in four hours and 35 minutes. 

The following week, she finished second in The Beltie, an Olympic-distance triathlon. Barely stopping to catch a breath, within a week she was back in the water to claim the top spot overall at the Loch Morlich Aquathlon, near Aviemore.

By her own admission, this talented member of Edinburgh Triathletes is highly competitive, driven, determined and target-focused. These are all attributes that Alice believes serve her equally well in her corporate legal career and in pursuit of sporting ambitions. 

She said: “I’m very competitive by nature, analytical and good at setting and working towards targets. I think that’s why I like corporate law because like in sport, it’s like a race in which you focus on completing the deal.” 

She also understands why so many professionals in the corporate sector may find triathlon and similar sports appealing. “I think it appeals to a certain type of personality. Our corporate roles are high stakes and high pressure, requiring you to be really focused and disciplined. A bit like endurance sport. Other people may find it hard get up at 5am to go swimming for two hours or find it difficult to sit at your desk until midnight working on a really challenging deal.”

Alice admits that occasionally the demands of corporate law and competitive triathlon can make it tricky to strike a good work-life balance, but she feels very fortunate to work within the all-female corporate team led by partner Alison Gilson. 

“It can be difficult. I do try to manage by doing most of my training in the very early morning before work in case I need to work on late. Obviously, there are times like in the run up to a (deal) completion when I can’t leave my desk and go training, but I do try to find time. I am very fortunate that my colleagues are super supportive.” 

Yet, while Alice continues to plunge into her corporate work and the training pool, the ambitious lawyer and athlete has set herself an even tougher challenge – swimming half of the English Channel. In 2026, Alice and a friend aim to each swim approximately 18km of the challenging water between England and France. 

She said: “I’ve always wanted to swim the English Channel and swimming half of it as part of a two-person team before I turn 30 is a first step towards taking the plunge and one day swimming the whole way,” said Alice. “I want to achieve something that not many people have achieved.”