#650 - Triathlon in New Zealand 2026

Jack Moody's in the hot seat and we chat about the racing in NZ in the next few months and how the triathlon landscape might look for 2026. LINKS: Jack Moody on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/jacktmoody/ Mount Festival of Sport at https://mountfestival.kiwi/ T100 at https://t100triathlon.com/ IRONMAN New Zealand at https://www.ironman.com/races/im-new-zealand Procreate NZ at https://procreate.co.nz/ Race Ranger at https://www.raceranger.com/ Challenge Wanaka at https://challenge-wanaka.com/

Sam Shaw rode the 648km from Auckland to Wellington in a single day with the help of lots of bananas, gingernut biscuits, carrots and cans of Coke. He set a new record time for the solo ride, coming in at just over 17 hours - without a single stop along the way.

We catch up on the racing and tri news from the weekend. The Triathlon World Tour will launch in 2027 and combine the existing T100 Triathlon World Tour, a rebranded World Triathlon Championship Series and World Triathlon Cups. The T100 Tour will be rebranded as the T100 World Championship Series At the recent One NZ GODZONE Adventure race Team RAB made up of Sophie Hart, Chris Forne, Simone Maier and Sam Clark were welcomed by a large crowd of friends, family and supporters as they crossed the line in first place. Team Captain Chris Forne described this latest Chapter 12 of the One NZ GODZONE race as the toughest one to date. Due to the exceptionally challenging conditions, many teams were forced onto a short course or had to retire.  In this episode we chat to Team RAB's Simone Maier one of the world's leading adventure and multisport racers. Simone shares her experiences from the gruelling GODZONE Adventure Race, discussing her recovery from pneumonia and the challenges of hydration and nutrition. She reflects on the race's brutality and the importance of team support and dynamics under extreme conditions. (0:00:00) – Try Off Road Taupo  (0:03:48) – T100 Qatar race and World Tour 2026 announcement (0:26:31) – Simone Maier and One NZ GODZONE LINKS: Godzone Adventure Race at https://godzoneadventure.com/ Simone Maier at https://www.simonemaier.co.nz/ Try Off Road Taupo at https://www.tryoffroadtaupo.co.nz/ T100 at https://t100triathlon.com/

Tim's back and he fills us in on his epic adventures at Godzone. We catch up on all the racing and tri news from the weekend. Pete Pfitzinger is an American former distance runner - now exercise physiologist and author - who represented the United States in the marathon at two Olympic Games, in 1984 and 1988. He is also a highly respected coach and the co-author of the popular training book Advanced Marathoning. The latest (4th) edition of his book is now in full colour and includes the marathon training principles and training programs that thousands of marathon runners have used to set personal bests. The book is aimed at runners who want not only to run the marathon, but to achieve a good performance. Advanced Marathoning gives ambitious marathoners the information needed to train smarter, remain injury-free and cross the next finish line stronger and faster than ever. (0:00:00) – Godzone   (0:29:14) – Race reviews and tri news (0:45:03) – Alex Yee (0:50:58) – Pete Pfitzinger LINKS: Godzone Adventure Race at https://godzoneadventure.com/ Pete Pfitzinger's latest book Advanced Marathoning 4th Edition at https://www.amazon.com/Advanced-Marathoning-Pete-Pfitzinger/dp/1718237472

Jack steps into the hot seat to cover for Tim whilst he battles the GODZONE course! Sue Beattie won the free race entry to the Kosciusko 50K Ultra. We find out how it all went. We chat about the metabolic cost of swimming and the dangers of poor fueling. We have a free race entry to giveaway to the Loan Market Tauranga Half Oceanside. (0:00:00) – Tim at Godzone (0:03:39) – UTMB Kosciuszko (0:06:14) – Sue Beattie (0:19:29) – IRONMAN WA this weekend (0:23:07) – Swimming stress and the metabolic cost (0:53:21) – Loan Market Tauranga Half Oceanside LINKS: Godzone Adventure Race at https://godzoneadventure.com/ Jack Moody at https://www.instagram.com/jacktmoody/ Ultra-Trail Kosciuszko https://kosciuszko.utmb.world/WA Tauranga Half at https://mountfestival.kiwi/events/tauranga-half/ Hexis at https://www.hexis.live/ IRONMAN Western Australia at https://www.ironman.com/races/im-western-australia

Tim prepares for GODZONE. We catch up on the racing from the weekend plus we look ahead to the T100 Qatar start list. Meridith Cass is the Founder and CEO of Nix Biosensors, a company that develops wearable sensors to monitor hydration by measuring sweat. The Nix Biosensor provides real-time data on sweat loss, electrolyte loss, and sweat composition to help athletes and others optimize hydration for performance and health. In this conversation, Tim Brazier and Meridith Cass delve into the science of sweat and hydration, discussing the Nix Hydration Biosensor. They explore the importance of accurate hydration monitoring for athletes, the variability in sweat loss and the implications of dehydration on performance. Meridith shares insights on how the biosensor functions, its accuracy, and the significance of electrolyte balance. The discussion also touches on the future of hydration technology and its applications beyond endurance sports. (0:00:00) – Tim prepares for Godzone (0:17:12) – Laguna Phuket Tri (0:20:25) – Start list for Qatar (0:23:29) – IRONMAN Cozumel (0:28:05) – Hydration and racing in the heat (0:37:22) – NIX Biosensors LINKS: Nix Biosensors at https://nixbiosensors.com/ Godzone Adventure Race at https://godzoneadventure.com/ Laguna Phuket Triathlon at https://www.lagunaphukettri.com/ IRONMAN Cozumel at https://www.ironman.com/races/im-cozumel Alan McCubbin study "Sodium intake for athletes before, during and after exercise: review and recommendations" at https://performancenutrition.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s44410-025-00011-9 Buy the Nix Biosensor from Infinit Nutrition Australia at https://www.infinitnutrition.com.au/nix-hydration-biosensor T100 Qatar at https://t100triathlon.com/qatar/participate/

Auckland-based professional triathlete Jack Moody broke the tape at the Queenstown Marathon in 2:25:02, posting a new men's course record by more than a minute. We chat to Jack about his race. IRONMAN make changes to their World Championship qualification system. Clare Fitzpatrick won a free race entry to the IRONMAN 70.3 in Melbourne. We find out how her day went. We catch up on the racing from the weekend including the race management issues arising from the T100 in Dubai. (0:06:06) – Jack Moody (0:03:07) – IRONMAN Arizona (0:25:48) – IRONMAN Qualification System (0:31:59) – Clare Fitzpatrick (0:42:21) – T100 Dubai LINKS: Follow Jack Moody on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/jacktmoody/ Queenstown Marathon at https://queenstown-marathon.co.nz/ IRONMAN Arizona at https://www.ironman.com/races/im-arizona IRONMAN 70.3 Melbourne at https://www.ironman.com/races/im703-melbourne T100 Dubai at https://t100triathlon.com/dubai/pro/

We review the racing from the IRONMAN 70.3 World Champs at the weekend. We chat to Susan Phillips, winner of the free race entry to the Garmin Noosa Triathlon. (0:08:05) – Susan Phillips (0:03:07) – IRONMAN 70.3 World Champs Women's race (0:27:49) – Women's post race press conference (0:46:45) – IRONMAN 70.3 World Champs Men's race (1:00:04) – Men's post race press conference LINKS: Garmin Noosa Triathlon at https://noosatri.com.au/ IM703 Melbourne at https://www.ironman.com/races/im703-melbourne IRONMAN 70.3 World Champs at https://www.ironman.com/races/im703-world-championship-2025

This week on FITTER Radio we welcome Kelly O'Mara Head of Content and Sports Reporter for Feisty Media. The new IRONMAN Kona qualification algorithm is significantly affecting female athletes. While early projections suggested a 30-40% representation of women at the World Championships, initial data from races shows this is not the case. In the 'performance pool' an overwhelming majority have gone to men (around 95%), with only about 5% going to women in the initial races analyzed. In some events, like IRONMAN California, only one performance slot was awarded to a woman. In this conversation, Kelly shares her history in triathlon and sports journalism, highlighting the evolution of women's sports and the challenges faced in media representation. She shares insights from the recent Kona race, the impact of the new qualification system on female participation and the implications of IRONMAN's business model.  We review the racing from the Noosa Triathlon at the weekend plus Braden Currie announces his retirement. (0:00:00) – Sprint finish in the NY marathon (0:03:07) – Retirements in triathlon (0:20:20) – Garmin Noosa Triathlon (0:29:47) – IRONMAN qualification system (0:36:22) – Kelly O'Mara: Feisty Media LINKS: Follow the Real Science of Sport podcast on X at https://x.com/sportsscipod Kelly O' Mara at https://www.kellyomara.com/ Feisty Media at https://feisty.co/ Feisty Newsletter "Understanding the New IRONMAN Kona qualification system at https://feisty.co/p/understanding-the-new-ironman-kona-qualification-system/  Garmin Noosa Triathlon at https://noosatri.com.au/  

We chat to the 2020 Olympic World Champion and 2021 IRONMAN World Champion Kristian Blummenfelt.  Kristian reflects on his recent race performance in Nice sharing his mixed emotions on his result and the importance of his relationship with Gustav and Casper.  We delve into training, nutrition and the work needed to maintain a balance between weight management and performance. The discussion also covers the dynamics of coaching and the role of science in training. We chat about Kristian's future aspirations in the sport including his prep for IRONMAN 70.3 Worlds in Marbella and his thoughts around race plans for 2026. Plus, we chat about the changes to the IRONMAN New Zealand bike course and how it'll enhance the race experience for 2026 (0:04:01) – The changes to the IMNZ bike course (0:12:32) – Alex Yee (0:17:48) – Plasmaide competition (0:18:55) – Kristian Blummenfelt (1:10:45) – IRONMAN 70.3 World Champs LINKS: Kristian Blummenfelt at https://www.instagram.com/kristianblu Mount Festival of Sport at https://mountfestival.kiwi/ IRONMAN New Zealand at https://www.ironman.com/races/im-new-zealand Plasmaide https://plasmaide.com/ IRONMAN 70.3 World Champs at https://www.ironman.com/races/im703-world-championship-2025