For as much as we love Triathlon, there are some things that we might not particularly like about it. For some, it may be the logistics, for others, it may be the alpha/competitive nature of the sport. But I think we can agree that for a majority it’s the high cost of the sport. Today’s guest, Katie Godec, is on a personal quest to start a conversation on this topic. She believes Triathlon should be for everyone because it is first and foremost a representation of the blood, sweat and tears...

This week we have the first short-course pro to come on the show - Kristian Blummenfelt from Norway. Tune in as we chat about how Kristian got into the sport; the Norway Triathlon scene; life as a professional triathlete; his 2019 season which included the first WTS win of his career (at the Grand Final in Lausanne) and a 4th place at the 2019 Ironman 70.3 World Champs in Nice, France; and his prep for the upcoming Super League Triathlon and next year's Olympic Games in Tokyo. - KRISTIAN'S...

This week we have our first guest from South Africa - Tasneem Patel. She's a fully covered athlete who has been called as "The Covered One". Tasneem was never the athletic type, but a vicious cycle of mental illness began her journey to be active. In 2016, she ran her first Comrades Ultra; a 89km run within SA. By late-2017, she did her first Olympic-distance. 2018 was the year to achieve a 70.3, but life had unexpected turns. With the loss of her dad, she lost her way in training. However,...

There are moments in our life that stimulate us to make changes to our current situation. It might be an illness, the birth of a new baby, a new career, etc. Our guest today, Alfredo Allende decided to quit smoking and start Triathlon-ing with the birth of his first daughter. It all started with running - to help aid his depression & anxiety from nicotine withdrawal.  But he was always getting injured as his bones couldn’t handle the workload. Something was off. So, he started...

This week's Human of Triathlon started her endurance journey with running back in 1998, But when standing along the finishing chute during her husband's first IM at Lake Placid - cheering and crying for all the finishers she saw - Phaedra Kennedy had an incredibly emotional experience & one she knew she wanted to experience herself. 4yrs later, she did her first IM at LP with her husband. She now describes it as the 2nd best day of her life, second only to their wedding day. After racing...

After getting into the world of 3D art and developing video games, Ryan Lastimosa was a very heavy drinker & smoker suffering from Severe Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) & was in the red zone for a heart attack at 30 years old. He was tired of being tired. He was done with being unhealthy. The right combination of life-changing events drove him to Triathlon. He started training & it turned it all around. One of Ryan's uncle's, Uncle Rudy had always been a father figure to him, and...

Born in Ohio & based in South Korea our Human of Triathlon this week, Lynn was addicted to attention as a teenager. Maybe not all that abnormal for someone that age, but it often brought drama & consequences. When she was 16, she found out that she was pregnant. After a whirlwind of a few months, Lynn gave birth to a perfect little girl and placed her for open adoption. In the last few years, they have reconnected with each other. Although the story is of love & redemption, there...

Being smaller than his peers, Allan Espina was the object of bullying growing up in the Philippines. He got heckled, called "limp-wristed", & vividly remembers seeing the word “F****t” scribbled by his cousin on a wall. At 7y.o, this was torture. He excelled intellectually to make up for what he lacked physically. At 38, he immigrated to the US having just completed his 2nd Master's degree & working a great job. After a spark from a co-worker, Allan completed his first Sprint after 4...

Robin started in Triathlon, back in 1987, when the sport was still in its infancy stage. Being a lover of the water, she had been swimming in college when her swim coach, an instrumental figure in her life, made the college swim team do a Triathlon. Running was her weak spot, and she wasn't sure she could even make the terrifying distance of 5k, but her coach took her out for a run one day and showed her that most of the barriers were only in her own mind and that she could accomplish far...

Our guest this week, Jordan Graham beat cancer. After his recovery from surgery and chemotherapy, he wanted to prove to himself that he was better and stronger, he wanted to distance himself from just being 'the guy that had cancer'. He saw Triathlon as a way to do so. A year out from chemo, he completed 2 Triathlons in 2 weeks and was extremely proud. The following year, it started to go all wrong for him. In his rush to become "normal", back to work and training only 3 weeks out of chemo...

Rachel Wall came into this world with a rare genetic disease called Hereditary Angioedema that causes episodes of mass swelling which are intensely painful and interfere with kind of necessary stuff like breathing and digesting/absorbing food. She spends every day battling the body she was born into. Because of which she was told all throughout her life that she couldn't or shouldn't do things. Six years ago, with the support of her Mom, Rachel did a local Sprint Triathlon. Through the sport...

This episode marks 1-year since we started the Humans of Triathlon (H.o.T) Podcast. The co-hosts have a casual chat about the show, Humans of Triathlon, and what's been happening with them lately. It's been a blast hosting the show and being able to hear and share the stories of such incredible humans from the world of Triathlon. We've had stories of failures, of triumphs, and everything in between - from Athletes to Race Photographers & Announcers, from Newbies to Ironman World Champs,...

After doing his first Triathlon after an impromptu signup while on vacation in Hawaii in 2014, while riding one day, Robert Sainsbury suffered a traumatic brain injury (TBI) after colliding with another cyclist. He remembers very little of late 2014 & most of 2015. And his symptoms included cognitive fatigue, memory loss, insomnia, depression, mood swings, difficulty reading & writing, etc. - making basic daily tasks exhausting. In addition to his career & a relationship, he also...

In 2009, Ling Choo was hit by a car and broke her left femur and right leg while training for her very first 70.3 World Championship. Fast forward to 2019, she is a full-time triathlete, the only South East Asian who has qualified for Kona 6 times and is the current Singapore Record holder for Ironman in 9:38hours. Having lived in Singapore all her life and competing in such a male dominant sport of Triathlon, she has had her fair share of critics and naysayers on the island. But with the...

To those familiar with Ironman Triathlon, this man doesn't need much of an introduction. Mike Reilly, the "Voice of IRONMAN" worldwide, the only person to have been inducted into the 3 Hall of Fames of Ironman, USA Triathlon, and Running USA. He's called over 180 IRONMAN races around the world and his iconic call of "You are an IRONMAN!" has been heard by over 350,000 finishers. Was a pleasure chatting with him about his journey to becoming and being the "Voice of IRONMAN" and his newly...

Being a shy little girl, Amber was held back to repeat Kindergarten for an extra year. That summer, she remembers her mom encouraging her to sign up for the summer track & field program. She shook her head & stomped her feet all summer until she was finally convinced to just go & watch. Well, she ended up participating in the 100-yard dash. Her nervous little 5-year-old body toed the line nearly in tears. But something funny happened when the gun went off. All the nerves vanished....

Fabio Spiteri is a 44-year old ultra-endurance triathlete from the small country of Malta. Fabio's love for sport started at the age of 22, after he became a young dad wanting to leave his unhealthy past behind him. He started off as an 800m track runner then transitioning into Triathlons. In his years as a triathlete, he has completed 19 70.3s (PB of 4:24) 9 Ironmans (PB of 9:35), a Double-Ironman (in 26+hours), a Triple Ironman (in 45+hours), and is now eyeing his first Quintuple (5x) and...

Our guest this week - Alisha Woodroof went from an All-American tennis player to a trashcan junkie addicted to cocaine, crack, heroin, & alcohol to a super-sprint finisher to, now, a 6x Ironman. During a time in her life wherein she was living a, kind of, double-life - as a personal trainer preaching fitness and health on one side and doing drugs on the other - she was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS). She used the diagnosis as an excuse to continue with the drugs, but a year later,...

Growing up as a country boy along the coastal mountains of Oregon, it only seems natural that this week's guest gravitated towards the sport of mountain biking. Honing his bike-handling skills by watching and then trying all the stunts in the New World Disorders videos, at the age of 19, he started his career as an elite mountain-bike and cyclocross athlete - a career where he didn't live up to his full potential. One day, as a last minute decision, he entered the Duathlon National Champs,...

Introducing the new H.o.T Podcast Co-host - Sheila Treleaven [@sheilatreleaven]! Born in Canada, Sheila's journey started as a competitive swimmer from the young age of 8. Soon, she was breathing, eating, sleeping and living swimming - making the Canadian National Team and earning an NCAA Div 1 Scholarship. After her 4 years at college, without being 'Sheila the Swimmer' - she didn't really know who she was or what she could do. For the next 13 years, she shifted her focus on her career as a...

Mikael Eriksson, a Swedish-speaking Finn living in Lisbon, Portugal, began in the sport of Triathlon in 2015, right after graduating from university and working as an engineer at a medical startup. Having been a recreational runner for a few years, he encountered a chronic knee injury that made him cross train with swimming and biking. During the 9 month rehab, he'd fallen in love with Triathlon. In the short span of 4 years, Mikael has progressed rather quickly with great results in Sprint...

Following the theme of Valentines Day, we've got a "Trinamic" duo on the show this week - Danielle & Ray Gogarty. @danigogs & @ray_j_gogs grew up in Long Island, NY. They crossed paths with each other at University and became inseparable besties. After studying, they both went onto different career paths - Dani in higher education, and Ray in civil services. But they always stayed close & made time for each other; eventually supporting each other through first marriages &...

Our guest this week, Greg McDermott [@gregmcdermottcoach] puts the endure in endurance. He's tackled some of the longest and toughest challenges in his home country, Australia - including a 14,000km bike ride and the infamous Ultraman Australia (a 3-day event with a 10km swim, 420km bike ride & a double marathon of 84.4kms). But he wasn't always this endurance monster that we see today. His journey started only about 6 years ago in a time where he used food and alcohol to battle...

Tune in this week to not 1, not  2 - but 4 guests! This episode shares the special bond of 4 girls from Slovakia; the 4 Bajkerky (@4bajkerky) - Sasa, Veri, Kika, & Tami: all of whom are quite different appearance/work/study/personality wise but their love for Sport and the enthusiasm for Triathlon brought them together. In this lighthearted conversation, this Slovak Girl Gang really demonstrates the power of Triathlon to forge friendships and build camaraderie and support in all areas of...