For as much as we love Triathlon, there are some things that we might not particularly like about it. For some, it may be the logistics, for others, it may be the alpha/competitive nature of the sport. But I think we can agree that for a majority it’s the high cost of the sport. Today’s guest, Katie Godec, is on a personal quest to start a conversation on this topic. She believes Triathlon should be for everyone because it is first and foremost a representation of the blood, sweat and tears of humans. Live from California, the land of the unicorns of Silicon Valley, the glam and glitz of Holly ..read more

This week we have our first guest from South Africa - Tasneem Patel. She's a fully covered athlete who has been called as "The Covered One". Tasneem was never the athletic type, but a vicious cycle of mental illness began her journey to be active. In 2016, she ran her first Comrades Ultra; a 89km run within SA. By late-2017, she did her first Olympic-distance. 2018 was the year to achieve a 70.3, but life had unexpected turns. With the loss of her dad, she lost her way in training. However, in late 2018, her love, mindset & passion returned - and she's determined to complete an Ironman. Tu ..read more

There are moments in our life that stimulate us to make changes to our current situation. It might be an illness, the birth of a new baby, a new career, etc. Our guest today, Alfredo Allende decided to quit smoking and start Triathlon-ing with the birth of his first daughter. It all started with running - to help aid his depression & anxiety from nicotine withdrawal.  But he was always getting injured as his bones couldn’t handle the workload. Something was off. So, he started cross-training with swimming and biking. After dealing with pain, fatigue, etc. for a number of months, Alfre ..read more

This week's Human of Triathlon started her endurance journey with running back in 1998, But when standing along the finishing chute during her husband's first IM at Lake Placid - cheering and crying for all the finishers she saw - Phaedra Kennedy had an incredibly emotional experience & one she knew she wanted to experience herself. 4yrs later, she did her first IM at LP with her husband. She now describes it as the 2nd best day of her life, second only to their wedding day. After racing together for 4yrs, they decided it was time to start a family. They tried for a long time with no luck ..read more

Born in Ohio & based in South Korea our Human of Triathlon this week, Lynn was addicted to attention as a teenager. Maybe not all that abnormal for someone that age, but it often brought drama & consequences. When she was 16, she found out that she was pregnant. After a whirlwind of a few months, Lynn gave birth to a perfect little girl and placed her for open adoption. In the last few years, they have reconnected with each other. Although the story is of love & redemption, there are still wounds that needed to heal. That's where Triathlon came into Lynn's life. It gave her an outl ..read more

Being smaller than his peers, Allan Espina was the object of bullying growing up in the Philippines. He got heckled, called "limp-wristed", & vividly remembers seeing the word “Faggot” scribbled by his cousin on a wall. At 7y.o, this was torture. He excelled intellectually to make up for what he lacked physically. At 38, he immigrated to the US having just completed his 2nd Master's degree & working a great job. After a spark from a co-worker, Allan completed his first Sprint after 4 months of prep, not having competed in any sport before. The high from the event gave him a new goal ..read more

Robin started in Triathlon, back in 1987, when the sport was still in its infancy stage. Being a lover of the water, she had been swimming in college when her swim coach, an instrumental figure in her life, made the college swim team do a Triathlon. Running was her weak spot, and she wasn't sure she could even make the terrifying distance of 5k, but her coach took her out for a run one day and showed her that most of the barriers were only in her own mind and that she could accomplish far more than she believed she could. Now, 30+ years later, even after going through various life-events, Tria ..read more

Rachel Wall came into this world with a rare genetic disease called Hereditary Angioedema that causes episodes of mass swelling which are intensely painful and interfere with kind of necessary stuff like breathing and digesting/absorbing food. She spends every day battling the body she was born into. Because of which she was told all throughout her life that she couldn't or shouldn't do things. Six years ago, with the support of her Mom, Rachel did a local Sprint Triathlon. Through the sport she found a new community where she was instead told “You can give it a try. We believe in you. We are ..read more

This episode marks 1-year since we started the Humans of Triathlon (H.o.T) Podcast. The co-hosts have a casual chat about the show, Humans of Triathlon, and what's been happening with them lately. It's been a blast hosting the show and being able to hear and share the stories of such incredible humans from the world of Triathlon. We've had stories of failures, of triumphs, and everything in between - from Athletes to Race Photographers & Announcers, from Newbies to Ironman World Champs, from Young-guns to Seasoned Veterans, from around 15 different countries/nationalities - all of whom are ..read more

After doing his first Triathlon after an impromptu signup while on vacation in Hawaii in 2014, while riding one day, Robert Sainsbury suffered a traumatic brain injury (TBI) after colliding with another cyclist. He remembers very little of late 2014 & most of 2015. And his symptoms included cognitive fatigue, memory loss, insomnia, depression, mood swings, difficulty reading & writing, etc. - making basic daily tasks exhausting. In addition to his career & a relationship, he also lost his independence. With his condition getting progressively worse, he turned to Triathlon as it off ..read more