Happy Saturday, you glorious gluttons for punishment.

Welcome back to your fix of all things endurance, where we bring you the very best news, analysis and opinion from our world of swim caps, split times, carbon plates, calf cramps, aero helmets and frozen fingertips.

So lace up, clip in, zip up, wax down, fuel well… and let’s dive headfirst into another weekend of wonderfully exhausting sport.

Here’s what we have lined up for you today…

😭 Lionel’s last hurrah? Triathlon favourite Lionel Sanders has left a huge question mark hanging over his future in the sport after posting a new YouTube video with the title – ‘Wrangling up the troops for one last time’. Read HERE.

💪 Big names lining up: The Ironman Pro Series will kick off in fine style next month with an elite field boasting the likes of Kristian Blummenfelt and Kat Matthews – the winners of last season’s IRONMAN Pro Series. Read HERE.

🏃‍♀️ Women launch T100: The new-look T100 season gets underway in Australia on March 22, with the women ready to take centre stage, and the likes of Kate Waugh, Taylor Knibb and Julie Derron ready to do battle. Read HERE.

🚴‍♂️ Winning start: Two-time Dutch Olympic triathlete Maya Kingma made a sensational start to her new cycling career with UCI Women’s Pro Continental Team Aromitalia 3T Vaiano, by winning her first race for the team. Read HERE.

🥾 Battered but proud: He may not have been able to complete the Barkley Marathons last weekend, but Frenchman Sébastien Raichon was still a proud man, having been the only competitor to complete the ‘Fun Run’. Read HERE.

Jennifer Lichter and Hans Troyer were the record-breaking winners of the Black Canyon Ultras 100k in Arizona last weekend, proving superior throughout the unforgiving Black Canyon National Recreational Trail course.

A thrilling women’s race saw Lichter take the win from Anne Flower, with only 70 seconds between them at the finish line, while Troyer was in a class of his own, smashing the course record with a time of 7:20 flat.

Bossing it from the outset, he crossed the line with four-and-a-half minutes to spare on Anthony Costales, who had set the old course record when winning the race in 2023.

The incredible Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo won his fifth gold medal of the 2026 Games as he anchored the Norwegians to victory in the team cross-country sprint free. He is now one gold medal away from breaking the record of most gold medals at a single Winter Olympics, and will get his chance to create history when he competes in the 50km classic later today.

King Klaebo becomes only the second man in Olympic history (summer or winter) to reach the incredible milestone of TEN gold medals in his career, as he follows in the footsteps of USA swimming legend Michael Phelps, who won 23.

At only 29 years of age, is there time for Klaebo to overhaul him and become the greatest Olympian ever?

Here’s a quick look at the other news in your Winter Olympics wrap-up.

For many age-groupers, the dream of completing a triathlon doesn’t simply involve training, nutrition and racing – they also face a battle to find an event which isn’t already sold out.

While the list of opportunities has increased steadily over the years – with IRONMAN, T100, Supertri and Challenge Family all expanding their rosters – you only have to look at the number of fully-registered events on the 2026 calendar for proof of just how difficult it can be to secure a place.

Boosted by a rise in participation around the globe, it seems triathlon event organisers are facing a race of their own to ensure there are enough places available to meet the fast-growing demand.

The Triathlon Industry Alliance (TIA) in Great Britain recently confirmed there were now more than 120,000 active racing triathletes in the UK, with a noticeable uplift in new and younger participants. It is a similar story in the US, where USA Triathon announced 303,000 active members, a strong growth in the shorter distances, and increased participation among women and youth competitors.

France, meanwhile, has overtaken Germany as the second-largest global triathlon market after the US, showing a 25% increase in registrations. Germany still boasts nearly 58,500 German Triathlon Union members, while Belgium (51%) and the Netherlands (36%) also saw year-on-year participation growth.

IRONMAN says the demand for triathlon has reached ‘peak levels’ in both Europe and the United States, evidence of which was provided just last week when the new Versailles 70.3 sold out to more than 2,500 athletes in under three hours.

Versailles was added to the 2026 schedule along with the 70.3 races at Alghero, Leipzig, Vitoria‑Gasteiz, and Málaga – all of which have since sold out, with Málaga spots snapped up in just four days.

Indeed, of the 37 IRONMAN 70.3 races planned for 2026 across Europe, 30 of them are now full, while registration is currently only open for Weymouth, Poznan, Gdynia, Belgrade, Tallinn, Costa Navarino and Baku. It is a similar story for full-distance IRONMAN, with 13 of the 17 European races sold out, and registrations currently open only for Thun, Tallinn, Leeds and Lanzarote.

In North America, five of the scheduled 70.3 races have sold out in Oceanside, Oregon, Dallas-Little Elm, Mont-Tremblant and Muskoka, while the full-distance event in Ottawa is also no longer taking registrations.

The new-look T100 is also witnessing impressive demand, with its London event this summer already 80% full and well on course to see 6,000 entrants across its 100km, Olympic, Sprint and Super Sprint distances.

With Challenge Roth selling out in less than 30 seconds this year, and Supertri opening up its new unified race format, which will see 30,000 athletes, from elite to first timers, competing together at festivals across North America and Europe, this season is gearing up to be one which could very well go on to break all participation records.

As we head towards a 2027 that will, following the PTO acquisition of Challenge Family, once again see a major shift in the triathlon landscape, it will be up to the race organisers to ensure this is an upward trend that they recognise and make the most of as we look to continue building on the growth of our sport.

It was 48 years ago this week that the very first IRONMAN event was held on the shores of Waikiki, Hawaii, when 15 athletes were the very first to do battle over a 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike ride, and a 26.2-mile run.

The brainchild of John Collins and his wife Judy, they combined the three toughest endurance races that they knew of and created one energy-sapping test of skill and endurance that still delights and torments in equal measure today.

Among those to celebrate the day were the guys on the IRONMAN Americas social media accounts, as they posted this wonderful montage of clips from the very earliest of full-distance races on the Big Island.

Happy Birthday, IRONMAN… 🎂🥳🎉

It is a fair bet that most of us, at one time or another, have been confused about what to eat, when to eat it, and how much we should be packing away in the build-up to our training, racing, or just in our regular everyday lives.

Endurance sports coach, Dr Thomas Mortelmans, is a Swiss-based expert in endurance coaching. Using a unique blend of scientific insight and hands-on experience, he combines his extensive background in biomedical sciences and data analysis with his passion for road cycling.

Here is his ‘Fueling & Recovery Blueprint’…

Posting on his Instagram page, he explains that ‘fuel choice is a timing problem, not a morality contest’, and uses the above graphic to highlight which foods are ‘rocket fuel’ for immediate energy and which are more ‘diesel fuel’ for a sustained base.

He adds that athletes should ‘eat for the work you’re about to do, not for the label on the food’.

The Glycaemic Index is a 1-100 ranking system for carbohydrate-containing foods based on how quickly they raise blood glucose levels. Foods with a low GI provide a slow, steady increase, while high GI foods cause rapid spikes… or rocket fuel.

Dr Mortelmans says: “High GI, high carb density foods work when glycogen delivery rate is the constraint. That’s 30-60 minutes pre-session or during hard work. White rice, bread, honey, and sugar have fast gastric emptying qualities and lead to a fast blood glucose rise.”

Foods in this section can also include white pasta, bagels, potato and couscous.

Dr Mortelmans says: “Lower GI, mixed carb sources work when duration and stability are the constraints. That’s 2-3 hours pre-session or long aerobic days. Oats, lentils, brown rice, and sweet potato lead to a slower absorption, which leads to a lower glucose oscillation and a steadier output.”

Other foods which can be consumed in this instance include bananas, chickpeas and quinoa.

Dr Mortelmans says: “Micronutrient-dense foods don’t fuel intensity. They support recovery capacity and training availability across weeks. Low carb density. Low GI, with a high consistency payoff.”

Foods in this section include kale, garlic, ginger, onions, spinach and carrots.

Dr Mortelmans also highlights how chicken breast and eggs can play a key role in an athlete’s recovery, and that Greek yoghurt is good for gut health, and canned tuna is ideal for a convenient food.

You can follow Dr Mortelmans on his Instagram page HERE, where he delivers key tips and hints to the endurance community, while you can learn about specialist training plans and 1-on-1 coaching via his Linktree HERE.

Snoop Dogg certainly did his best to explain the new Olympic sport of ski mountaineering, or ‘skimo’ as it is more widely known, but we are not completely convinced that the American rapper quite got the hang of it.

“Is it a triathlon?” says Snoop, before adding “If it ain’t got ‘-athlon’ at the end, we ain’t interested”, and asking “Is this a three-day event?”

Thing is… he does look genuinely bemused!!! 🤣🤣🤣

Are you ready to take your endurance journey to the next level? We have teamed up with Holly Wilson, Challenge Family, and some of the industry’s leading performance brands to give one lucky winner the Ultimate Triathlon Experience.

We are giving away a prize package designed for those of you who live for the finish line. Whether you are a seasoned pro or preparing for your first middle-distance event, this bundle provides the access and equipment you will need to perform at your peak.

Together, we go the distance. — @247_endurance 🏃‍♂️🚴‍♀️🏊‍♂️