The Triathlete Hour

This week, we've got a bunch of short fun things for you. First, our senior digital editor Liz Hichens give us the lowdown on the new Ironman COVID-19 protocols. Liz lays out what the rules and processes were at Arizona 70.3—the first Ironman brand event in the U.S. since the start of the pandemic—and she tells us how it went and what athletes can expect at races in the near future (including the upcoming Ironman Arizona). For more insight and photos of the race set-up: https://www.triathlete.com/events/ironman/what-the-first-ironman-brand-event-in-the-u-s-since-the-pandemic-looked-like/

Then, our writer Brad Culp gives us his predictions and preview of the biggest race of the year, the PTO Championships in Daytona in December. The top 50 men and top 50 women in the world (plus 16 additional invites)will race for $1 million across a unique distance. It's one of the first times we'll see the top short-course and long-course stars battle it out together. Read his full preview here: https://www.triathlete.com/events/field-set-for-star-studded-pto-championship-in-daytona/

And then we talk with our managing editor and six-time 70.3 champion, Emma-Kate Lidbury, about how she went from dreaming about working for a big newspaper in the UK to dreaming about being a pro triathlete. Emma-Kate first found triathlon when she was assigned to cover a race for the newspaper she worked at—and she never looked back. She tells us about quitting her job, moving to the US, going all in, and how she was supposed to move in with a homestay for three weeks and ended up staying for three years.

Plus, what she wished she had known when she started and her craziest race stories.

This episode is brought to you by MitoQ: https://www.mitoq.com/poweruptriathlon?utm_campaign=pr_pr_putri&utm_content=pr&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=triathlete

Welcome to the fourth episode of Gear Up, Triathlete's brand-new monthly podcast that takes a look at the latest trends, the hot-button topics, and lifts the curtain on all of that crazy tri-related gear that you love, and sometimes love to hate. This week we talk to Jon Blyer, one of our top gear writers, an expert bike fitter, and owner of Acme Bicycles. He’ll be joining us from his high-end bike fitting studio/shop in Brooklyn, NY, where he works with road and tri cyclists who are constantly looking for the latest and greatest. We’ll dig into three exciting, brand new bikes from Orbea, Scott, and a new company called Ku. Jon’s expert eye as a bike fitter will help give some perspective on why we should care about these three bikes, and we’ll talk through why each is extremely different in their own way. Here's our Unboxing of Orbea's bike: https://www.triathlete.com/gear/bike/unboxed-orbea-ordu-tri-bike/ We’ll discuss why the craziest bike in the lineup might actually change the way we buy bikes in the future—and it’s completely opposite of what current trends are saying. We’ll also talk through some potential rule changes from the UCI and chat about why the changes might matter for triathletes and might not. Finally, we’ll talk to Jon about what it’s been like to be a bike shop owner in New York City as the pandemic took hold this spring and summer. While it hasn’t been easy, he’s optimistic about the future of cycling and sports in general.

In this episode we talk with two-time Ironman champ Sara Gross, who tells us about how she started triathlon while at grad school in Scotland, improved while training with Faris al-Sultan in the Middle East, and finally won an Ironman after being ready to quit the sport.

She tells us what that was like, what changed, how the Kona field used to be bigger back in the day, and how the sport has changed. She also tells us all about the media company she founded since retiring (https://livefeisty.com/), how Crossfit is going, and if she's seen Prince Harry in Victoria, Canada. Plus, her daughter interrupts us.

First, though, Thorsten Radde—the official statistician of triathlon—talks to us about how he creates his ratings and rankings, what does depth mean, and who he predicted would have won Kona—and who will win Daytona. Check out all his ratings at: https://www.trirating.com/

This episode is brought to you by MitoQ: https://www.mitoq.com/poweruptriathlon?utm_campaign=pr_pr_putri&utm_content=pr&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=triathlete

This week we talk to Jocelyn McCauley. The Ironman champ is, in some ways, best known for almost beating Wold Champion Daniela Ryf last year at Ironman Texas. We talk about that and what it takes to believe you're as good as anyone in the world—plus how she went from Kona amateur champ in just her second Ironman ever to top ten in the pro field.

You can read our 2015 story about her back when she was a nurse and age-group athlete: https://www.triathlete.com/events/ironman/on-the-fast-track-from-newbie-to-kona-amateur-champ/

We talk about how she and her husband weighed the pros and cons of going pro, how she involves her daughter in her training, and the role her faith plays in her life. Jocelyn is Mormon and doesn't race on Sundays—even when that means skipping the 70.3 World Championships. We talk about why she made that decision and what kind of response she gets in the sport. Plus, stereotypes, trash talking, and having fun.

Hope you enjoy!

This episode is brought to you by MitoQ: https://www.mitoq.com/poweruptriathlon?utm_campaign=pr_pr_putri&utm_content=pr&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=triathlete

This week would have been the week we all gathered on the Big Island for the Ironman World Championships. With Kona canceled, we're looking back instead of the 42 years of the event with the sport's de facto historian Bob Babbitt. Bob has been at every race since he did one of the first Ironman events back in 1980. He remembers all of his favorite moments and he tells us how the sport has changed (and how it hasn't!) over the years. You can listen to Breakfast With Bob and Bob's other interviews here: https://babbittville.com/

Plus, our editors share their favorite Kona moments. Share your's with us too. We're looking back at everything that shapes Kona: https://www.triathlete.com/collection/ironman-world-championship/

And be sure to vote in our King & Queen of Kona bracket for who's the best athlete of all time: https://www.triathlete.com/events/ironman/help-us-pick-the-king-and-queen-of-kona/

This episode is sponsored by MitoQ: www.mitoq.com/poweruptriathlon

This week we talk to Skye Moench. The Salt Lake City based accountant quit her fancy job and turned pro when she was still an age-grouper because she believed she could be great. Last year, she won her first big title—the Ironman European Championships—in dramatic fashion, when Sarah True collapsed a half-mile from the finish line.

Skye was set to make her debut in Kona when, three weeks before, on a training ride, she found herself laying on the side of the road—with no idea how she got there. She talks to us about the crazy crash, the intense recovery, and the emotional ups-and-downs of getting back in the saddle just as COVID hit.

Plus, Skye helped organize last week's DIY pro race—the Bear Lake Brawl—which was the first pro prize purse in the U.S. since the start of COVID. Here's our story about the event: https://www.triathlete.com/events/come-hell-or-cold-water-pros-brawl-adapt-at-bear-lake/

Skye tells us what she did to go from pretty good to really good, why she's always believed in herself, and what it's like to sit on the Pro Triathletes Organization's board with the big names of the sport.

Plus, don't forget to put on your own races and sign up for Hawaii From Home by this Sunday: https://runsignup.com/Race/CO/Boulder/hawaiifromhome

This episode is sponsored by MitoQ: www.mitoq.com/poweruptriathlon

Welcome to the second episode of "Gear Up," Triathlete magazine's new all-gear, all-the-time podcast where we dig into hot gear topics in the swim, bike, run, and multispor world. This week we talk to Peter Monahan, the founder and CEO of OnCourse goggles, about how his clever invention can help you swim straighter and faster through the use of some pretty high-tech concepts. Peter also shares with us a harrowing tale about how he first got involved in watersports and water safety tech to help create a device that was intended to save children from drowning, based on his own son’s near-fatal accident. Finally, we’ll get an inside look into some very unconventional uses of the technology he originally developed to help you swim in a straight line—how the same tech could help triathletes with a common swim technique issue. And we get a sneak peak into how he might use his unique technology in the future to make you fast outside of the water as well

In 2017, Angela Naeth contracted Lyme disease. After winning countless 70.3 and full Ironman races, she struggled to walk and suffered from mysterious debilitating pain. But in 2018, she came back to get 8th at Kona.

Now she's going through intense treatment during this off year. She tells us about what it's been like, how she decided to become a pro triathlete at the age of 27, and why she wants to keep racing forever. She also talks about all the different projects she's been involved in—and how her age group team brings her joy and camaraderie.

For more info on Lyme disease, which we talk about extensively:

CDC's symptoms of untreated Lyme: https://www.cdc.gov/lyme/signs_symptoms/index.html

LymeDisease.org: https://www.lymedisease.org/

And first we chat with our senior editor, Chris Foster, who headed to the first big pro race in the US this weekend. He tells us why small grassroots races are attracting huge and competitive pro fields, and how this might be the future of the sport.

This episode is sponsored by MitoQ: www.mitoq.com/poweruptriathlon