Gravel’s biggest purse, the Fastest/Slowest 70.3 Races to consider, Best fitness trackers, Pooping Before Exercise, and more…

👋 Good morning and happy Friday. As always, I’m Scott. Feel free to reach me here.

This is the Front Pack Newsletter, your weekly source for all things endurance. We give you tasty morsels of everything happening in cycling, triathlon, and running.

Welcome back to a brand-new season!

The new year is here, and we’re already hitting the ground running—and cycling.

Speaking of cycling, my five-year-old son just leveled up to join The Two Wheel Gang Gang!

It was such a proud dad moment. This kid loves his scooter and wasn’t too interested in biking with me and his sister – even if it involved trips to TCBY. But we took it slow, removed the pedals for a few weeks, and let him use his bike as a balance bike. Then, out of nowhere, he said, “Dadda, can we put the pedals on now?”

He was ready. Within minutes, he was doing peddling! From coasting downhill with confidence to ripping off some killer brake skids.

And the best part?

That huge, unstoppable grin—the kind only a kid can have when they conquer something new. He was so proud of himself. And honestly? So was I. It’s only January, and he’s already crushed his first big goal of the year.

What about you? How are those goals going? Remember, practice makes progress—one day at a time. That’s our family motto.

It’s been a crazy busy week. I was in Las Vegas from Saturday until last night and am so happy to be home. The key to thriving in Las Vegas. 1) Don’t drink alcohol and 2) Bring a diffuser for those gross, musty, cigarette infused rooms. You’ll feel so much better when you wake up.

Let’s keep the momentum going and make 2025 one for the books!

Stay moving…✌️

🎙️ New Episodes of the FP Podcast

We’ve uploaded a lot of episodes to Spotify. So if you’re interested in curated stories from endurance athletes, experts, pros, and coaches, dive in.

• Getting started with Ultras

• Rewire your brain around sleep

• We are losing the Food Battle

• Race strategy & Fueling with pro gravel racer, Chase Wark

• The 2x Beer Mile champion also is an American

The Headlines

Mathieu van der Poel solos to third World Cup victory in icy Besançon: You know what winter means, right? It is …van der Poel season. The dude just dominates the early season stuff and this was no different, taking the win in France. Read more…

Plan Accordingly: Looking to do a 70.3 IRONMAN race this year? Here is the full list of the fastest…and slowest events you should consider. In North America, we didn’t crack the Top 5 for Fastest/Slowest races but individually, we absolutely crush the swim with 4/5 of the fastest swims happening in the states – Oregon, Washington Tri-Cities, Maine, and North Carolina. So if you’re a bad swimmer and want to keep it moving, hit up those races! Read more…

You Made How Much?: Triathlon is not for the faint of heart. British pro Ironman, Ruth Astle dropped some insights into how much she made as a professional in 2024. Her expenses… £50,075.50. Her earnings… £50,277. Not all pro-triathletes are the same but always interesting to see. Read more…

Meanwhile

Other happenings in the world of endurance.

Enough: What Chasing Lael’s Record Across The United States Taught Me About Competition, Candy Corn, and Self-Acceptance: A solid read for anyone, but especially for those of us in our 40’s contemplating life. Check out Janie Hayes perspective as she looked to break Lael’s cross-country record in the 4,200 mile TransAmerica Bike race back in 2017. Read more…

The Best Fitness Trackers to buy Right Now: I’ll lay it out there for you. If you are freshly getting into an endurance sport this year, or have been around for a long time, there is no better tech tool to have than a great fitness watch. How do we define, great? That’s up to what you need and are looking to spend but this article is a good starting point. Read more…

Pooping Before You Exercise Has an Incredible Effect on Performance: If you’re looking to improve your performance, both cognitively and physically, you need to start by giving a crap. No, quite literally. Studies show, it will make you both faster and smarter. So what are you waiting for? Read more…

Gravel’s Biggest Prize Purse: Gravel Racing’s Largest Single Race Prize Purse is Now in South Africa, at the Gravel Burn, an eight-day stage race that will pay out $150K to the top riders. In the US, Gravel Worlds remains the biggest, offering $100K. Read more…

Dope Athle-Tech

Launched in July and given to every Olympic athlete in Paris this summer, I was able to get my hands on the Nike x Hyperice recovery boots this week in Las Vegas.

Gimmicky. Sure. Attention grabbing. Absolutely.

So what did I think? I liked them. A lot!

In a real-world scenerio, I don’t see myself using them outside but hell yes, I’d be down to strap these things on my feet after an intense or long run. They warmed, massaged, and put a ton of compression on my feet in ways that I’d love to have on the daily. As someone who owns the Normatec compression leg sleeves, the thing I don’t like about them is that you’re immobilized when you’re in them. These Nike boots though, you can really just go about your day worry free.

No on-sale date yet but still fun to try.

Training Tips

Because training is life.

The Truth About Long Runs | Your Comprehensive Guide: Steve needs to work on his production value but the content is there. Get a full on breakdown of ‘The Long Run’.

Is Heat Training Changing Endurance Sports: As your season gets started, think about how heat training can make a difference in your performance.

How I trained to Finish Top 10 at Unbound 200: The always nerdy, Dylan Johnson goes in depth with his 2024 build to gravel’s biggest race.

Rewatchables

Content for long training days inside or just everyday life.

Arctic Post Road – Bikepacking Adventure in the Far North: Follow Henna Palosaari and Sami Sauri above the Arctic circle. The Arctic Post Road bikepacking route follows the remnants of the old Copenhagen-Alta post road starting from the fells of Pallas-Ylläs national park in Finnish Lapland and runs through the Finnmark highlands all the way to Alta on the Arctic Ocean.

The Norwegian Method – Season 2 Episode 3 – Gustav & Kristian Reflect on 2024: Hear these two top athletes reflect on the year that was; highlighting we’re not all super heroes every single day.

Chasing 100 – a Backyard Ultra Documentary: The backyard race format is getting more popular. This docu does a great job at highlighting what Prairie On Fire is all about. Community, food, and running.