The truly exceptional triathlete, Matthew Marquardt, sat down with Mike & Michelle to recap his experience racing the 2022 Ironman World Championships in Kona where he dominated his age group (25-29) with a time of 8:35, 1st place finish and an over 8-minute lead over 2nd place. Marquardt shares about his athletic upbringing, new-found success in triathlon, and how he balances training as a full-time student in his second year of medical school at Ohio State University.   Highlights: 4:14 – “I train on the third floor of my house because as a medical student, it is incredibly important to be efficient and optimized almost every second of your life” 10:49 – “For the first time in my life I had this big opportunity to do something. I don’t know what it is, but I have a month.” 22:57 – “There's no specific place goal. It's just like, try and hit the target numbers and whatever happens, happens.” 51:43 – “…my hope is use triathlon as a vehicle to improve cancer screening, awareness, general well-being, help fundraise for cancer research and other related causes” 56:06 – “I think just having the consistency of making every workout and doing every workout to the best that you can and trying to execute it is really crucial to being able to build the success” 58:10 – “I hope that you will see me at Kona next year. As a pro athlete. That is the goal.”  Matthew's Favorite Pieces of Gear: Supersapiens Continuous Glucose MonitorEight Sleep MattressFollow Matthew Marquardt’s journey: ·         Instagram @matthewdmarquardt ·         Twitter @MD_Marquardt1 Follow Mission Kona Podcast hosted by Mike & Michelle Payne: · Instagram missionkonapodcast · Do you know an age group athlete who has a great story to share? Send us a message via our website at www.missionkonapodcast.com or email to [email protected]