In this episode, Danish professional Ironman triathlete, Michelle Vesterby, talks about her recent win at her first 515 distance event – Ultraman Arizona.  Michelle has competed nine times at the Ironman World Championships in Kona and now may be looking at a November trip to Hawaii.   Michelle’s motto, “Keep Smiling”, was tested in Arizona, but her crew helped to keep her on the course and set UMAZ record times, for women, for each of the three days. Resources mentioned in this episode: Ultra TriFest Canada Ultra 515 World Wide Championships Ultraman Arizona Club La Santa Michelle ..read more

Today’s Ohana guest is all heart and one kidney.  Race director of Ultra La Isla 520, Cesar Guilbert, is a live kidney donor who was inspired by team Hoyt to take on UltraMX 515 with his friend, Aarón Reza Lozoya, who is a person with quadriplegia.   His story is one of living life in peace by recognizing balance and he tries to share this through La Tribu collective. We also talk about his race and some of the people that will be attending this year which is happening March 30  - April 2.    Follow the race on Instagram. La Tribu Website Resources mentioned in this e ..read more

Kate Bevilaqua has nearly 20 years of professional triathlon experience.  She is the winner of three Ironman races, the women's champion of Ultraman World Championships, and the first woman to win an ultra triathlon outright at Ultra 520K Canada in 2016. Kate continues to race the pro circuit along with her husband, Guy Crawford.  Together they run GK Endurance, their one-on-one coaching business.  In this episode we discuss her 515 career, her coaching philosophy and her opinions on pro triathlon – present and future.  She also shares some of her pro tips, favourite races ..read more

Over 150 years of experience are on the podcast today.  A big list of big names in the Ultraman/515 world join me for a round table discussion.   All of my guests bring unique experiences and backgrounds as we establish some history of the sport before discussing its current state and where we see it moving in the future.   Resources mentioned in this episode: Ultra TriFest Canada Ultra 515 World Wide Championships Ultraman Hawaii Ultraman World Championships UM Arizona  UM Florida  Ultraman Wales (UMUK) Ultra MX 515 UM Canada  Ironman Canada  UltraCzech 515 ..read more

Will Rogers has travelled the world competing in 515 events which include Ultraman Canada, Ultra 520K Canada, Ultraman Hawaii, Ultra MX 515, Ultraman Florida, Ultraman Australia and Ultraman Israel.  When not competing himself he is often sharing his experience by crewing for other athletes. In this episode, Will shares stories from many of those events from both the perspective of athlete and crew member. Will works as a paramedic in the Vancouver area and has volunteered to use those skills helping people in Ukraine during the war.  He tells us how and why he got involved and what ..read more

Ross Welton raced the Ultra 520K Canada two times as an athlete – one with greater success than the other.  Ross shares how he, and his wife Katie, were both able to stand on top the podium at that race.   These days Ross lives half the year in Mallorca and has been living “the lifestyle” of the island.  In the past few years Ross has replaced racing with travelling with friends on ultra  cycling trips around Europe with “no point to it”.   This episode has it all for the Ultra athlete – tips and tricks for racing and stories of bucket list adventures. Ross on Instag ..read more

Fifteen time Ultraman Hawaii athlete, Suzy Degazon, joins me to speak about her recent induction into the Ultraman World Championships Hall of Fame that occurred at this year's event.   Suzy has a prolific ultra triathlon career of over 450 events.   Just as interesting as some of her athletic endeavors are her stories of the other parts of her life.   Suzy has managed to turn some bad situations around and live her best life as a scuba instructor which has also allowed her to travel around the world.    Resources mentioned in this episode: Ultra TriFest Canada Ultra ..read more

Returning guests, Jakub and Adam Atarsia share stories of brotherly competition in sports and how triathlon is growing in Northern Africa and the Czech Republic through the Ironman brand and the races that they put on.  Together the brothers offer the UltraCzech 515 and a series of races in Algeria – including SaharaMan.  Like many race directors these two are trying their best to grow the sport they love.  Both brothers have experienced a few changes in their lives since we last checked in with them so it was great to have the opportunity to catch up. Resources mentioned in th ..read more

Manu Garcia,  the race director of Infinitri 515, is my guest in this episode which was released early to coincide with race days of the 2023 version – October 19 - 21st. Being a triathlete himself, he decided to use his Masters in Event Planning and love of the sport to create his own career.  His company, Infinitri Sports, puts on various races throughout the year on the Mediterranean coast of Spain.  Manu shares his thoughts on organizing intimate sized Ultraman distance races versus other larger triathlon events his company does and gives us a rundown on his event. You can ..read more

After walking into Tug’s Tavern Swim, Run, Swim event and finishing 30th out of 400 – a young Kurt Madden thought, ”maybe I can hang with these people”.    A few years later he was regularly travelling to Hawaii to compete in Ironman and Ultraman races.  In fact, Kurt was the first winner of Ultraman in 1983.  He shares some stories of the early days in Hawaii and how it was viewed as a fad. He has podiumed as an age grouper more times than can be counted and has three top 10 finishes at the Ironman World Championships when he raced as a pro.    Kurt currently r ..read more