Age Grouper For Life Podcast

In this Age Grouper for Life episode, Colin interview Leslie Battle. Leslie shares how she got into triathlon in 2009 after being inspired by a friend's Ironman race. She started with a sprint triathlon and was hooked, going on to complete over 350 triathlons, including winning numerous national championships as an Athena athlete. Leslie discusses how triathlon helped her lose 100 pounds and find a sense of community and belonging that was missing in her life. She also discusses her training approach and mindset, favorite races and experiences, and future goals and aspirations. Thanks for joining the podcast, Leslie! --- Show Notes: Advocating for Athena/Clydesdale Representation @ 8:07 Leslie has been a vocal advocate for greater recognition and equal treatment of Athena and Clydesdale athletes within the sport of triathlon. She has worked tirelessly to ensure these categories have a place at national championships and other major events, fighting for parity in terms of awards, athlete of the year honor

In this episode, Colin recaps his incredible 2025 season. He first discusses his recent sports hernia surgery which he has been dealing with for several months. Colin reflects on his training approach this season, which consisted of a lot more run and bike volume compared to previous seasons. Some of his race highlights of the year include the overall win at the White Mountains Half Ironman, setting a course record at the Boston Triathlon, going sub nine hours at Ironman Lake Placid. Colin also chats about his 2025 plans and goals. Another phenomenal, inspiring season, Colin! --- Show Notes: Injury and Surgery @ 0:00 Colin discusses his recent sports hernia surgery, which he had to undergo after dealing with the injury for several months leading up to the Kona Ironman. He describes the challenges of training and racing through the injury, and the decision to finally get it surgically repaired. Training Volume and Strengths @ 6:00 Colin reflects on his training volume and approach in 2024, noting t

In this Age Grouper for Life Podcast, Colin interviews Clay Emge from the Every Man Jack triathlon team. Clay is a 40-year old triathlete from Tyler, Texas who works as a financial advisor and has four young kids. He and Colin discuss their similar backgrounds in swimming and running, as well as their experience with triathlon over the past 16+ years. It’s been quite the journey for Clay and looking forward to following his future endeavors, including a trip to Nice for the Ironman World Championship in 2025. Thanks for joining the podcast, Clay! --- Show Notes- Clay's professional triathlon career @ 3:31 Clay shares that he raced as a professional triathlete for a few years, including qualifying for and competing in Kona. However, after an injury and with the uncertainty of becoming a father, he transitioned back to age-group racing in 2015. He found more success as an age-grouper, including a 2nd place finish at Kona in 2018, before returning to pro racing for a couple more years. Motivations and t

In this Age Grouper for Life episode, Scott Tindal at Fuelin joins us again to discuss updates to the Fuelin nutrition app, explore off-season nutrition strategies for triathletes, and other beneficial nutrition advice. Enjoy the latest podcast and thanks for joining again, Scott! --- Show Notes: • Fuelin launching revamped app with improved UI, food logging, and expanded features • Off-season nutrition should balance recovery, injury rehab, and gradual body composition changes • Consistent nutrition habits (protein, fiber, hydration) remain crucial even during reduced training • Avoiding extremes and tailoring nutrition to individual needs/goals is key for triathletes Topics Fuelin App Updates • New version launching in a few weeks with soft launch • Completely revamped backend for improved stability • New home page allowing users to customize their experience • Improved food logging with AI assistant "Scooter" for easier tracking • Enhanced sweat and carb testing features • Android version expected Jan

In this episode, Colin interviews the amazing Donald Brooks. Donald won his age group at the World Championship in Kona by over 20 minutes, with an impressive time of 8:58:51. His training emphasizes consistency, balancing family life, and adapting workouts around commitments. Enjoy the latest podcast as they discuss Donald’s athletic background, keys to his successes, training approach, nutrition strategies, and upcoming races. Thanks for joining the Age Grouper for Life Podcast, Donald! --- Show notes: Donald's Athletic Background • Started triathlon in 2014 after background in underwater hockey and masters swimming Underwater hockey provided strong cardiovascular base and hypoxic training benefits Transitioned to triathlon, quickly entering an Ironman-distance race (too soon, in retrospect) Recent Race Successes • Won 4 world championships in 4 weeks in 2023: o 70.3 Worlds in Finland (age group win) o Ironman Worlds in Nice (age group win by 17 seconds) o World Triathlon Championships in Spain

In this episode, Colin interviews Marcel van Duinen the founder Tri-Excellence, which focuses on developing technology and sensors to help endurance athletes optimize their health and performance. He discusses his background in healthcare and how that led him to start Tri-Excellence about a year ago. Colin had the privilege of experiencing their core cooling product in Kona this year. Enjoy the latest podcast as they discuss this product in depth, offer many insights, and talk about future plans of the company. Thanks for joining the Age Grouper for Life podcast, Marcel! --- Show Notes: Tri-Excellence Core Cooling Product @ 5:36 Marcel explains the motivation behind Tri-Excellence core cooling product, which aims to help endurance athletes better manage their core body temperature during training and competition. He discusses the limitations of existing cooling solutions and the research that went into designing an effective, comfortable, and practical cooling system. Colin's Experience Using the C

In this episode, Colin interviews guest Matthew Schuster, an age group triathlete and co-founder of a sports nutrition startup called Addra Labs. Matthew shares his background, including transitioning from a corporate career to becoming an endurance athlete and entrepreneur. Enjoy the listen as we dive into Matthew’s triathlon journey. Thanks for joining the Age Grouper for Life podcast, Matthew! --- Show Notes: Matthew's journey into triathlon @ 4:11 Matthew describes how he got into triathlon after a period of being out of shape and unhealthy. He hired a coach early on which helped him get started and fall in love with the sport. Matthew discusses his progression from shorter races to Ironman, including overcoming a major crash injury before qualifying for Kona. The mental and physical benefits of training @ 11:14 Colin and Matthew discuss the strong connection between physical fitness and mental health, and how maintaining a high level of fitness can positively impact one's overall well-being, even d

In this episode, Colin recaps trip #7 to the Ironman World Championship in Kona, Hawaii! He has had a phenomenal year of racing and Kona was no exception, setting a personal best time by over 17 minutes and just missed breaking three hours. Also discussed are the events and experiences pre- and post-race. It was a very busy, but fun week on the Big Island to say the least. Congrats Colin on a great season of racing and an amazing performance on Ironman triathlon’s biggest stage.

In this episode Colin recaps his recent win at Jones Beach 70.3! He overcame challenging wind conditions and a 6-minute deficit on the run. Colin also discusses his Kona prep and a core/abdominal issue he’s been dealing with leading up to the big day – less than 10 days away! Good luck and have a great race in Hawaii, Colin! --- Show Notes: - Colin won the Jones Beach 70.3 with a time of 4:00:39, overcoming challenging wind conditions - Currently dealing with a core/lower abdominal issue 10 days out from Kona, causing concern but still aiming for age group podium Implementing aggressive recovery strategies (acupuncture, PT, massage) to address injury before Kona - Excited about testing new cooling gear prototype at Kona race Topics Jones Beach 70.3 Race Recap - Won overall with 4:00:39 finish time (39 seconds over 4-hour goal) - Overcame 6-minute deficit to leader during run - Challenging wind conditions: 5:55-6:02/mile pace with tailwind, 6:28-6:30/mile into headwind - Run split: 1:19:42 (sub-1:20 go

In this episode, we have the pleasure of interviewing Luke Creger! Luke grew up playing baseball in Southern California but eventually burned out and transitioned to running and cycling as a way to lose weight. This led him to try his first triathlon in 2021, which sparked his passion for the port. Luke discusses joining Team Every Man Jack, a triathlon team, and how that has helped him connect with a supportive community of athletes. Colin and Elliot first met at a team camp in 2023, where Luke impressed them with his running ability. Since, some of his race highlights include an overall win at North Carolina 70.3, breaking four hours at Ohio 70.3, and a 2:35 Boston Marathon. He is currently training for his first full Ironman (IM California) in October. It was a pleasure having you on the podcast, Luke, and your future looks incredibly bright. We continue to look forward following along your athletic journey! You can follow Luke on Instagram - @lukecreger --- Show Notes: Luke's running and rac

In this episode, we discuss our approaches to coaching triathletes across different experience levels and demographics. All triathletes can benefit greatly from having coach in a variety of ways. These include learning proper techniques, keeping yourself accountable, ensuring the correct equipment is purchased, and to avoid overtraining. Consistency, coachability, and the athlete’s desire to improve are hallmarks of successful triathletes seeking constant growth. Enjoy the latest episode as we go into depth on our we program training for our athletes. As always, thanks for listening! --- Show Notes: Key Takeaways • Beginners benefit greatly from having a coach to learn proper techniques, equipment needs, and avoid overtraining • Consistency, coachability, and desire to improve are hallmarks of successful elite/advanced athletes • Customizing training plans to the individual's abilities, goals, and life circumstances is crucial • Open communication between coach and athlete is vital for making approp

In this episode, Colin, Becca, and Elliot Tom Gordon, a 27-year-old age group triathlete from Boulder, Colorado. Tom shares his background as a former college swimmer who transitioned to triathlon a few years after graduating. He discusses his training volume, strengths in swimming and cycling, and the supportive triathlon community in Boulder. We also recap both of their stellar Ironman Lake Placid races. Colin took the overall age group podium while Tom finished just behind crossing the line as the second place amateur. Enjoy! --- Show Notes: Ironman Lake Placid race recap @ 4:30 Tom and Colin recount their experiences at the recent Ironman Lake Placid race. Tom had a strong 48-minute swim and solid bike, but encountered some mechanical issues with his bike. Colin also had a good swim and bike, and the two ended up running the majority of the marathon together, pushing each other to sub-9 hour finishes as the top two amateur finishers. Reflections on the race @ 24:00 The two athletes reflect on the c

In this episode, we recap Colin’s recent overall win at the White Mountain half Ironman. We also discuss the importance of communication between athletes and coaches, and provide insights on the comments we leave for our own coaches during our everyday training. Enjoy the listen and congrats again on your win Colin! Ironman Lake Placid is coming up quickly and he looks primed and ready for a great day. --- Show Notes: Key Takeaways- • Importance of leaving insightful comments on workouts to provide context for the coach • Using lap splits and recording metrics like heart rate can give coaches better data to analyze • Coaches value honest feedback, even if a workout didn't go well • Leaving no comments implies the workout went as planned Topics • Colin's Half Ironman Race Recap • Swim: Not ideal, leaders passed early. Struggled to draft. Will do more open water swims. • T1: Embarrassingly bad, couldn't get wetsuit unzipped. Had to get help. • Bike: Solid 302W normalized power. Caught leaders around mile

In this episode, we have the pleasure of interviewing Sloan Tilley. Sloane is a member of the Top Gunz Triathlon team and the founder of DIA, a biotech company developing a real-time, non-invasive cortisol sensor. She got into triathlon through an intro class in college and has been competing for 8 years. Sloane suffered a major bike accident early in her triathlon career, resulting in multiple injuries and surgeries that took four years to fully recover from. Her company DIA aims to provide cortisol data as an additional stream to integrate with training platforms for personalized training optimization. Sloane enjoys the journey of consistent training, recently qualified for Boston Marathon, and is currently focusing on 70.3 distance races. Thanks for joining us Sloane and congrats on your recent 70.3 finish in Mont Tremblant! --- Show Notes: Topics- Sloane's Background and Introduction to Triathlon • Originally from North Carolina, got into triathlon towards end of undergrad at UNC • Took an intro t

In this episode, Colin, Becca, and Elliot discuss race day expectations, managing pre-race nerves, and knowing when to push or back off training intensities. As always, thanks for listening and please let us know if you have any topic requests for future episodes. Hope everyone’s season is off to a great start! --- Show Notes: Key Takeaways • Don't obsess over weather forecasts too far in advance - focus on being prepared for any conditions • Have a race day nutrition/fueling strategy, but test it in training first - nothing new on race day • Some pre-race nerves are normal, but don't let anxiety get out of control - use techniques like visualization • Listen to your body during training - know when to push through vs. when to back off to avoid injury • Communicate with your coach about any workout changes rather than randomly moving things around Topics • Pre-Race Nerves and Expectations • Normal to have some pre-race nerves, but don't let anxiety get out of control • Use visualization techniques to sta

​ In this episode, Elliot recaps his 70.3 in St. George last month. He placed 5th in his age group to kick off his triathlon season! Colin and Elliot also discuss the importance of riding outdoors, aero bottle benefits, pre-race preparation, and other tips. Enjoy and thanks for listening! --- Show Notes: Recap of Elliot's 70.3 St. George race and discussion of triathlon training tips Key Takeaways Elliot finished 5th in his age group at 70.3 St. George despite bike mechanical issues and lack of bike fitness Importance of riding outdoors to prepare for race conditions and improve bike handling skills Benefits of using an aero bottle for easier hydration and fueling on the bike Preparing gear and equipment well in advance to avoid last-minute issues before races Topics Elliot's 70.3 St. George Race Recap 18-hour drive to St. George, arrived 4 days before the race Ideal weather conditions - not too hot or windy Struggled hanging onto feet in the swim after lining up aggressively Lacked bike fitness co

In this latest episode, we have the privilege of interviewing TopGunz athlete, Danny Royce… Call Sign: Daddy Donuts! Danny and his wonderful wife Brittany have two daughters, Sloane and Chandler plus a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel named Bear. He got into triathlon because it filled a void left by the end of his college swimming career. Turns out he loved the suffering, couldn't get enough, and now enjoys the challenge of squeezing all of his training in without compromising his roles as the best husband and father possible, as well as fulfilling his demanding job as a lawyer. Danny has competed in over 17 Ironmans and has qualified for Hawaii two times. We discuss his training regiment, career highlights, and his journey in triathlon which started in 2008! As always, thanks for listening and thanks for joining us Danny! Congrats on a great performance in Chattanooga over the weekend! ​You can follow Danny via his Instagram handle: ironroycer81 --- Show Notes: Introductions and background @ 0:00 The ho

In this episode, we interview Richard McAinsh, co-founder, technical director, and designer of Ku Cycle. His mission was to design bikes and performance solutions to change cycle sport forever -- rethinking bike design from the ground up while offering the perfect fit for the rider. The Ku Cycle is a super aero bike with a custom fit for riders of all shapes and sizes. We discuss Richard’s background, designing of the TF1 Ku Cycle, bike fitting and customization, comparisons to other top-end bikes, and much more. Enjoy and thanks for joining us, Richard! For more information please visit the Ku Cycle website: https://www.ku-cycle.com/ --- Show Notes: Richard's Background @ 0:03 Richard shares his background as a design engineer, starting in aircraft design and then transitioning into the motorsports industry, working for teams like Jaguar, Benetton, and Ferrari for over a decade. He then started his own design consultancy, which led him to work with bicycle brands like 3T. Designing the TF1 Bike @

In this episode, we have the privilege of interviewing Top Gunz Tri Team athlete, Matt Nussbaum. Matt is a mechanical engineer who began triathlon in 2015, currently in the M30-34 age group. Enjoy the latest podcast as we discuss how he became a standout triathlon swimmer (with no competitive swim background), upcoming races, key training philosophies, and much more! Thanks for joining us Matt and have a great season of racing! --- Show Notes: Matt's swimming background and technique @ 0:00 Matt developed an innate comfort in water from childhood play rather than formal lessons, allowing him to rapidly improve technique and surpass peers. Though lacking swim team experience, his natural abilities and dedication to drills enabled setting age group records in his first Ironman. Matt's racing goals and schedule for 2022 @ 18:02 Matt aims to podium at Patriot Half, better his time at Lake Placid Ironman, and compete at Ironman 70.3 New York. He targets internal goals over age group wins but retains compe

In this latest episode, Colin and Elliot discuss another epic duel between each other at the 2024 Boston Marathon. They review their marathon training prep, lead up to the race, race weekend festivities, and the iconic race itself. They both cracked 2:39 with Elliot finishing just before Colin in a super close and memorable duel, making Elliot a repeat champion! :) Enjoy as they recap their epic day. As always, thanks for listening! --- Show Notes: Pre-race preparation @ 0:00 Colin and Elliot discussed their training leading up to Boston, with Elliot nervous about Colin's higher mileage and long runs. They relaxed at Colin's house before the race. Race strategy and early splits @ 0:56 Elliot used tactics to get ahead of Colin early, taking the lead at 5K. Colin chatted with a friend distracted, allowing Elliot to widen his lead to 35 seconds by 10K. Chasing each other through halfway @ 5:50 Colin closed the gap at halfway, but Elliot's surge put him 17 seconds ahead at 25K. They remained close as t