Morning endurance fans…

The summer of endurance sport shows no sign of slowing down.

This weekend, the spotlight falls on Denmark and Brittany as some of the biggest names in triathlon head to IRONMAN 70.3 Elsinore and WTCS Quiberon. The Danish classic has assembled another stacked middle-distance field, while Quiberon marks not only the latest chapter in the WTCS title race but also the first Mixed Relay showdown on the road to the LA28 Olympics.

And if that wasn’t enough, the running world was hit by a blockbuster announcement on Friday as the London Marathon confirmed its historic ‘Double’ for 2027. For the first time ever, the world’s biggest marathon will be staged across two days, with organisers aiming to welcome 100,000 runners and generate record-breaking sums for charity.

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

🏅 DOUBTS: Alex Yee admits he is ‘out of his depth’ after signing up for the Diamond League in Monaco with Cassandre Beaugrand. Read HERE.

🚴‍♂️ LEADER: Triathlon star Taylor Knibb has won the women’s time trial at the USA Cycling Professional Road National Championships. Read HERE.

🦿 CHALLENGE: Paralympian Mohamed Lahna continues to power his way through the bike stage of his epic triathlon across America. Read HERE.

🥾 PARTNERS: This is why big Western States rivals Fuzhao Xiang and Marianne Hogan have joined forces ahead of this year’s race. Read HERE.

🎽 TREK: The injury frustration continues for ultrarunner Katie Schide, with the UTMB and Western States winner still searching for a cure. Read HERE.

A new venue for the WTCS sees the world’s leading triathletes arrive on the French peninsula of Quiberon today seeking both individual and team glory as the first of the season’s LA28 Mixed Relay qualifying races promises to thrill and excite in equal measure.

Big names like Matt Hauser, Hayden Wilde and Beth Potter may be missing from the starting lists, but there is still plenty of quality on show as the race for both Series and Olympic points continues apace.

Quiberon is also the first sprint-distance WTCS race of the 2026 season, and if you throw in the forecast high temperatures and possible wetsuit uncertainty, a beach start and a four-loop bike circuit, not to mention the much-anticipated showdown between Cassandre Beaugrand and Tilda Månsson, you can understand why this race is set to be a real firecracker.

⏰ START TIMES: The Elite men will get things underway at 10:00 local time in France, with the medal ceremony planned for 11:05. This is a Central European time zone, which means the start will be 09:00 in the UK, 04:00 on the USA’s East Coast, 03:00 in Central USA, and 01:00 on the Pacific Coast. In Western Australia (AWST), it gets underway at 16:00, Central Australia (ACST) at 17:30, and Eastern Australia (AEST) at 18:00. The race starts in New Zealand at 20:00.

The Elite women will start at 12:00 local French time, which will be 11:00 in the UK, 06:00 on the East Coast, 05:00 in Central USA, and 03:00 on the Pacific Coast. This means an 18:00 start AWST, 19:30 ACST, and 20:00 start AEST. The women start at 22:00 in New Zealand.

The Mixed Relay event will take place on Sunday, June 21, with the athletes expected to enter the water at 17:00 local French time. This will be 16:00 in the UK, 11:00 on the East Coast, 10:00 in Central USA, and 08:00 on the Pacific Coast. This means a 23:00 start AWST, 00:30 (Monday) ACST, and 01:00 (Monday) AEST. The race starts in New Zealand at 03:00 on Monday.

📺 HOW TO WATCH: All the action will be available to watch live via Triathlonlive.tv

The IRONMAN Pro Series heads back to Europe this weekend as 70.3 Elsinore in Denmark, staged in the shadow of 15th-century Kronborg Castle, home to Shakespeare’s Hamlet, takes centre stage.

It’s the eighth stop in the series and features something of an unplanned appearance from the women’s Pro Series winner in each of the last two years, Kat Matthews.

The Brit is hoping to use the race to get back into podium contention after being forced out of IRONMAN Texas by a serious puncture.

This is the last chance for the men and the penultimate one for the women to qualify for the 2026 IRONMAN 70.3 World Championships in Nice, with three spots per gender up for grabs.

Two women who raced IRONMAN Hamburg recently, third-placed Katrine Græsbøll Christensen (DEN) and sixth-placed Lotte Wilms (NED), will line up against Matthews.

The one big name missing from those already qualified for the IRONMAN 70.3 Worlds is Belgium’s Marten Van Riel, and he will line up against Jamie Riddle (ZAF) and Kyle Smith (NZL), who will be hoping to bank a positive result after challenging starts to their seasons.

⏰ START TIMES: The pro races start at 07:30 CEST tomorrow, which is 06:30 BST, 01:30 Eastern and 22:30 on Saturday on the West Coast of the US. The broadcast begins 30 minutes beforehand, and the pro men start first, with the women beginning five minutes later.

📺 HOW TO WATCH: The race will be broadcast live and for free across multiple platforms for viewers around the world, including proseries.ironman.com, DAZN, iQIYI, L’Equipe Live, and YouTube, among others.

Click on the button below for a link to the YouTube coverage.

Poland’s Marta Lagownik will be looking for some home rewards this weekend when she lines up for the latest Challenge race of the season in Gdansk.

Having secured three top-ten finishes so far in 2026, she will be looking for at least a podium when she dives into the Baltic Sea tomorrow and races on the streets and paths that she knows so well.

This will be her first showing on the Challenge tour this season, having finished fifth at IRONMAN 70.3 Valencia, ninth at 70.3 Pays d’Aix and eighth last time out at the full-distance IRONMAN Hamburg.

It won’t be easy for her, however, as she lines up against Italian Elisabetta Curridori, who can boast two wins already from her three races this year, including her success at Challenge Salou last month.

On the men’s side, Serbian Ognjen Stojanovic will be looking to build on both his fifth-place finish at IRONMAN Brazil and tenth at The Championship as he looks for his first Challenge win since crossing first at Xiamen in 2024.

Just like in the women’s race, there are plenty of dangerous outsiders in the men’s field who could make things difficult for Stojanovic, with the British duo of Tom Davis and Andrew Horsfall-Turner likely to challenge alongside Florent Lefebvre (FRA) and Trent Thorpe (NZL).

Tamara Jewett (CAN), Lydia Russell (USA) and Trevor Foley (USA) lead their respective fields at this weekend’s IRONMAN 70.3 Mont Tremblant in Canada, with the pros set to start at 06:50 local time tomorrow – which is 11:50 BST, 12:50 CEST, 05:50 Central USA, and 03:50 on the Pacific Coast.

Canadian-born ultra-cyclist Dr Sarah Ruggins has set a new world record for riding from the bottom to the top of Europe.

The John o’Groats to Land’s End and back record holder rode from Tarifa in southern Spain to Nordkapp in Norway in 13 days, 20 hours and 27 minutes.

She beat the existing record, set by Brit Dr Ian Walker in 2019, by 3 days and 32 minutes.

For more on this story and updates from the Tour de Suisse, read Cycling Weekly.

London Marathon Events (LME) have announced that for one year only, the world‑famous TCS London Marathon will expand into a two‑day event for its 2027 edition.

Taking place on Saturday 24 and Sunday 25 April 2027, this one‑off format change – dubbed the ‘TCS London Marathon Double’ – will see LME transform the event into a spectacular two-day celebration.

The expanded event will further elevate the global impact of the TCS London Marathon, which in 2025 was recognised as the No. 1 marathon brand in the world.

Its unique ‘Double’ format will welcome 100,000 participants across the two days, all taking on the same iconic route, from Greenwich to Westminster, in what will be an unprecedented weekend of sport, charity and community celebration.

By extending the event across two days, the ‘Double’ creates more opportunities than ever before to be part of the TCS London Marathon. It will allow a record number of participants to take on a single marathon, helping to meet the extraordinary demand for places, highlighted by the fact that 1.33 million people entered the ballot for next year’s event

The ‘Double’ will also create the largest fundraising moment in UK sport. Already the world’s largest one-day annual fundraising event, with more than £90 million raised to date for charity by 2026 participants, this two-day marathon will give more charities more opportunities to raise vital funds.

Organisers have confirmed that the elite women, elite female para-athletes, championship and ‘good for age’ women will lead the mass event one day, with the elite men, elite male para-athletes, championship and ‘good for age’ men leading the mass event the other. All format details will be confirmed in the coming months.

Everyone who has already applied to take part next year will be entered into a ballot for both the Saturday and Sunday races. Participants will not be allowed to take part in the in-person event on both days, though they will be able to complete the TCS London Marathon one day and a virtual event, the TCS London Marathon MyWay, on the other.

Ballot results will be announced in early July, with places allocated through a completely random draw.

London is already the world’s most sought-after marathon place based on applications, and this news means the chances of getting a place in the public ballot should increase from something like 2% to nearer 5%.

The IRONMAN Group has announced that Chattanooga, Tennessee, has been selected as the host city for the 2027 IRONMAN 70.3 World Championships, which will be held on 28 and 29 August.

Held annually, the event expects to welcome 7,000 of the very best professional and age-group triathletes who have secured their starting spot at one of the over 120 qualifying events worldwide, with the men and women each having a day to themselves.

The 70.3 World Championships rotate locations each year – the 2026 edition will be held in Nice, France – and the 2017 IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship in Chattanooga marked a milestone moment in the event’s evolution as it was the first time the championship was contested across two days, with greats Daniela Ryf and Javier Gomez taking the respective titles.

The qualifying window for 2027 opens early in July, so time was rapidly running out for this announcement.

For many runners, the idea of stopping to walk during a run feels counterintuitive. After all, running is supposed to be about continuous forward motion.

However, some of the world’s most successful endurance athletes, coaches, and beginners have used walk-run progressions to build fitness, improve endurance, and reduce the risk of injury.

A walk-run progression is a structured training approach that alternates periods of running with planned walking breaks. Over time, the running intervals gradually increase while the walking intervals decrease until the athlete can run continuously if desired.

The goal is not to make running easier. The goal is to create a sustainable pathway toward improved fitness and endurance.

WHAT IS WALK-RUN PROGRESSION? A walk-run progression involves alternating between running and walking during a workout. Examples may include:

As fitness improves, the ratio gradually shifts toward more running and less walking. Athletes who understand how to become efficient runners often recognise that endurance develops through consistent training rather than by trying to run continuously from day one.

The walk-run method provides a structured way to build that consistency.

WHY IS IT EFFECTIVE? One reason walk-run progressions work so well is that they allow athletes to accumulate training volume without excessive fatigue. The walking segments reduce impact stress, lower cardiovascular strain, and improve recovery between efforts. This allows runners to spend more time exercising.

Athletes often discover that gradual progression is one of the most reliable ways to improve performance while reducing injury risk. Walk-run programmes are built around that principle.

REDUCES INJURY RISK: Many running injuries occur when athletes increase training stress too quickly. Examples can include shin splints, tendon irritation, knee pain and stress reactions. Walking breaks reduce overall loading and allow connective tissues more time to adapt.

BUILDS AEROBIC FITNESS: Aerobic fitness develops when the body spends time working at sustainable intensities. Walk-run sessions allow athletes to stay active longer, maintain manageable effort levels and build endurance gradually. Consistency matters more than intensity during the early stages of fitness development.

HELPS RETURNING RUNNERS: Athletes returning after injury, illness or an extended break often benefit from a walk-run approach. Rather than jumping immediately back into previous training volumes, the body can rebuild tolerance gradually. Intelligent progression is one of the most important components of a successful comeback. Patience usually pays off.

WALKING IS NOT A SIGN OF FAILURE: One of the biggest misconceptions about walk-run training is that walking represents weakness. In reality, many experienced endurance athletes deliberately incorporate walking into training and racing. Athletes often appreciate that strategic restraint frequently produces better outcomes than constantly pushing harder. Walking can be a tool, not a setback.

PROGRESSION SHOULD BE GRADUAL: A typical walk-run progression might look something like:

The exact progression varies depending on your fitness level, experience and the goals you wish to meet. There is no universal timeline.

HOW TO MAKE WALK-RUN A SUCCESS:
Runners can maximise results by:

Endurance athlete Jack Jarvis is poised to embark on his next world-first challenge: a 13,000km continuous run from Beijing to London, covering the equivalent of more than 300 marathons in consecutive days.

Beginning in July 2026, Jarvis will run approximately 50km (31 miles) every single day, covering 17 countries before crossing the finish line at Trafalgar Square around March 2027.

He will be supported by a small crew travelling in a camper van, which will serve as his mobile base for rest and recovery throughout the journey.

The never-seen-before challenge comes after Jarvis became the first person in history to row across the Atlantic alone, spending 111 days at sea in 2022 – underlining the level of physical and mental conditioning required for what is set to be one of the most demanding endurance feats ever.

In 2025, he rowed from New York to the UK in 56 days, and so far this year, he has won the Mackyard Last Man Standing Ultra Marathon and completed the London Marathon in three hours and 29 minutes in April – only finding out the day before that he was running.

The challenge is being undertaken to raise funds for Brainstrust, a UK charity supporting people living with brain cancer. Jack’s grandfather died from the disease.

If you would like to make a donation, please click HERE.

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