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Triathlon

Articles and publications tagged Triathlon across the Atmosphere.

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Given to TriNov 6, 2026

My 2027 season is finally taking shape

Another batch of Ironman races opened up for registration this week, and with that, my 2027 season is officially on. I'm currently signed up for: Ironman 70.3 Oceanside: Oceanside, California, April 3 Ironman 70.3 Northern California: Redding, California, May 23 Ironman 70.3 Coeur d'Alene: Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, June 27 Ironman 70.3 Boise: Boise, Idaho, July 24 Ironman Montana: Great Falls, Montana, August 15 Ironman 70.3 Washington Tri-Cities: Richland, Washington, September 19 Six races in total; yes, it's a stacked race season and an enormous time and financial commitment, but I want to do as many races as I can, for as long as I can do them---who knows what tomorrow will bring. I'm particularly excited about doing three races I've never done before, including a brand-new full distance race in Montana. Bring it on, 2027.

Full DistanceHalf Distance

Given to TriOct 21, 2026

Finally, a new Ironman in the western US

Just announced: Ironman Montana, in Great Falls, Montana, on August 15, 2027. It's the last in the slate of new Ironman-branded races announced this week for 2027 in North America, which also includes Ironman 70.3 Lake George in Lake George, New York, on June 13, 2027; and Ironman 70.3 Utah in Orem, Utah, on August 21, 2027. The latter is now the closest race to me, but unfortunately only six days after Ironman Montana, so I can only do one of them---and I'm choosing the full. After a DNF in Coeur d’Alene in 2023 and a canceled swim in Penticton in 2024, I finally have a chance to finish a full Ironman for real. Priority registration for all three races opens on October 27, with general registration on the 29th.

Full DistanceNews

Given to TriOct 17, 2026

“The only bad race is one where you don’t learn something”

I enjoyed this episode of Frodeno Going Mental, in which three-time Ironman World Champion Jan Frodeno interviews six-time Ironman World Champion Mark Allen. Allen's mindset and mindfulness truly resonates with me; I really needed to hear this after my last race. I could quote the entire thing, so just give it a listen.

PodcastsTriathlon

Given to TriOct 13, 2026

Race Report: 2026 Ironman 70.3 Washington Tri-Cities

A solid result, even if it didn’t feel like it at first.

Half DistanceIronman 70.3 Washington Tri-Cities

Given to TriSep 19, 2026

Ironman 70.3 Washington Tri-Cities extended for three more years

From 610 KONA: During an interview this morning (Friday) on 610 KONA-AM's Mike and AJ in the Morning, Hector Cruz, Vice President for Visit Tri-Cities, announced that the Tri-Cities will host the IRONMAN race for another three years. That's an extension of the event's original three-year agreement, which covered 2024 through 2026. Good news. This is a great venue, and I'm looking forward to keep racing here for a few more years. I'm already in Richland for this year's edition---bib number 79, if you want to follow along tomorrow.

Half DistanceIronman 70.3 Washington Tri-Cities

The Indefatigable Iron RogueSep 11, 2026

Race Recap: Vancouver Triathlon (Sprint Distance)

Having done the Cultus Lake Triathlon for 3 years in a row, I wanted to try (tri) something different this year, and I’ve never done a triathlon in salt water, so enter the Vancouver Triathlon, which took place on Labour Day. The logistics of getting to Stanley Park in Vancouver added some stress to the … Continue reading “Race Recap: Vancouver Triathlon (Sprint Distance)”

racetriathlon

Given to TriSep 8, 2026

Ironman 70.3 Northern California moves to May in 2027

I read a few glowing race reports from this race, all of which raved about the course, how well-organized the race was, and how welcoming Redding was, which made me regret not racing it. Next year it's moving from its mid-August date to May 23rd, which would make it not blazing-hot. I'm tempted to add it to my schedule next year; Redding is a mere fourteen-hour drive from me. Priority registration opens on September 15th; general registration on September 17th.

Half DistanceNews

Given to TriAug 29, 2026

Ironman 70.3 Coeur d’Alene close to being renewed for another three years

According to the Coeur d’Alene Press, the Coeur d’Alene City Council, the World Triathlon Corporation, and the North Idaho Sports Commission are about to sign a three-year contract that keeps the Ironman 70.3 in Coeur d'Alene through 2029, with races set for June 27, 2027, June 25, 2028, and June 24, 2029. It also formalizes the move of the finish line from Sherman Avenue into Coeur d’Alene City Park, which happened this year because the race accidentally collided with the Car d’Alene car festival. I love this race, so I'm glad it'll be renewed for another three years, but I had my fingers crossed that the full-distance race would return---I have some unfinished business there.

Half DistanceIronman 70.3 Coeur d’Alene

Given to TriAug 1, 2026

Race Report: 2026 Ironman 70.3 Boise

A duathlon in the heat.

Half DistanceIronman 70.3 Boise

Given to TriJun 26, 2026

Race Report: 2026 Ironman 70.3 Coeur d’Alene

Not my best, not my worst.

Half DistanceIronman 70.3 Coeur d’Alene

Given to TriJun 11, 2026

Race Report: 2026 Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon

Welcome to The Rock.

Escape from Alcatraz TriathlonRace Reports

Given to TriJun 2, 2026

Escape from Alcatraz changes starting procedures for this year's race

The swim start for this race seems chaotic---athletes jump from the San Francisco Belle into San Francisco Bay en masse, and the entire ship is emptied in less than eight minutes. From what I've read, last year's start was more rushed and disorganized than in previous years, which led to an athlete being paralyzed after someone landed directly on his head during the swim start. Needless to say, I've been fairly anxious about this since I signed up for this year's race, so it's encouraging to hear that the organizers are making changes to this year's start procedure. According to this year's athlete guide, there will be three start locations on the ship instead of the usual two, which should space people out more, and race staff will signal athletes to jump only when the landing area is clear. Hopefully these changes are enough to make the start safer for everyone.

Escape from Alcatraz TriathlonNews

Given to TriMay 24, 2026

T-2 weeks to Escape from Alcatraz

I've been reading a lot about this race to prepare for it, including this race report from Ray Maker, this course preview from two-time winner Eric Lagerstrom, and this race review by Kelly O’Mara, and suffice to say, I'm more than a little anxious about the swim. To ease my anxiety, I built a swim conditions dashboard for San Francisco Bay southwest of Alcatraz, using forecast data from NOAA’s San Francisco Bay Operational Forecast System. Not sure it's helping with the anxiety part, but it looks cool and gives a good idea of what to expect in terms of currents and water temperature.

Escape from Alcatraz TriathlonTriathlon

Given to TriFeb 24, 2026

Ironman updates their competition rules for 2026

This year's rules formalize the 20-meter bike draft rules for pros, which they announced last month, and clarify how they will work when age groupers interact with pros. They also lessen the penalty for having an unzipped trisuit from disqualification to a warning and a time penalty if not remedied, ban video recording during races (so leave those Meta Oakley glasses home), and rename the Physically Challenged and Intellectual Disability Open Division to Para Open Division, plus a handful of minor wording changes. They've also published a summary of the changes and an FAQ. Nothing too earth-shaking, but I'm surprised that after last year's confusing changes to the hydration rules, which were only communicated by World Triathlon through a "rule interpretation" document and which Ironman said would only be enforced for pros with "ample notice" given before they took effect for age groups, none of those rules made it into either the 2026 Ironman or World Triathlon rule books, except for the one that limits attachments to the top tube of the bike to a maximum height of 10 cm. I'm assuming this means the rest of the rules in the "rule interpretation" document are still not in effect for age groups, but it would be nice to get some clarification from Ironman one way or the other.

NewsTriathlon

Given to TriDec 9, 2025

No more Mortal Hydration in Ironman aid stations in 2026

From Ironman, via email: Ahead of your race next year, we wanted to introduce you to Precision Fuel & Hydration, our Official Hydration Partner for the 2026 IRONMAN and IRONMAN 70.3 Global Series, including the 2026 IRONMAN World Championship in Kona, Hawai’i and the 2026 IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship in Nice, France. Trusted by reigning IRONMAN World Champion Solveig Løvseth and 2x IRONMAN 70.3 Champion Jelle Geens, Precision Fuel & Hydration’s PH 1000 electrolyte drink will be available on-course globally next season. I use PH 1500 tablets frequently during training in the summer and vastly prefer them to Mortal's excessively-sweet, stevia-laden electrolyte drinks. This is great news, and exactly what I hoped would happen after Ironman announced Precision Fuel & Hydration as their hydration partner in Europe a couple of years ago.

NewsTriathlon

Given to TriNov 3, 2025

I'm Escaping from Alcatraz next June

I entered the random drawing for a race entry for next year's Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon on a whim, and to my surprise, got a slot in the first drawing. It's a bucket list race, which involves jumping from a ship near Alcatraz Island into the icy cold waters of San Francisco Bay for a 2.4 km swim, a 29 km bike ride through the Presidio of San Francisco, and ending with a 12.9 km run that includes climbing 400 steps up Baker Beach's infamous Sand Ladder. I'm not quite sure of what I have gotten myself into, but I'm equal parts excited and terrified.

Escape from Alcatraz TriathlonPersonal

Given to TriSep 25, 2025

Race Report: 2025 Ironman 70.3 Washington Tri-Cities

I finished my tenth Ironman 70.3 with no regrets.

Half DistanceIronman 70.3 Washington Tri-Cities

Given to TriAug 4, 2025

Paula Findlay's recap of Ironman 70.3 Boise

I don't normally post about professional triathlon racing, but I enjoyed Paula Findlay's race recap from Ironman 70.3 Boise on the That Triathlon Life podcast. It's interesting, and sometimes validating, to hear about I race I did from a pro's perspective: The swim was choppy, and long; the buoys were hard to sight---I'm glad it wasn't just me.

Half DistanceIronman 70.3 Boise

Given to TriJul 30, 2025

Race Report: 2025 Ironman 70.3 Boise

A solid result despite a sleepless night, a rough swim, and one judgmental cowboy.

Half DistanceIronman 70.3 Boise

Given to TriJul 2, 2025

Ironman announces new performance-based qualification for Ironman and Ironman 70.3 World Championships

This new system, which takes effect with the 2026 qualification cycle starting this month, basically does away with the old roll-down system, in which unclaimed slots would roll down indefinitely within an age group. Ironman has a good explanation in their FAQ, but the short version is: Each race is allocated a number of World Championship slots, as before. Winners of each age group automatically get a World Championship slot. If they decline it, the slot can only roll down to second or third place. Any unclaimed slots go to a global "Performance Pool" for that race. The finish times of the remaining athletes are normalized by multiplying them by some factor for each age group, so they can be ranked together. This factor is derived for each age group from the top World Championship finish times over the past five years, and will be updated every year. The remaining slots are offered to the top finishers in this age-graded normalized ranking, and roll down until they're all claimed. For Kona, there's a single age-graded ranking including men and women; for 70.3 Worlds there are separate rankings for men and women, since they're separate races. It sounds complicated, but the examples they have in the FAQ make it easier to understand: Anne is 42, she finishes IRONMAN Kalmar in 9:19:51, giving her an age-graded finish time of 8:07:26, applying the Kona Standard of 0.8707 (9:19:51 × 0.8707 = 8:07:26). John is 43 and finishes IRONMAN Kalmar in 8:50:31, giving him an age-graded time of 8:33:42, applying the Kona Standard of 0.9683 (8:50:31 × 0.9683 = 8:33:42). Anne would rank above John in the age-graded rankings due to her age-graded time of 8:07:26 being faster than John’s age-graded finish time of 8:33:42. For me, this means any hopes I had of getting lucky with a deep roll down in my age group at a late-season race are probably dashed, but I like this change; it makes qualification fairer and more competitive. I'll simply have to git gud, or outlive everyone and qualify in the 90–94 age group.

NewsTriathlon

Given to TriJun 25, 2025

Race Report: 2025 Ironman 70.3 Coeur d’Alene

A cold snap in Coeur d’Alene ultimately gave way to an almost perfect day for racing.

Half DistanceIronman 70.3 Coeur d’Alene

Given to TriMay 28, 2025

Ironman will not enforce the new World Triathlon hydration rules for age groups just yet

Jimmy Riccitello, Ironman's head referee, confirmed this to Slowtwitch on the Slowtwitch Podcast. The new rules World Triathlon announced in April (and clarified again in May) in their rule interpretation document are in effect, but Ironman will currently only enforce them for professional athletes, and will provide "ample notice" of at least thirty days before they take effect for age groupers. Good news, but this is such a mess. Maybe I'll write an explainer later about the new rules, since we'll eventually have to abide by them, but for now, if you are an age grouper competing in an Ironman-branded race, the only hydration rules you need to worry about right now are the ones in section 5.02 (c) of the Ironman 2025 competition rules, which are summarized here and explained in this FAQ. TL;DR: As many bottles as you want in the front, up to two liters total; and up to two bottles in the back, of no more than one liter each.

NewsTriathlon

Given to TriMay 20, 2025

What's the water temperature at Lucky Peak Reservoir in July?

Ever since the return of Ironman 70.3 Boise was announced, I've been wondering what the water temperature would be like on race day. I know in the previous iterations of this race, when it was in early June, it was a very cold swim: In 2011 the water temperature was 11°C, and in 2012 it was so cold, people wore wetsuits on the bike, which was shortened to 24 km. So far I haven't been able to find a reliable source of historical water temperatures at Lucky Peak Reservoir to look up what it might be like in late July, but today I got an email from Ironman that states (emphasis mine): The IRONMAN 70.3 Boise 2025 swim course offers athletes a refreshing and scenic 1.2-mile swim in the pristine waters of Lucky Peak Reservoir. Starting and finishing in the easily accessible Barclay Bay area, this single-loop course provides a calm and clear environment, ideal for both seasoned swimmers and first-time triathletes. The reservoir's typical water temperatures in late July range from 64°F to 70°F (18°C to 21°C), making it comfortably wetsuit-legal for most participants. That's not so bad, that's downright pleasant! Anyway, just thought of dropping that here in case anybody else needs to Google it. Here are the actual water temperatures at Lucky Peak Reservoir on race day for every Ironman 70.3 Boise in July so far: Race Day Water Temperature July 26, 2025 19.6°C July 25, 2026 20.8°C

Half DistanceIronman 70.3 Boise

Given to TriMay 13, 2025

Race Report: 2025 Ironman 70.3 St. George

My last dance in St. George turned out to be the hardest race I've done so far.

Half DistanceIronman 70.3 St. George