#200: Happy 200th birthday to us

Are we going to learn anything from UTMB? Or no?

issue #200: Aug. 25, 2026

Presented by Mint & Honey Co.

You all, this is issue #200. Which means I’ve been doing this for almost four years, in ups and downs, and so I wanted to give a brief State of Triathlonish overview. Skip ahead if you don’t care and you just want this week’s news.

• When I left Triathlete about this time in 2022 there weren’t a ton of triathlon podcasts or newsletters; Triathlete still does good coverage (IMO) but the print magazine had been axed, and the number of English-language outlets really covering the sport was extremely limited. Furthermore (!), most triathlon media still tended to focus on beginner ‘how to get started’ content and inspirational profiles.

• I wanted to give our sport(s) the commentary and analysis that mainstream sports get, so I started this newsletter right before Mega Double Kona that year. Triathlonish then added the podcast; we added more original reporting and Q&As and monthly gear & training roundups; we added a Book Club. I never did much social, because honestly I didn’t want Triathlonish to get caught in the ‘what’s the hottest trend’ ‘must always stay current’ trap. I wanted us to keep this space for taking a beat and thinking about things.

• By late-2023 I was working with Feisty on content (and other things) and we soon merged the triathlon podcasts and killed the Triathlonish pod. By mid-2024, I was full-time with Feisty, with the goal to build out the women’s sports podcasts, newsletters, social, and events. Triathlon, by extension, became simply one of the sports we were covering — sometimes a lot and sometimes less so — and I folded a lot of the Triathlonish things we’d started into Feisty.

Today, we’re back here and we have a little over 2,300 people who get this newsletter every week. There was some loss in the transition of the list to Feisty and then the transitioning it back to here. (I believe that’s what is called ‘shrinkage’ in retail.) There was also some shrinkage in the open rate, especially as this transition settles, but it remains close to 60% and some of you all read it many many times (and share it many many times).

Our audience also remains heavy N. American + the UK, but is actually about split gender-wise. And it remains heavy on industry people: RDs, C-suites of most of the big tri companies, coaches, the hardcore dedicated tri fans, plus my mom.

In this time, though, the sport and market (and my life) have changed. There are many many people now talking about triathlon on Youtubes and podcasts and social media. (I do love a good meme account.) I like to think I helped wrought this transformation, but maybe I didn’t. Some of these outlets are very good, lots of them aren’t. Most of them are Dudes, a few of them aren’t. I also think triathlon has changed in this time; I haven’t decided yet if it’s changed for better or worse.

So, what can Triathlonish be here and now in this landscape?

I’d like to still do the reported analysis you’ve come to expect in the weekly newsletter. My husband says in a different life I’d have been an op-ed writer for a major newspaper. I like and care about doing the reporting and research to come up with the why and how to think about a thing. I still think there’s a space in our sports for slow takes — even in the era of fast content — where we don’t need to be first to tell you a thing, we can take a second and maybe tell you a more interesting thing instead.

I’d like to do more of the original triathlon stories and Q&As we did here to support that. We all know I love a good dive into the finances and business of sports. I might add some sections or weekly picks in the newsletter on the other non-ball stories worth paying attention to. And, I’m very much planning on bringing back the podcast in a slightly different form (more TK on that) because it’s a lot easier to go deep deep weeds on triathlon topics when talking — and, trust me, if we do a podcast it’ll be deep weeds. No ‘what to wear for your first triathlon’ here. (Not that that’s not a totally valid question. It is. It’s also just answered many other places.)

But, I also am trying to figure out how else to fill my time (and money) and what that job/portfolio/projects looks like.

In short: What do you think is missing from coverage and media? What would you like to see more of? What of those things could I actually deliver? Lots of you usually press reply and email me, but feel free to leave as comments below too 👇

And, now, back to triathlon(ish).

- Kelly

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The first of the lasts

Which is just another way of saying Champs Season is starting. We’ve got…

• The last IM Pro Series race before the World Championships: Zell am See 70.3. Which means the last chance to get Pro Series points before the World Champs. (Though World Champs, especially Kona, count for a LOT of points, so pros be trying to remember their maths.) Interesting names on the start list: Laura Philipp & Jelle Geens.

  • WATCH: This Sunday @ 11 a.m. local/5 a.m. ET/2 a.m. PT

• It’s also WTCS Weihai, which is the second-to-last (also known as the penultimate) race before the World Triathlon Championship Final. Interesting names: Beth Potter v. Cassandre Beaugrand v. Lisa Tertsch & Matt Hauser.

  • WATCH: This Saturday — men @ 9 a.m. local/9 p.m. the night before ET/6 p.m. PT & women @ three hours later (9 p.m. Friday PT/midnight ET)

• And T100 announced its penultimate event in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia Nov. 26-27. Pure coincidence it’s men’s only in Saudi Arabia this year.

An addendum: More more more on 70.3 Worlds next week — which is only 17 days away.

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And speaking of other non-ball sports I’m super interested in: UTMB Week!

Many of the operations & production & brands & media crews coming over to Nice for 70.3 Worlds are actually in Chamonix right now. At UTMB. Along with everyone loosely connected to running long distances, Ironman CEO Scott is very much at UTMB, too. Partially because of the Ironman minority stake in UTMB, but also because he loves ultrarunning in a way I don’t think he’ll ever love triathlon. (I get it, first loves and everything.) And also mostly because UTMB Week is the Place to Be In Endurance Sports right now. Vuelta? Pshaw. TDS, OCC, MCC, CCC? Yes, please.

Confused by the acronyms? Full explanation of the different races here.

Also, UTMB included this acronym guide in their marketing email, which is handy and something other large events should probably consider:

There are race previews (so many previews) and a lot of athlete withdrawals (both UTMB defending champs are out). I don’t think it’s the most amazing field ever assembled for the race, but it’s solid and I’m curious how Rachel Entrekin will do. Really the thing I’m most interested in, though:

Is this the year the race finally breaks Chamonix? Possibly, probably. Accounts are the Mayor is not happy and the race organizers told brands to cut down on shakeout runs and yet there are still 40+ shakeout runs — which, honestly, duh.

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From the races

• Leipzig 70.3: Shoutout to Caroline Pohl for the home win. And I just learned Rico Bogen’s wife is a very good AGer and won the amateur race.

• Allgäu Triathlon: Anne Reischmann is back racing postpartum.

• Tallinn 70.3: And OK, yes, we can all agree this is not a great way to end your first ever 70.3 that you were in the lead of — but, like, shit happens, we make mistakes, and she’s able to laugh about it now.

Results: Leipzig 70.3, Tallinn 70.3

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And this week’s other big thing I’m paying attention to

Jenny Simpson is opening up about her sudden cardiac arrest back in June. CBS segment here and The Athletic story here. The doctors have said it was a rare genetic condition that caused her heart to stop, and does not necessarily have anything to do with her running career.

These stories are not uncommon though. Tim O’Donnell’s mid-race heart attack. A well-known ultrarunner had a heart attack during the TDS race at UTMB this week, and remains in a coma. (Both very different situations.)

There’s a lot we don’t know about the heart. And, certainly, a lot we don’t know about the effect years of intense exercise have on the heart — though I do think we’ve all calmed down a little with blaming everything on “athlete’s heart.” The research suggests that many of these sudden cardiac arrests in athletes are often the result of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a genetic mutation.

Here’s David Epstein, certainly one of the most-well-versed on the subject, on the problem. His video on what to know about it. And the original Sports Illustrated story.

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The -ish

Some of the other things worth knowing about this week in our sports — or that I just think are interesting.

• Race Ranger is raising investment to scale up its business so they can have enough draft-detection units (900 units, says founder James) to serve amateur races. (Endurance Sportswire/Slowtwitch)

• A long time ago my sister told me that you’re supposed to punch an alligator in the eye if you’re being attacked, but I’ve never actually had reason to put that into practice. Well, turns out it works. At least according to this triathlon coach who was attacked while swimming in S. Carolina. This is also why I have a fear of swimming in bodies of water in the South. (WRDW)

• To help you out, Triathlete put together this list of craziest triathlon-related animal attacks. (Triathlete)

• Russian triathletes are officially back and allowed to compete under their flag again for World Tri races. (Inside the Games)

• Also, Collin Chartier is back(ish) after the doping ban and doing a 2,000-mile charity run that’s raised $100K for an addiction support and recovery nonprofit. Though this sentence is an interesting take on the facts: “In 2020, Chartier was fifth in Olympic qualifying, three spots short of qualifying to go to Tokyo.” (ARLnow)

• Laura Philipp has been making the podcast rounds post-IM Kalmar: She was on Jackie Hering’s The Women’s Race show and on Daniela Bleymehl’s show in German (if you speak German). (Youtube/Spotify)

• A few of the people on UTMB Week pods: Jan Frodeno went to talk pre-his OCC race, and Molly Seidel withdrew from OCC but I just find her interesting. Freetrail actually has a full line-up of shows and interviews, of course. (Youtube)

• I’m not a big Youtube person, but the Hoka vid about the effort to go sub-14 hours at Western States was solid. (Youtube)

• I also enjoyed Salomon’s behind-the-scenes on bringing an all-female video & photo team to UTMB last year. As someone who has stood elbow-deep in the photo/content pools behind finish lines, it 100% is always a LOT of dudes. (Youtubes)

• Also fully identified with the Vuelta riders seeking refuge in a hotel during a freak hailstorm. (Instagram)

• We’ve got a new half-marathon world record (56:51) and under 57 (!), because — if you remember, which you probably don’t — the previous sub-57 record was discounted after he ran too close to the pace car. (BBC/Athletics Illustrated)

• Here’s one for all the ‘my watch says the course was long’ people: The Edmonton Marathon actually was too long. (The Athletic)

• Speaking of knowing when to listen to your watch: I’ve had a lot of coaches tell me that athletes will insist their Whoop or Garmin score is low and they can’t do the workout — which, to me, is wild. If you can’t do the workout because you feel like death, then you shouldn’t need a watch to tell you that. And if you need a watch to tell you, then you’re probably fine and do the workout. But if you’re looking for more guidance: When to listen to your watch’s recovery score and when not to. (Triathlete)

• You can join the New Zealand Elite Selection Commission. Or, you can if you’re part of Tri NZ. (Facebook)

• I don’t know why I find this Zwim virtual swim training so funny, but I do. And also I had to doublecheck that it’s not a joke. (Instagram/Zwim)

• Public swimming in the Seine is fully open. More or less. (Financial Times)

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One last thing

If you missed these videos of Max Alran winning the downhill mountain bike race in Les Gets, it makes anything you think about crowds in triathlon pale.

Support Triathlonish partners: Mint & Honey Co. is at the intersection of wellness and endurance. Reach out to Lynette to connect and talk about ways to find potential partners, create earned media, and build campaigns for and from athletes.