Alright everyone whatsup, welcome back and welcome to the first-time listeners, my names Steven Langenhuizen and I am the host of the Pacing and Racing Podcast. We have a really exciting episode here on the Challenge Roth Road to Roth Podcast Series which includes a great interview with the 2019 IRONMAN World Champion Anne Haug. So for the first time listeners, a bit of a backstory here with the Road to Roth Series – at the beginning of August I announced that I’ll be doing my first full distance triathlon at Challenge Roth in 2020, and since then, I found that a lot of listeners were actually on a similar path; whether it was with Roth or another race; but they too were on their crazy journey to their first full distance triathlon and looking forward to hearing content specific to the full distance! Of course, never having actually done the distance before, I figured everyone could benefit the most in a series where I interview top professional triathletes and coaches that will be able to provide a ton of training tips specific to the full distance as well as give us the motivation and insight we need to help us maximize our performances come race day! Motivation and inspiration seem endless in this interview with Anne as she walks us through how she first got into her triathlon journey which ultimately lead her into becoming the IRONMAN World Champion in 2019 with an incredible time of 8 hours 40 minutes making her the third-fastest female in history. Anne also talks to us about what’s ahead for her this season as she prepares for Challenge Roth 2020. A Theme we also explore in todays conversation is the recent announcement of the Professional Triathlon Organisation and how Anne as a professional athlete is impacted by this and what this means for the sport going further. We end off this episode with lots of training tips for age groupers training for their first Long Distance Triathlon so I hope you leave with insight on how the best in the world train, think, and prepare for races like Challenge Roth and KONA. So now, sit back, take notes, and enjoy!