Favorite Olympic moments, Tragedy at CrossFit Games, CHEATERS suck, Leadville weekend, SF Half whoopsie, and more…
👋 Good morning and happy Friday! Welcome to the Front Pack newsletter, your source for all things endurance. Click here for the web edition.
Bummer news of the week was to hear what I think a lot of people started to wonder. After winning IRONMAN TX this past April with a blistering 2:34:14 marathon, Tomas Rodriguez (MEX) had not entered a race since. 🧐
At first, his camp said he was injured which I get. If I ran that marathon time, I’d be injured for no less than a year. But then he was supposed to race at Challenge Roth (GER) in July. The event even put up a sizable purse 💰 should he break a 2:30 marathon time. But again, Rodriguez dropped out last minute, vaguely stating, “Due to personal reasons, I regret to inform you that I won’t be able to participate in Challenge Roth 2024. I’m really bummed to miss this incredible event, but I promise to come back stronger and faster. Thank you for your understanding and support.” Which again. This guy was an UNKNOWN until he ripped off an unimaginable TX race. Why hadn’t he raced since? I started to wonder was there more to this? And then this week we got our answer.
Like Collin Chartier before him, Tomas Rodriguez is simply another lying cheat loser. Someone who couldn’t get to the next level without cheating the system, himself, and his competitors. Cheating is a decision you and you alone make, highlighting that you have zero moral turpitude. And when you’re caught, you blame someone else. For Tomas, he’s claimed it was the eggs and chicken that caused these negative tests. Sure, man. We’re not stupid.
But who cares? Why should we care what he does. Because we live in a civilized society. Because if you don’t care, than why does any of this matter? If you have any respect for sports or yourself as a competitor, you should care. If you’re doping or taking TRT to look good on your boat or running shirtless on the trails, have at it; dope your face off. But if you’re screwing others over, you deserve everything thrown your way. I hope they get this one right. Collin got a 3 year ban for EPO doping, let’s hope Tomas gets a lifetime ban.
Anyway. As always, thanks for subscribing and let’s close out this week the right way.
Stay moving…✌🏼 – Scott
Headlines
Leadville 100: The Life Time Grand Prix is back! In what seemed like forever, 2.5 months to be exact, the year long race series is back with the Leadville 100 race this Saturday, August 10. All the usual stars – 30 pro men, and 30 pro women, will take to the starting line to see if then can beat series leaders Keegan Swenson and Haley Smith over the 100-mile grueling course that includes 12,000 feet of elevation gain. Read more…
Tragedy at CrossFit Games: I’m actually rewriting this section because what was supposed to be a celebration took a tragic turn on Day 1 in Texas. Athletes were competing in the first event, a run-swim at Marine Creek Lake. With 100 meters left in the swim, Lazar Djukic appeared to be struggling, went underwater and never came back up. Completely horrible and totally preventable, people on the ground are suggesting there may not have been enough lifeguards on course. Terrible. Read more…
The Olympics: With only a few days remaining, be sure to check out these last remaining events before the closing ceremonies.
Men’s Olympic Marathon – Saturday, August 10 (preview)
Women’s Olympic Marathon – Sunday, August 11 (preview)
Meanwhile
Zipp Launches New Gravel Wheels and Bar: It’s really no surprise, especially with the popularity of gravel exploding but what do you think about the new Zipp 303 XPLR wheelset with a mega-wide 32mm internal rim width. Bike Rumor took them for a spin with some honest results…which were not great. Read more…
The San Francisco Half that wasn’t: Even though it was a few weeks ago, I hadn’t heard this story. The SF Half which is advertised as a 13.1 race…. was actually only 12.6 miles. WHOOPS! Human error was the official scapegoat but what a mess. Read more…
Kristen Faulkner’s gold was a total surprise: If you haven’t been paying attention, you should read up on American cyclist Kristen Faulkner who broke a 40 year drought for Team USA by winning gold in women’s Olympic road cycling. What’s really unique about her story is that she only took up cycling 6 years ago. Casual. Read more…
Rapha’s new CEO: To inject some new life into the mainstay British brand, the company announced the appointment of a new CEO, welcoming the current boss of Belstaff Clothing, Fran Millar. Investment firm owned since 2017, Millar’s appointment as CEO will be Rapha’s fourth in as many years 🤨. Read more…
Olympic Marathon Super Shoes: Check out what everyone is racing in for this weekends event. Read more…
TL;DR Olympic Edition
If you haven’t been paying attention to the Olympics, all good. Here are some of my favorite moments (with URLs) as the games wrap on August 11.
Snoop Dogg: Doggystyle came out in 1993. 31 years later Snoop Dogg is the US Ambassador to the Paris games, is everywhere, and was said to have been making $500K a day. Never give up!
Women’s Rugby: My favorite moment from the Olympics. The US Women’s Rugby team won its first ever medal in 100 years, the bronze after a last ditch – full field – as time expires game tying try. The conversion ultimately sealed the medal. (link)
Medals: Can’t get over this Chinese athlete’s reaction to the Italian ladies. (link)
Track & Field: A complete afterthought, Cole Hocker (USA) taking the 1500m after being in 9th then 5th during aspects of the race had the hair on my arms standing up. (link)
Cycling: It’s been well documented but Kristen Faulkner (USA) wasn’t even supposed to be in the women’s road cycling race but after a least minute decision by a teammate to dropout, Faulkner jumped in. The former VC turned pro racer went on to take the unexpected gold. (link)
Pole Vault: The US and Australian women pole vaulters battling each other for gold. Just back and forth, mental and physical warfare in front of an electric and packed stadium. Incredible. (link)
Mixed Triathlon: Taylor Knibb is without a doubt a top 3 female triathlete in the world. But I felt like the Olympic triathlon events were a bit foreign to her so it almost felt disappointing to not see her podium. That was until the mixed relay event. She was the final US leg and out touched Great Britain to secure a silver medal. That made me happy. (link)
Gymnastics: I couldn’t help but feel terrible for the Romanian gymnast who thought she finished with a bronze medal, only to have Jordan Chiles (USA) rip it away after a last second inquiry. But that’s sports. (link)
Men’s Triathlon: Alex Yee (GBR) led out of T2 but his best friend Hayden Wilde (NZL) would overtake him on the run. Yee looked gassed and Wilde looked ready to collect gold but somehow, someway Yee found a 5th gear and stormed back with only a few hundred meters to win! I’ve visualized this so many times myself but my legs never want to listen. So to actually see it was beautiful. (link)
Hailing from Boston, Alice Alberts burst onto the triathlon scene three short years ago. Formerly a nurse practitioner who left to turn professional in July 2022, she quickly made a name for herself by winning IRONMAN Lake Placid and IRONMAN Maryland in 2023. Since, she’s continued that momentum and currently sits 3rd in the the IRONMAN Pro Series standings; ironically behind the same two who beat her at IRONMAN Lake Placid this year.
In addition to pro athlete, she’s a wife, and triathlon coach. You can find her on Instagram, YouTube, and Strava.
Thanks for taking the time to be a part of our 5 Questions with series…!
We’re two-thirds of the way through the 2024 season, and you’re seemingly hitting your stride. On a scale from 1-10, how has the season gone versus what your goals and expectations were? Why? Are you having to adjust your schedule at all now that you are in such a good place in the overall standings?
I would give my season so far a 7-8/10. I really love competing in the Ironman Pro Series as every race brings a highly competitive field of incredible women. I’ve felt good in some races and not so good in others, but I am proud of the consistency I have shown across the board. I’ve not had to adjust my schedule much as I went into the year knowing which races I wanted to target to have the best chance of accumulating points. The only addition was that I qualified for 70.3 World Champs in Taupo, NZ in December so we have now added that on to the end of my season!
Triathlon is such an isolating sport yet you’re oftentimes racing the same people at each race. In the last few years, are there any pros that you’ve become good friends with, gotten good tips from, lean on for support or anything else?
I actually don’t think of triathlon as being isolating at all. One of my favorite things about getting into triathlon is the community that it has provided me. I have absolutely loved getting to know some of the other female pros better. The camaraderie and sportsmanship exhibited by most, even when out on course in the middle of a race, is unparalleled to any other sport I have done. I have not come across a single pro who hasn’t been open to giving advice, encouragement, or just shooting the breeze. It’s so hard to make a list of pros who I have become good friends with because the list is so long – and it’s been really fun to become friends with a few women that I look up to – Kat Matthews, Jackie Herring, Dani Lewis to name a few!
Given the timing of the Tomas Rodriguez news, what are your thoughts on doping in the sport? It’s obviously wrong but have you seen an increase in testing for pros? Do you view it as a problem or think IRONMAN is doing what they can without being 24/7 babysitters. I know you recently got a call while on the golf course!
I think it’s sad that anyone would feel the need to cheat in this sport, but that said, I am not naive enough to think it is not happening. Truthfully, I try not to think about it much as I do not want it to get me down. I got into this sport because I love it and I love to compete… fairly. All I can do is keep showing up, try my very best, stay honest and clean, and hope that others on the start line feel the same. I was only recently added to the testing pool for Ironman in Q2 of this year, and from my view, I think Ironman is doing the absolute best they can, putting a lot of time, money and resources into the testing of athletes. And yes, ha! I have been tested in a few funny scenarios, especially that one while on the golf course so my round had to end after 15 holes…quite alright, I was putting terribly anyway (-;
Hardest lesson learned in full distance racing? 70.3?
If you don’t get your fueling right on the bike, it will come back to bite you on the run! For 70.3, don’t wear socks.. You lose the bike pack
You’re also a coach. What’s the most consistent advice you give your athletes?
Consistency is key. Just keep showing up – not every day is going to be your best, but it’s the daily work over time, and not one or two hero sessions, that get you to where you want to be. AND to have this consistency, it helps to really enjoy your training. So do whatever you can to keep the JOY.
Given you’re such a strong cyclist and runner. Has it even crossed your mind to open things up next year and try your hand at gravel racing or trail running?
Ha, it has crossed my mind but definitely not next year. My triathlon schedule is so full already, I want to really focus on that during this stage of my career as a professional athlete. BUT down the road, 100%. I had the pleasure of going on a long ride with Heather Jackson when I was training in Tucson earlier this year and she has always been a really big inspiration to me.
What’s your North Star in the sport?
Definitely the love and support I receive from my husband and family. They believed (and continue to believe in me) even when I didn’t. I would not be where I am in life, and in sport, if it were not for them.
Training Tips
Because training is life.
Surviving Open Water: Open water and a pool are two very different things. Both are dangerous. A pool, less so. A lake, very dangerous if you don’t know what you’re doing. It’s important to know this but also to REALLY know this. Are you ready for it?
New 13spd SRAM Red XPLR AXS: in-depth review & full details: SRAM launched this new 13 speed set up recently but I hadn’t read any full reviews yet. Nobody better to tell me about it than Ben Delaney who got to take it THROUGH THE ALPS 🤪. (Yes, I’m jealous)
Rewatchables
Content for long training days inside or just everyday life.
I Ran a BRUTAL Ultra Marathon in Mongolia (155 Miles, 30-Pound Pack): I was unfamiliar with the Gobi March in Mongolia but my gosh does it look as brutal as it does spectacular. It’s a weeklong race and you have all your gear on your back throughout. Beautiful film.
Humans of HOKA: Shifting The Post Shift Culture with Chef Philip Speer: Don’t let addiction ruin you. Let chef and restaurant owner, Philip Speer inspire you. Bonus: AUSTIN pride!
One Hundred Reasons Why | WSER Documentary: This was great for the fact that it looks at so many perspectives. Follow global adidas TERREX athletes as they tackle Western States 2024.
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