Feisty Triathlon

We went to Endurance Exchange. Here’s what we saw, and what it means.

January 16
1h 4m

Episode Description

Kelly O’Mara and Feisty CEO, Sara Gross, are coming to you straight from USA Triathlon's Endurance Exchange conference in Orlando, where the entire triathlon industry gets together to talk coaching, data, and where the sport is actually headed.

We went for a few reasons:

  1. to run the first women-focused coaching workshop,
  2. to launch the Feisty Women’s Performance podcast,
  3. to catch up with friends and athletes,
  4. and to hear what the numbers say about the future of triathlon.

And what we found? A sport in the middle of real change.

Lessons from the Feisty workshop: why coaching women isn’t just about hormones, but about context, communication, and the reality of women’s lives from pregnancy through menopause and beyond.

Then we head poolside to catch up with Taylor Knibb, who casually drops that she plans to race pretty much every distance this year — with Kona in the mix and the Olympics coming fast in L.A. Her coach Dan Lorang was also at Endurance Exchange, where people were (somehow) still telling him he should try heat training.

We also talk with Michelle Lake, coach of 80-year-old Kona finisher Natalie Grabow, about what it really takes to train older athletes — and why gratitude, communication, and consistency beat everything else.

And finally, USA Triathlon CEO Vic Brumfield breaks down the state of the sport:

  1. Membership is close to pre-COVID numbers, but race starts are down
  2. Events have stabilized after a big drop
  3. The 20–29 age group is surging
  4. But 40–49 participation is declining

Which raises the big question:

If younger athletes are showing up for short-course, one-day experiences, while older athletes used to be the repeat-racing backbone of the sport… how does triathlon evolve?

This episode is part behind-the-scenes, part coaching clinic, and part reality check on where triathlon is heading — Feisty style.

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