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So in the world of Ultra endurance sports racing a triple Ironman is probably pretty much par for the course if you are a serious ultra endurance athlete.
And even rowing a boat across 2500 miles of open Atlantic ocean might not seem like such a completely crazy hard day (or months as it will most likely be) at the office.
But to row that boat stark naked almost the entire way---well that's something that even might raise and eyebrow or two of the most Ultra of Ultra athletes.
Lance Armstrong has won the Tour de France more times than any other cyclists in history but....
he's 38 years old,
he's been out of the sport for over three years and,
he's not the favorite to win.
Most fans of Ironman racing will know Torbjørn Sindballe for his unique and "cooling" all white bike and run gear from the last couple Kona Ironman World Championships.
Fans might also recall Torbjørn Sindballe for his powerful and dominating bike style, his 2004 and 2006 ITU championships and of course a 3rd place finish at the 2007 Ironman World Championships.
The news today is that the big Ironman triathlete has retired due to "an abnormal heart valve" that left him hyperventilating in T2 at this year's Wildflower Triathlon.
I interview pro triathlete John Hirsch and then try to get myself killed while trail running in the Sam Houston National Forest.
John Hirsch is a pro triathlete, part-time lawyer, and ex-punk rock singer. His interview is great stuff and he's agreed to be on more shows, giving us tips on how to train like the best.
I also went to the local wilderness and got lost, trying to drink my own sweat to stay hydrated. The photo above is of a skunk I came across while trekking.
OK so the study didn't specifically say to not do an Ironman, but it did find that triathletes who bike more than 186 miles per week have less than 4% normal looking sperm.
In other words, that would most likely be a triathlete training for an Ironman race, or perhaps serious to professional cyclist.
The study conducted in Spain concluded that men who ride at least 186 miles per week would have "significant fertility problems".
Almost 1400 athletes took to the waters of Buffalo Springs Lake in Texas for the 20th year of one of the oldest half Ironman races in North America.
And when the water had dried, and the dust had settled it was Paul Matthews of Australia with a time of 4:01:26 over fellow Aussie Leon Griffin by about a minute and a half.
Continue reading "Buffalo Springs Lake 70.3 triathlon winners and age-group results " »
The weather was just about perfect and when that happens at Ironman France records will tumble.
And so they crumbled as Marcel Zamora Perez of Spain and Tine Deckers of Belgium both set course records to win the French grueling Ironman in Nice.
After not being held last year because of California forest fires, the 2009 Western States 100 mile endurance run (one of North America's premier endurance tests) is back.
This weekend hundreds of athletes and over 1500 volunteers are helping to make the race with the huge belt buckle prize possible.
Click HERE for live webcast coverage of this year's run.
Continue reading "Live webcast coverage of the 2009 Western States 100 mile endurance run" »
In an action packed race four men came sprinting to the finish line: Whitfield, Germany’s Jan Frodeno, , Australia’s Brad Kahlefeldt and New Zealand’s Kris Gemmel.
But with strong sprint finish and a second to spare it was Simon Whitfield who won first place and the big cash prize at the Des Moines ITU Hy-Vee World Cup Triathlon.
“That was some payback for last year, in a sporting sense,” said Whitfield at the finish. “I wanted to get one over on Jan [Frodeno] after last year's Olympic Games. I always want to win the races the other guys want to win. First thing I'm doing is buying this amazing toy house for my daughter Pippa. She's been running round the front yard at home and really inspired me."
It was a battle between the two Emmas (photographed here in Australia), but at the finish line it was Emma Moffatt of Australia who came away with the huge $200,000 first place prize in the Hy-Vee ITU Triathlon Elite Cup.
In second place and just 1 minute 33 seconds behind it was Emma Snowsill also of Australia who took home $50,000 in prize money during a race that saw both heavy heat and heavy winds.
"Wow, it's amazing, it hasn't sunk in at all yet,” commented Moffatt at the finish.
The inaugural Seattle Rock 'n' Roll Marathon is in the books and in the half marathon winners are listed above and the full marathon winners are below.
Click HERE for all age-group race results by name or bib number.
The top ten men and women marathon winners are below:
Continue reading "Seattle Rock and Roll Marathon age-group results and winners" »
Regular bouts of uncomfortable soreness can inhibit your training progress
and make getting up in the morning an unpleasant experience, so here are 5
training, nutrition, and recovery tips for maximizing run recovery.
1. Vary your running terrain. Constantly pounding your muscles with repetitive training on the same course or surface can lead to overtraining. To minimize this effect, choose a variety of training courses and surfaces such as hills, flats, trails, grass, gravel and dirt.
Continue reading "Minimizing Muscle Soreness After Runs by Ben Greenfield" »
OK, so the fastest women and/or the fastest man at the Des Moines ITU Hy-Vee World Cup Triathlon won't win one million dollars.
Let's just get that straight from the start.
But the ITU Hy-Vee World Cup Triathlon set for June 27th does have a combined prize purse of one million dollars.
That means that pretty much every pro who races this weekend will walkaway with some prize money.
Continue reading "One million prize purse for weekend Des Moines ITU Hy-Vee World Cup Triathlon" »
45 Rock 'n' Roll bands, sunny skies with a high of 77 degrees---that's the outlook for the inaugural Rock 'n' Roll Seattle Marathon.
Oh yes and don't forget the hills.
It looks like it's pretty hilly," said Peter Gilmore, one of the elite entrants in the men's marathon.
Click HERE for pre-race info including packet pick-up, and click HERE for post race results.
Continue reading "Sunny weather for the inaugural Rock 'n' Roll Seattle Marathon" »
Over 4000 athletes are getting ready to race in Philadelphia this weekend at the 5th annual triathlon. The pre-race press release is below:
Philadelphia, PA -- This weekend marks the 5th anniversary of one of the top ranked multi-sport events in the country -- the Philadelphia Insurance Triathlon presented by Suzuki. Taking place June 26-28, the event hosts three days of competition and activities with more than 4,000 athletes ready to swim, bike and run their way through Fairmount Park in Philadelphia, America's greatest urban park.
Continue reading "The 5th anniversary Philadelphia Triathlon ready to rock Fairmount Park" »
