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Triathlon

Articles and publications tagged Triathlon across the Atmosphere.

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Articles

Publications

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

Given to TriApr 28, 2025

Gates of Yellowstone Triathlon

I just found out about this new locally-organized race in Cody, Wyoming, just outside of Yellowstone National Park, basically in my backyard (okay, it's a five-hour drive, but as Wyoming distances go, that still counts as "my backyard"). I immediately signed up for the Olympic-distance race; they also have a sprint-distance, and an Olympic relay. It's on August 16th, which worries me a little because of the usual summer smoke, but I'm looking forward to it nonetheless.

Gates of Yellowstone TriathlonNews

Given to TriApr 25, 2025

World Triathlon updates hydration rules again

They're further revising the rule changes they announced a couple months ago with a new set of updates, effective as of April 15th. The rule interpretation document includes a number of changes, but most notably, all front and rear hydration now must fit within a certain space on the bike. For front hydration: When measured from the lowest edge of the arm support (if none exists, the lowest edge of the athlete's elbow in the rider's intended aero position), all attached objects on the handlebars (bottles, holders, containers, etc.) must be within an area with the following dimensions: a maximum of 250 mm in the direction of the saddle and a maximum of 200 mm in height and no further than the foremost point of the handlebars or clip-ons, and a maximum of 20 mm from the highest point of the front wheel. And for rear hydration: All attached holders, containers, bottle holders, etc. must fit completely into an imaginary frame no larger than 30x30cm. Bottles may protrude beyond this area. The volume of liquid hasn't changed: Up to two liters in the front and back, and up to two bottles in the back. There's one big exception, though---the rules now include built-in hydration systems, so if you are using one, you can only carry up to two liters and you can't carry bottles behind the saddle. It seems the intention is to put everyone on a level playing field by limiting hydration to a total of four liters. I expect Ironman to adopt these new rules shortly, just like they did last time. In the meantime, I need to go check my hydration setup, because I honestly have no idea if it's legal anymore. Update (5/28/2025): Ironman won't be enforcing these new rules for age groups just yet.

NewsTriathlon

Given to TriApr 17, 2025

Ironman comes to New Mexico

Ironman just announced a "festival weekend of racing" next year in Ruidoso, New Mexico, which includes an Ironman 70.3, a 5150 race (Ironman's branding for an Olympic-distance race), and a sprint-distance race. A 70.3 in a scenic mountain town... at about 2,000 meters of elevation... on my birthday? Yes, please. The bike course is right up my alley too, an out-and-back where the last 45 km are uphill with about 730 meters of elevation gain. If it wasn't a 17-hour drive from here, I'd sign up immediately, but I'm still tempted. Update: Oh, who am I kidding. I signed up.

Half DistanceIronman 70.3 Ruidoso

Given to TriFeb 26, 2025

Ironman adopts World Triathlon's bike hydration rules

Well, that was fast. On Sunday I wondered if Ironman would adopt World Triathlon's new rules limiting the amount of hydration that can be carried on the bike, and today I got my answer: Yep. In the 2025 Ironman competition rules, the section on bike equipment has been updated to be consistent with World Triathlon rules: (i) Front Mounted Water Bottles and Hydration Systems mounted to components attached to the bike that rotate around the steering axis (e.g., cockpit extensions, top tube, headset, stem, head tube) must have a combined maximum volume capacity of no more than two (2) liters (this excludes water bottles and hydration systems located inside the frame triangle of a bicycle or inside the bicycle frame) (DSQ). (ii) Rear Mounted Water Bottles and Hydration Systems are limited in size, capacity, dimension and location as set forth below: (i) Cannot contain more than two (2) water bottles* (DSQ); and (ii) Must not exceed one (1) liter capacity per bottle* (DSQ). *Excludes water bottles and hydration systems located inside the frame triangle of a bike or inside the bike frame. Here's a full summary of the updated competition rules, which include a few other verbiage changes and updates for consistency with World Triathlon. Among other things, the penalties for blue card violations, such as drafting and littering, have been reduced to 3 minutes for full Ironmans and 2 minutes for 70.3s (down from 5 minutes for both). The rules also clarify that you can wear neoprene hats whenever wetsuits are allowed and that you can wear two swim caps (in both cases you still have to wear the race cap on top). Ironman also has a short FAQ that explains the changes very clearly.

NewsTriathlon