👋 Welcome back
Morning endurance fans…
What. A. Weekend.
In a few breathless hours, the endurance world delivered the kind of action that reminds you why we love this sport. At the centre of it all was the race of the season so far in Texas, where Kristian Blummenfelt and Solveig Løvseth laid down massive markers with statement performances that sent a message to the rest of the world.
Elsewhere, the weekend was packed with drama, big results and plenty more talking points across swim, bike and run.
Here’s what we have lined up for you today…
LATEST: The endurance news headlines
REPORTS: News from a busy weekend of action
TEXAS: A deep dive into the stories from Woodlands
TIPS: How to balance training with your recovery
🏃🏼 Quick splits
Marta Sanchez heads for the line in Texas at the weekend. [IRONMAN]
🍽️ RIVALRY: Marta Sanchez had two reasons to celebrate in Texas, as her third-place finish also meant winning a bet with her husband. Read HERE.
💨 UNDISPUTED: Kristian Blummenfelt is ‘stoked’ with victory over what he described as a ‘world championship field’. Read HERE.
🤕 FRUSTRATED: Three-time former IRONMAN World Champion, Patrick Lange, has revealed why he was forced to DNF in Texas. Read HERE.
🤒 UNWELL: One of the pre-race favourites to challenge for a podium place, Lisa Perterer didn’t even make it to the Texas start line. Read HERE.
🎽 RECOVERY: Ultra-running star Francesco Puppi hopes to be back running again soon after he underwent surgery on a fracture. Read HERE.
🏁 Race news
The Boston Marathon was once again won by Sharon Lokedi and John Korir. [Boston Marathon]
🎽 Boston Marathon
Defending champion John Korir set a new course record at the Boston Marathon as he was joined by fellow Kenyan and 2025 winner Sharon Lokedi in retaining their titles with dominant displays.
Korir crossed in 2:01:52, smashing the previous record set by Geoffrey Mutai (KEN) of 2:03:02 in 2011 – indeed, such was the pace of this race, run in perfect marathon conditions, the first three men over the line all beat the old record, with Alphonce Felix Simbu (TAN) recording a 2:02:47 and Benson Kipruto (KEN) 2:02:50.
Lokedi set a new Boston record when she won this race last year, but while she was unable to match that this time around, she was still in masterful form, as she waited patiently for the moment to attack before executing the perfect race.
An all-Kenyan top three saw Loice Chemnung finish in second (2:19:35) and Mary Ngugi-Cooper in third (2:20:07).
🇿🇦 IRONMAN South Africa
There could hardly have been two more clear-cut winners of IRONMAN South Africa in Nelson Mandela Bay than Britain’s Daisy Davies and America’s Matthew Marquardt.
Davies led by more than four minutes after the swim and extended that to double digits on the bike before closing out an emphatic success over Katrine Græsbøll Christensen (DEN).
And medical student Marquardt won his third IRONMAN race in less than 12 months by taking control on the bike before running away from his rivals – Britain’s Joe Skipper taking a distant second in a welcome return to form.
Women’s Pro Results: (swim/bike/run – overall time)
🥇 Daisy Davies (GBR) 55:04/4:39:40/3:08:10 – 8:46:29
🥈 Katrine Græsbøll Christensen (DEN) 1:02:40/4:55:13/2:56:03 – 8:57:58
🥉 Daniela Bleymehl (GER) 1:00:53/4:48:43/3:05:52 – 8:59:54
Men’s Pro Results: (swim/bike/run – overall time)
🥇 Matthew Marquardt (USA) 50:40/4:09:34/2:39:06 – 7:42:56
🥈 Joe Skipper (GBR) 55:42/4:16:04/2:41:00 – 7:56:18
🥉 Tristan Olij (NED) 53:55/4:16:57/2:43:59 – 7:58:28
🇪🇸 IRONMAN 70.3 Valencia
Sam Laidlow (FRA) and Cathia Schär (SUI) ran out as the impressive winners of IRONMAN 70.3 Valencia on Sunday.
Former IRONMAN World Champion Laidlow was kicking off his season with a rare outing in a 70.3 race – despite multiple IRONMAN, Challenge and T100 wins, he’d yet to even finish a 70.3.
But he took control in trademark style on the bike to tee up the victory.
Schär, meanwhile, made it three wins in a row by moving into the lead at the start of the run before powering clear of her rivals, eventually beating 70.3 debutant Sophie Evans (GBR) by just under three minutes.
Women’s Pro Results: (swim/bike/run – overall time)
🥇 Cathia Schär (SUI) 26:19/2:15:57/1:16:07 – 4:03:39
🥈 Sophie Evans (GBR) 24:23/2:17:23/1:18:49 – 4:06:25
🥉 Lena Meißner (GER) 24:27/2:17:28/1:19:06 – 4:06:58
Men’s Pro Results: (swim/bike/run – overall time)
🥇 Sam Laidlow (FRA) 22:43/1:55:54/1:10:17 – 3:33:56
🥈 Lasse Nygaard Priester (GER) 22:35/2:00:16/1:07:02 – 3:35:02
🥉 Fabian Kraft (GER) 23:00/2:01:06/1:08:15 – 3:38:02
🇪🇸 Anfi Challenge Mogán-Gran Canaria
Challenge Family’s European season kicked off with memorable victories for Damien Le Mesnager (FRA) and Caroline Pohle (GER) at Anfi Challenge Mogán-Gran Canaria.
Le Mesnager said: “It was a tough day; there was a lot of wind on the bike and run. I had a bad swim, and I pushed very hard on the bike. The last 5km on the run was very hard, too hard! But I’m very happy to take my first pro win here today.”
Pohle said: “This victory is very special for me, as last year was very tough; it’s very emotional. It’s the best way to start the season. I’m back, and I’m so happy.”
Women’s Pro Results: (swim/bike/run – overall time)
🥇 Caroline Pohle (GER) 25:08/2:25:06/1:22:47 – 4:18:17
🥈 Pierre Anne Sophie (FRA) 28:59/2:24:08/1:23:38 – 4:21:44
🥉 Nikki Bartlett (GBR) 28:18/2:25:33/1:24:38 – 4:24:24
Men’s Pro Results: (swim/bike/run – overall time)
🥇 Damien Le Mesnager (FRA) 25:30/2:03:35/1:14:25 – 3:48:09
🥈 Michele Bortolamedi (ITA) 21:55/2:07:28/1:16:45 – 3:50:05
🥉 Michele Sarzilla (ITA) 23:24/2:13:17/1:13:59 – 3:55:31
Solveig Lovseth completed the Norwegian double in Texas after Kristian Blummenfelt had won the men’s race in a near-world record time. [IRONMAN]
🔍 The BIG issue: Texas delivers with incredible drama and performances
IRONMAN Texas lived up to the hype over the weekend as we were treated to another masterclass from the Norwegians and saw multiple records broken around the Woodlands course.
Both races also had their fair share of drama, with punctures, pull-outs, and a few jittery moments to keep the viewers glued to the YouTube coverage, which at last glance has now had close to 600,000 views.
To put that into context, the 70.3 Oceanside livestream is currently at 257,000, IRONMAN New Zealand 279,000, and the only two races to have beaten it were the world championships for both the men (821,000) and women (720,000).
And in truth, this felt very much like a world championship event, with fields so stacked that it was almost impossible to mention all of the potential winners in our Daily Split preview last week.
However, as it turns out, we did manage to name-check the athletes who mattered, as once again the Norsk cream rose to the top, with three of the six podium places taken by athletes from the Land of the Midnight Sun.
Two of those came in the men’s race, with Kristian Blummenfelt continuing his dominance of the sport by once again showing the extent of his fitness and ability to drive through what he calls ‘the hurt box’.
His marathon run of 2:30:47 secured him a third victory on the bounce following his 70.3 wins at Geelong and Oceanside, but his overall time of 7:21:24 wasn’t quite quick enough for him to break his own world record, which still stands as the 7:21:12 that he set in Cozumel in 2022.
What it does do, however, is silence a few of the doubters who have questioned whether his record time was more to do with the down-current swim rather than his own abilities. Nobody can argue that he is a deserving record holder now.
A huge favourite for this year’s world championships in Kona, he will secure his place alongside the likes of Mark Allen, Dave Scott and Jan Frodeno with a couple more titles to his name, of that there is no question.
Belgium’s Marten Van Riel impressed with a runner-up spot, while Casper Stornes (NOR) followed up his third at Oceanside with another ominous display, which will ensure Blummenfelt does not rest on his laurels ahead of Kona.
The third Norwegian to join in the celebrations was, of course, Solveig Løvseth – the former short-course athlete, who bounded into the world of full-distance last year and looks a strong favourite to once again challenge for the world title.
Just as with Blummenfelt and Stornes, she won this race through the power and endurance of her running, proving too strong for American Taylor Knibb, who had led for much of the bike before being caught by the incredible Løvseth.
But this only tells a fraction of the many, many stories which came out of the Woodlands on Saturday… so read on below, for our top ten lessons learned from Texas.
Kristian Blummenfelt was once again imperious as he powered to victory in Texas. [IRONMAN]
Which was your stand-out performance from IRONMAN Texas?
Ten things we learned in Texas…
It is going to take something very special indeed to knock Blummenfelt, Løvseth and Stornes off their perches this season. All three have shown immense power in their performances so far this season, and you would have to expect at least one of them will take a world title this season.
And let’s not forget Gustav Iden in that mix. After an injury-hit start to 2026, the other Norwegian finished Texas in eighth place and showed signs that he is finding a bit of form again after his slow start.
Taylor Knibb has yet to win a full-distance IRONMAN, but this year’s runners-up spot in Texas will feel a whole lot better than 2025, when she completely imploded on the run and was caught by Kat Matthews. This year, she looked strong despite a wobbly moment when she was seen walking through an aid station. Her first win at this distance will no doubt arrive soon.
Matthews can’t win them all. Having tasted victory three years on the bounce in Texas, her hopes were ended midway through the bike when she suffered a catastrophic blow-out of her rear tyre. After waiting for what seemed like an age for the mechanic to arrive, he did not have the right wheels to replace her flat, and despite his best efforts – he patched it up with a dollar bill note – Matthews sensibly gave up, having fallen 25 minutes behind the leaders. Good job, too, as the dollar had pretty much worn through by the time she stopped riding.
Post race, she has been extremely philosophical about the situation and accepts that punctures are part and parcel of the sport – even Big Blu had one, although his was clearly not as bad as that of Kat – and that they are going to happen at some point. She must now decide whether to race another IRONMAN before Kona, or simply focus on Challenge Roth… expect the latter.
Jelle Geens was not quite ready to challenge for a full-distance IRONMAN. But boy was he close to being ready. Making the jump from middle-distance was never going to be easy, and despite an extreme training schedule, his body couldn’t hack it, having at one stage been in the leading pack. He will be back.
Another athlete who is not ready is Lionel Sanders. The Canadian admitted on his Instagram page that despite thinking he was all fixed to compete, he was ‘grossly mistaken’. But he added ‘onwards and upwards to the next one’, and you can bet he won’t stop until he has his Kona qualification.
Is Marta Sanchez back to her best? The Spaniard has four IRONMAN and 70.3 titles to her name, but all were achieved in 2024, while last season she earned a second place in South Africa and a third at Lake Placid. A gutsy display here could give her the confidence to challenge again this season.
The standard of performance on Saturday resulted in no less than SEVEN IRONMAN national records being broken, with Marten Van Riel (BEL), Vincent Luis (FRA), Rudy Von Berg (USA), Brock Hoel (CAN), Kieran Lindars (GBR), Solveig Lovseth (NOR), Taylor Knibb (USA), and Marta Sanchez (SPA) all setting new best times for their respective nations.
Roth is going to be mega. The stars certainly aligned for this showcase of triathlon talent, and while we can expect the likes of Blummenfelt and Matthews to take a mid-season break now, we won’t have to wait too long before we see many of these athletes doing battle once again… Challenge Roth is only 74 days away.
🚴♂️ News from the saddle
Amstel Gold Race (Men’s): Remco Evenepoel has proclaimed his first-ever Amstel Gold Race win among his best-ever victories after securing top spot in the Ardennes Classics opener at the weekend.
The Belgian superstar won a two-up contest with defending champion Mattias Skjelmose to take an impressive victory in a finish reminiscent of last year’s, when the pair also came to the finish line together.
In 2025, however, Skjelmose saw off Evenepoel and Tadej Pogačar, but this time he was no match for Evenepoel, who had him beaten metres before the line.
👩💻 You can read a full report on this story at Cycling Weekly, HERE.
Amstel Gold Race (Women’s): Winner Paula Blasi was dropped just five minutes before she launched what would prove to be a race-winning attack, she has revealed.
Blasi soloed away from a peloton that contained five former winners to win the Amstel Gold Race Ladies in Valkenburg at the weekend.
Asked after the race if she was confident she had the strength to win, she told TNT Sports: “No, five minutes before I broke out, I was dropped. I just came back and said I’d give it a go to help my team-mates.”
👩💻 You can read a full report on this story at Cycling Weekly, HERE.
👩💻 Trending in triathlon
There is something so utterly wholesome about triathlon and the athletes who take part in it – almost like a brotherhood of understanding, knowing what your fellow competitors have just gone through to achieve their dreams.
And what makes it a truly special sport is the fact that even the professionals realise the sacrifices that have been made by the hundreds of age-groupers who cross the magic finishing line, often many hours after they themselves have finished.
Such understanding and support were evident at Texas on Saturday, when the two Norwegian winners, Kristian Blummenfelt and Solveig Løvseth, returned to the finish line to welcome home their fellow athletes and hand out medals.
A simple gesture, but one which clearly – by looking at the reactions – meant a great deal to those who came face-to-face with their heroes at the end of a very long, hard day.
⏱️ Coaches corner: Finding the balance between training and recovery
Balancing training, recovery, and tapering is what determines whether your fitness translates into performance. Training creates stress, recovery allows adaptation, and tapering prepares the body to perform at its peak. Without the right balance, progress stalls or fatigue overrides fitness.
⚖️ What balance actually means in running:
Balancing these elements means applying the right amount of stress at the right time, followed by sufficient recovery. Training builds fitness, but only when the body has time to adapt. Too much training without recovery leads to fatigue. Too much recovery without structure limits progress.
Tapering is the final adjustment that ensures your body is ready to perform.
👟 The Role of Training in Performance:
Training is the foundation of improvement. It develops endurance, speed, and efficiency.
Different types of sessions target different adaptations, from easy runs to intervals.
Consistency in training is more important than intensity alone. This is where structured sessions become important, especially when applying how to structure interval training for runners to ensure quality and progression.
😴 Why recovery is essential:
Recovery is where improvement actually happens. After training, the body repairs muscle tissue, restores energy stores, and adapts to stress.
Without recovery, fatigue accumulates and performance declines.
Recovery includes rest days, easy runs, sleep, and proper nutrition.
Ignoring recovery reduces the effectiveness of training.
🤔 Understanding training load:
Training load is the combination of volume and intensity. Increasing load gradually allows the body to adapt without excessive fatigue.
Sudden increases lead to overload and higher injury risk. Balancing load means knowing when to push and when to reduce intensity.
Monitoring how your body responds is key to maintaining this balance.
❤️🩹 How Recovery Supports Consistency:
Consistency is the most important factor in running progress.
Recovery allows you to train regularly without interruption. Without it, fatigue leads to missed sessions and reduced quality.
This is especially important when building endurance, as athletes starting a new workout routine seek to prevent injuries with a gradual progression in work rate.
✋ What tapering actually does and when to start:
Tapering is the reduction of training volume before a race. It allows fatigue to decrease while maintaining fitness. This creates a state where your body is fully recovered but still conditioned for performance.
A proper taper leads to improved race-day output.
Taper timing depends on race distance and training load.
Longer races require a longer taper, while shorter races need less reduction.
The goal is to reduce fatigue without losing fitness. Training intensity is often maintained while volume decreases. This ensures the body stays prepared while recovering.
❓ How do you adjust training during the taper?
During taper, volume decreases, but quality remains.
Short, controlled sessions help maintain rhythm and efficiency.
Easy runs become more important to support recovery.
Avoid introducing new training elements during this phase. Consistency and familiarity are key.
🗝️ FIVE key things to remember
Focus on consistency rather than extremes.
Build your training gradually and include recovery as part of your plan.
Pay attention to how your body responds and adjust accordingly.
Approach tapering with control, reducing volume while maintaining rhythm.
Performance comes from the combination of training, recovery, and timing, not just effort.
💪 Outside edge of endurance
A new world record was set in the China Half Marathon this weekend… well, sort of.
The men’s best-ever time of 57 minutes and 20 seconds by Jacob Kiplimo was smashed by almost seven minutes in Beijing, but the ‘athlete’ that achieved this incredible time is NOT about to replace the Ugandan in the record books.
Indeed, it was a high-tech robot named `Lightning’ and developed by Chinese smartphone maker Honor that left the human field in its dust, crossing the line in 50 minutes and 26 seconds.
The bright red humanoid stands 169cm tall and clearly benefited from its ‘burst power’ and ‘autonomous navigation’ as it beat the previous record for a robot by almost two hours.
More than 100 robot teams took part this year, almost five times as many as last year, when the first android athletes were put through their paces but delivered very poor results.
Zhao Haijie and Wang Qiaoxia won the men’s and women’s races in the human category on Sunday, both requiring more than an hour to complete the course... and probably needed a little more recovery time afterwards, too. 🤖
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