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Running in Purple
A Law Student’s Journey Beyond the Finish Line.
By ZealZag TeamLanzarote for Triathletes: IRONMAN's Wind-Scoured Benchmark and What Training on the Island Actually Demands
IRONMAN Lanzarote has been held every May since 1992, making it one of the oldest full-distance IRONMAN events in Europe. It is not famous for its climbs — though there are real climbs — but for the northeast trade winds that blow across 180 kilometres of volcanic road with no shelter and no apology.
By ZealZag TeamTraining in Frankfurt: The Langener Waldsee, Taunus Hills, and the Main River Towpath
Frankfurt is the most functional triathlon training city in central Europe — a forest lake for open-water swimming, Taunus hills for climbing, a flat river towpath for tempo work, and a major airport hub under an hour from all of it.
By ZealZag TeamStornes, Iden, Blummenfelt in the Frankfurt Heat: IRONMAN's European Championship Is Live
The IRONMAN European Championship in Frankfurt opened this morning with a modified course — 125km bike, 21.1km run — after 35°C heat forced organisers to shorten distances. Three Norwegian world champions are on the start list. Results pending.
By ZealZag TeamFrom One Finish Line to Two: The Story Behind Ironman's Kona and Nice World Championships
For forty-four years, every Ironman World Championship ended on Ali'i Drive in Kailua-Kona. Then in 2023, Nice hosted the men's professional race for the first time. How the sport's most iconic event ended up with two World Championship venues — and what that means for the athletes trying to get to either one.
By ZealZag TeamRace the Route: IRONMAN France Nice — Promenade des Anglais to the Col de Vence
A 3.8km Mediterranean swim, a 180km bike leg into the climbs behind the Côte d'Azur, and a four-lap seafront marathon. The complete guide to IRONMAN France Nice and training on the Riviera: the course, the Alpes-Maritimes cols, the swim conditions, travel, and where to base in Nice.
By ZealZag TeamIRONMAN France Nice 2026: Race Week on the Côte d'Azur
Race week has arrived in Nice. On Sunday, athletes swim 3.8km in the Mediterranean off the Promenade des Anglais, climb 180km into the Alpes-Maritimes backcountry, and run a four-lap marathon along the seafront. The expo is open, the bikes are being built, and the Baie des Anges is doing its job.
By ZealZag TeamIRONMAN France Nice 2026: Mediterranean Heat, Mountain Bike, Promenade Finish
Five days from IRONMAN France Nice — the 226km Mediterranean triathlon that climbs into the Côte d'Azur backcountry on the bike and finishes on the Promenade des Anglais. A race preview, the contender field, and what the heat means for the run.
By ZealZag TeamRacing in Heat: How to Build Heat Tolerance Before Your Hot-Condition Triathlon
Heat is one of the most reliable performance limiters in triathlon — not a variable you manage on the day, but a physiological challenge that requires preparation in the weeks before a hot race. The adaptations from deliberate heat acclimatization are well-established and accessible to athletes at every level. This is what the process involves and what to expect from it.
By ZealZag TeamIRONMAN New Zealand: What Racing in Taupo Actually Involves
Taupo is a quiet geothermal town at the northern end of New Zealand's largest lake, and it has hosted one of the Southern Hemisphere's most established full-distance triathlons for decades. The swim is calm and exceptionally clear, the bike course rolls through a volcanic plateau with mountain views, and the logistical infrastructure is unusually well-organised for an event this size in a town this small. For athletes based in Australia, Japan, or Southeast Asia, it is the most accessible Kona qualifier in the region.
By ZealZag TeamRacing Cairns: Your Guide to Australia's Tropical Ironman Destination
Tropical North Queensland's Ironman race sits in one of Australia's most compelling athlete destinations — warm-water open swimming, training roads into the Atherton Tablelands, and race conditions shaped by dry-season clarity rather than summer heat.
By ZealZag TeamThompson and Slater Win the Tropical North: Two Maiden Ironman Titles at Cairns 2026
Perth's Nick Thompson rode away from the field inside the first 20 kilometres of the bike and never let it back. Penny Slater turned an 11-minute deficit into a dominant women's victory. Both won their first Ironman on June 14 in Cairns.
By ZealZag TeamYour First Ironman Race Week: What Check-In, Bike Racking, and Race Morning Actually Look Like
An Ironman race week has a specific administrative structure that no amount of training prepares you for. Check-in timelines, bike racking protocols, transition bag systems, and race morning logistics are learnable in advance — and knowing them in advance means you spend your final pre-race hours managing energy rather than managing confusion.
By ZealZag TeamBuilding Heat Tolerance for Long-Course Triathlon: What the Adaptation Actually Involves
Hot-weather long-course triathlon — Ironman Kona, T100 Singapore, Ironman Frankfurt in June — demands preparation beyond generic fitness. Heat acclimatisation is a specific physiological process with a known timeline and trainable methods. Here is what it actually does and how to build it.
By ZealZag Team
For Haru. For Her Father. For Herself.
A friend who ran beside her. A father who waited patiently. A husband who brought home a bike without being asked. Hotaru has never moved forward alone.
By ZealZag TeamChallenge Roth: What to Know Before You Enter the World's Fastest Long-Course Triathlon
Challenge Roth runs through a small Bavarian town with roughly 250,000 spectators lining a course that has produced some of the fastest long-course times in the sport's history. The lottery fills in hours. Here is what the race actually delivers and whether the trip is worth building your season around.
By ZealZag TeamOpen Water Sighting and Drift Currents: How Triathletes Lose 90 Seconds Without Knowing
The fastest swimmer in the field can still lose two minutes in a triathlon swim by sighting badly or failing to read the current. Sighting and current management are the two most underrated technical skills in open water — and they are learnable in a single weekend of focused practice.
By ZealZag TeamFrom Pool to Ocean: Building Open Water Swimming Skills That Actually Transfer
Pool fitness and ocean racing share a stroke and very little else. The navigation, cold water, pack dynamics, and variable conditions of open water events require specific preparation that lap-swimming alone cannot provide.
By ZealZag Team
Pamplona for Destination Athletes: Navarra's Medieval Training Grounds
The T100 Spain's new Pamplona venue reveals a training region that most destination athletes have overlooked — rolling Navarra farmland for the bike, mountain Pyrenean cols an hour away, and the Camino de Santiago through the city for long runs. The practical guide.
By ZealZag Team
Taylor-Brown Ends the Wait in Pamplona: First T100 Win After Years at the Threshold
Georgia Taylor-Brown ran down Julie Derron on the streets of Pamplona on May 23 for her first career T100 victory — breaking through after a 2025 season of near-misses to win Race 2 of the 2026 T100 World Tour in front of a packed Plaza del Castillo finish.
By ZealZag Team
Flying with a Bike: How to Navigate Airlines, Fees, and Arrive Race-Ready
Airlines treat oversized sports equipment with varying enthusiasm, their policies change without notice, and the difference between a correctly packed bike and a casually packed one shows up at race-day bike check. Here is how to do it without drama.
By ZealZag Team
Racing Hot: Heat Acclimatization Strategies for Ironman Athletes
Athletes who train in cool climates and race in Kona, Lanzarote, or Cairns face a thermal stress gap that race-day willpower cannot close. This is what the science says about closing it before the start gun goes.
By ZealZag Team