Race Coverage
Noah's Journey - Part III
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Friday, 19 December 2025 00:10
By Noah Billings
IRONMAN FLORIDA -Goal: Complete the race, enjoy the day, be present--- I often had to be reminded of my goal because I can get really wound up about speeds. I have a history of going too hard too earlyon long races and falling apart at the end, so finishing strong was a big part of my goal. My mom said, “First Ironman you complete, then you can compete.”
The morning of the race was a little cold for Florida, around the mid 40’s, but my years racing TRI Clear Lake on Memorial Day weekend in northern Iowa helped me to know what to expect and I dressed warm. Hayes and I both made sure our bikes were ready, threw our wetsuits on and made our way to the swim start. The energy was great, I was ready, I was confident.
My swim in the Gulf felt like the best swim I had ever had. The water felt amazing, and I felt comfortable and felt like I was cruising through the water. However, as I wasswimming on the second lap, I was very startled when I saw a small jellyfish right near my chest, I reacted by kind of flailing around for a sec and then sprinting for 10 seconds. I had never encountered this before, so I may have overreacted. By the end of the second lap I was amazed to look down at my watch, and I saw that I completed the swim in 1 hour and 7 minutes. I was very far ahead of my anticipated swim time.
I ran into T1, grabbed my gear and my bike and started to ride. I was aiming for around a 19-mph average which was very hard to keep in the beginning because I was excited and I wanted to go faster. This is where having Hayes as a partner in the race was great as he kept me focused on the goal. The bike felt very nice, the weather warmed up, there wasn’t a ton of wind so it felt perfect all the way through the bike. I did it in 5 hours and 45 minutes. Looking back heading into T2 was a little funny for me. After 10 years of racking my own bike almost made me run past the bike handoff people. Either way I made sure to hand it off properly, grabbed my gear bag and started off on the marathon run....
Koala Cuddling....
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Wednesday, 05 November 2025 00:10
By Katie Deregnier
Wollongong Australia Age Group World Championships Olympic Distance race report! -
Swim: Awesome! Best ocean swim I’ve ever done. It was clear, I was used to the water, and the waves didn’t bother me. I felt confident the whole way
Bike: I dropped my water bottle right away and had to go back to get it- these moments make me wish it was an Ironman so that amount of time wouldn’t matter as much.The course was 3 loops with several U-turns, which made it quite congested! I felt like I was in a draft legal cycling race for a lot of it and the technical turns were not in my favor either- I know I can improve here. It was super fun, though- for some reason the 3 loops made it feel really exciting!
Run: I’ll take it- it felt ok, but of course the 35-39 wave didn’t start until 930 so we were running in some heat. I also have to keep in mind I didn’t start doing speed workouts until July due to hip stuff, so with another year of training I know there’s more room for improvement here too!
Vaseline, Slushees, The Voice....
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Monday, 27 October 2025 00:10
By Cami Eckhoff
...Tomorrow I turn 40, and I knew I wanted to kick off this next decade with something epic! After many months of training and dedication, the dream became real—I crossed the finish line at the Ironman World Championship. It’s hard to put the past week into words, but the memories are etched in my heart forever. Here’s my (long) race recap
The morning began with the most amazing hype crew of volunteers—smiles, clapping, cheers, and constant “this is your day!” energy. On my way to the swim start, I ran into Keith, Kia, Nick, Mel, and Josh—such an awesome surprise! Big hugs all around and one last dance party to the song they wrote for me (still trying to figure out how to share a bit of that super special song!).
The 2.4 mile swim: It was the toughest, yet most beautiful swim I’ve ever done. The crashing waves seemed to never end. I took it one buoy at a time — when I could site them — and one breath at a time — trying not to take a huge gulp of salt water. I also started to chafe under my arms from the salt water rubbing on my kit about 20 minutes in. Unfortunate for sure, but I knew there would be Vaseline in transition...
Trust & Blown Minds....
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Thursday, 02 October 2025 00:10
By Paige Schulz
At the beginning of August, I asked Coach Anthony if he thought we could lift my 70.3 fitness to 140.6 fitness. Over the eight weeks since that conversation, I snuck in 1x80 mile ride, 2x100 mile rides, 2x3:15/3:30 trainer rides, 2 runs over 13 miles (16 and 18), 7x3k+ yard swims, an Olympic tri, and a 70.3 tri. (Plus my usual track sessions and VO2/threshold bike sessions.) I peaked at 13 hours and 5 mins.
Our conversations looked like this:
-Me: I’m still going to race Wisconsin 70.3 hard.
- Him: yes, but know there might be lingering fatigue.
-Me: are you sure there is enough time before Chatt? I like racing, not participating.
- Him: yes, you are already so fit.
-Me: ok, I trust you....
9/28/25 Racing Highlights...
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Monday, 29 September 2025 00:10
After brilliant performances at 70.3s in Boise and Madison, and some misfortune that not only kept her off the Top Step at Maple Grove Olympic, but out of the results completely, PAIGE SCHULZ needed one more great effort this year to be considered for a plethora of post-season honors, and boy, did she deliver yesterday at Ironman Chattanooga, where she cracked the women's overall Top 10, including pros, and finished 2nd in the amateur race. Her time was a super impressive 9:43:35, which we believe is a record for amateur women from MInnesota.
It was a 25:41 improvement on her prior best, a 10:09:16 at Ironman Mont Tremblant in 2019, where she placed 3rd among amateur women.
Heading into the run, Paige was leading. She was in the process of throwing down a terrific 3:24, but that would turn out to be the...
"You Could Say I'm Consistent"....
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Thursday, 18 September 2025 00:10
By Tiffamy Kari-Cizmas
IRONMAN 70.3 Michigan recap. - Last triathlon of the season and so wanted to end it doing something new.
We made it a full weekend of racing and hanging out with my father in law. Dave kicked it off with a hill climb vintage car race in Empire Michigan where he and his competitors raced repeats up a twisty hill as spectators consumed all sorts of beverages and cheered from behind the caution tape.
The alarm woke us up at 4AM again Sunday kicking off my leg of the weekend. Beyond a bent rotator on my bike the morning went smooth prior to race start.
The race kicked off with a full contact swim. I’ve never swum with so many people next to me for so long. Most races string out quickly. I had people on my right, left, front a back the whole race. I’ve been doing this for years yet had to work to stay relaxed and not panic. I can’t imagine how others felt. I’m sure it was terrifying for many.
The bike was uneventful. Decent course but had one of those rides where it felt like there was a headwind both ways. I feared I was over riding. Maybe I did but in hindsight I’m proud of the effort as I was still able to run decent....
