The Week in Hybrid

A quick scan of what happened.

• Truett Hanes runs 2:37:05 at Austin Marathon in jeans — Endurance athlete and pull-up world record holder Truett Hanes finished the Austin Marathon in 2:37:05 while wearing denim jeans, placing as the 11th overall male finisher. The son of ultrarunner Cameron Hanes held the Guinness World Record for most pull-ups in 24 hours (10,001 reps) and trains 100+ miles per week as he attempts to qualify for the US Olympic trials.

• Lucy Charles-Barclay undergoes Achilles surgery, targeting mid-season return — After dealing with chronic Achilles pain, multi-time Ironman world champion Lucy Charles-Barclay had a 12cm piece of her plantaris tendon removed. The surgery may delay her season start, but she's confident in a full recovery and return to competition later this year.

• American speed skater Jordan Stolz breaks Olympic record in 500m — 21-year-old Jordan Stolz won his second gold medal at Milano Cortina 2026, taking the men's 500m speed skating event in an Olympic record time of 33.77 seconds. Stolz became the first male athlete to win both the 500m and 1000m at the same Olympic Games since 1980.

Notable Events

Austin Marathon: Kellyn Taylor won the women’s race with a time of 2:33:29, while Joseph Whelan won the men’s side in 2:13:18
2026 Winter Olympics: The US is off to a sluggish start, sitting in fourth place in the medal count midway through the 2026 games.

This Week’s Races

HYROX Las Vegas: Feb 20-22

Need to Know

The Rise in Ironman Participation

Ironman participation has surged over the last five years, driven by younger athletes and a growing appetite for endurance challenges.

In 2025, more than 250,000 athletes registered for Ironman events globally — a 10% year-over-year increase in first-time participants. The most striking trend: participation among athletes under 30 has grown by 35%, with full-distance Ironman seeing a 46% increase in this demographic.

Ironman offers two race distances:

Ironman 70.3 (Half Ironman): 1.2-mile swim, 56-mile bike, 13.1-mile run — roughly 4-6 hours for most age-groupers. This is the gateway distance and where 25% of participants are now women.
Ironman 140.6 (Full Distance): 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike, 26.2-mile run — typically 10-17 hours to complete. Remarkably, in 2025, approximately 53,000 people completed a full distance Ironman!

Tips for First-Timers in 2026:

Get a coach - A good coach helps you avoid overtraining, improve technique across all three disciplines, and develop a race-day strategy. If you have the resources, it's the single best investment you can make.
Don’t worry about buying all the fanciest equipment - The amount of equipment you either need to purchase, or feel like you need to purchase, is overwhelming when entering the triathlon world. Start slow and stick with the necessities at first, then add things you need over time.
Dial in your race-day nutrition early - GI distress ruins more races than lack of fitness. Practice fueling your training workouts with the exact amounts you plan to use on race day.

Workouts of the Week

Two sessions you can actually use:

Strength

Cossack Squats
1. 3 sets x 10 reps (each leg)
2. Option: Hold a DB or KB in the goblet position while doing them
Back Squats
1. 5 sets x 5 reps, :03 tempo down and :01 pause at bottom
Accessory Work
1. 4 Sets
  1. 10 Single Leg DB RDL (each leg)
  2. 20 weighted single leg calf raises
Core
1. 3 Sets
  1. 20 Dead Bugs
  2. 30s Hollow Hold

Endurance - Norwegian 4×4

Warmup:
1. 10 minutes easy
Main Set - 4 Rounds
1. 4:00 hard (below 5k pace, targeting Zone 5 heart rate)
2. 2:00 rest between sets
Cool-down
1. 10 minutes easy