Hope this is okay to post here. My wife and I just started a podcast and wanted to offer it up to the viewers of slowtwitch.
The podcast will be focused on age group triathlon and the process to Kona Qualifying.
We have 8 podcasts ready to roll out this month where my wife and I interviewed 4 men and 4 women who just raced Kona in 2022. Many of them age group podiumed! We find out who they are and what the training looked like going into the race on the big island. We also get to here what their thoughts were on racing Kona for the first time! (6 of the 8 were first time qualifiers)
Matthew Marquardt
Erin Oliphant
Matt Jackson
Shyanne Mcgregor
Devin Volk
Olivia Dietzel
Tom De Bruyn
Amy Farrell
Check us out on Spotify for now. Soon Apple podcast after a 2 week verification.
November will be the 2022 Kona Series. After that we will do race recaps, race previews, and interviews with athletes who are trying to qualify for 2023 Kona. Feel free to message me for suggestions or if you would like to be on the podcast!
Thanks - I’ve followed on Spotify and I’m interested to hear the upcoming shows about Kona from an amateur perspective. Lots out there on the pros and their drama, but very little on what it takes to make it to the pointy end for age groupers…I guess it’s hard to make compelling content about folks doing the basics consistently day-in and day-out.
The podcast will be focused on age group triathlon and the process to Kona Qualifying.
Many of them age group podiumed!
Okay, my original response will live on quoted below, but I agree that I was harsher than necessary and will revise my post since it was a bit asshatty and that’s not what I want to do here on this site.
My first thought was to point out that there is a big difference in ability between the athletes who eek out a Kona qualification and those that are on the podium at Kona. Those on the podium likely aren’t giving much thought to how to qualify. They show up to an IM and they know they’ll qualify if they have a reasonable day. So, having a podcast focused on the process to Kona qualifying that interviews Kona podium placers honestly doesn’t make much sense to me. They are essentially different categories of triathletes. Just something to consider with the stated focus of your podcast.
My second thought is that I know there are people interested in hearing from these top age group athletes. I’m just confused why sometimes. I do believe people will be interested in your podcast but I think that points to a problem in triathlon in terms of it gaining popularity as a sport. I can’t think of any other mainstream sports where athletes that aren’t as good get much more coverage than those better than them - unless it is a young up-and-coming athlete (college sports, teenager dominating their competition). In that case the hype is warranted because they may be the next big thing in the sport and it is fun for the public to be able to follow a superstar from early on.
I don’t really see this a lot with triathlon. The not-as-good athletes are getting coverage but they aren’t then jumping up to higher competition like you’d see in other sports. They are content being at the top of a diluted field of competition. That’s not hype-worthy to me. Sure, do a podcast with a 22 year old who has their mind set on becoming a professional and has shown the potential. But the guy that has Kona podiumed 6 times with no intention to compete in profession triathlon - why are we hyping this person? Maybe your interviewees all fall into the former category - great. I’ve just seen a lot of coverage of people that fall into the latter category. They’re getting more sponsorship support than lower level professionals who are better triathletes. That to me is a problem with the sport and will hurt its development (on the professional side).
The angle that they’re “every day normal humans with jobs” and not “professionals” doesn’t mean much. There are age groupers whose job is triathlon and there people in the professional field with full time jobs other than triathlon. There’s little difference on average in this regard between the bottom of the professional field and the top of the age group field. The support from sponsorship and media coverage (podcasts) should go to those pursuing the highest level of competition in my opinion.
The podcast will be focused on age group triathlon and the process to Kona Qualifying.
Many of them age group podiumed!
These are very very different things.
Also, I’d honestly rather listen to a podcast interviewing professionals who weren’t good enough to qualify for Kona than age group podium athletes. Age group podium has a ridiculous pedestal in triathlon while lower level professionals who are better triathletes get ignored. Frankly neither of them deserve much media attention in the grand scheme of things. I want to either hear about the best of the best (the top pros) or people in situations very similar to me (i.e. less than world championship age group podium level).
Best of luck with the podcast though! I’m sure lots of Ironpeople will eat it up.
So you totally shit on their project, then wish them good luck. Classic ST move right there
The podcast will be focused on age group triathlon and the process to Kona Qualifying.
Many of them age group podiumed!
These are very very different things.
Also, I’d honestly rather listen to a podcast interviewing professionals who weren’t good enough to qualify for Kona than age group podium athletes. Age group podium has a ridiculous pedestal in triathlon while lower level professionals who are better triathletes get ignored. Frankly neither of them deserve much media attention in the grand scheme of things. I want to either hear about the best of the best (the top pros) or people in situations very similar to me (i.e. less than world championship age group podium level).
Best of luck with the podcast though! I’m sure lots of Ironpeople will eat it up.
Ignore these asshats on Slowtwitch Mike and enjoy this process with your wife.
Thanks for the feedback everyone! Good news is Matthew Marquardt’s interview will be live tomorrow. He is performing like a pro, but in the age group competition. The second year medical student at The Ohio State University dominated in his first Kona World Championships! He raced and beat many top level pro athletes this year. Michelle and I were lucky enough to be his first podcast interview.
Are you more interested in these types of athletes than professionals that are faster than them but aren’t winning any professional races? If so, why? Just curious to understand the excitement.
To all those I’ve offended with my prior post, see that I have now edited it.
The “professional AG’er†is serious business these days especially in our “social media†driven society. Hell they probably get more swag and sponsor support than lower tiered professionals.
The “professional AG’er†is serious business these days especially in our “social media†driven society. Hell they probably get more swag and sponsor support than lower tiered professionals.
I’m equally interested in both journeys. I like hearing about pros like Blu, Iden, Kanute, Funk, RVB, etc because I like hearing about their epic training days, scientific approach to training, (if YouTube) the cool places they train in, sponsor gear, and what they eat. I also like hearing about elite AGers because I like hearing about how they train, balance work and other obligations, finances of going for the KQ, and why they choose certain equipment. I can relate to their journeys more to some degree, but I still like learning about the pros.
Again you can race in whichever category you want, but when you start bragging on X AG beat pros you start to showcase a “sandbagging†AG, who I’m less impressed with because they simply don’t want to race in pro ranks but want to say they beat all the pros along the way. Don’t mix the signals if you want to keep it AG imo.
Again you can race in whichever category you want, but when you start bragging on X AG beat pros you start to showcase a “sandbagging†AG, who I’m less impressed with because they simply don’t want to race in pro ranks but want to say they beat all the pros along the way. Don’t mix the signals if you want to keep it AG imo.
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I know you,like me,have had the privilege of hanging out with a lot of pro’s.In all of the decades worth of close encounters with some of the biggest names in the history of the sport,I have never heard any of them talk themselves up the way “some” of the top age groupers do.
I know you,like me,have had the privilege of hanging out with a lot of pro’s.In all of the decades worth of close encounters with some of the biggest names in the history of the sport,I have never heard any of them talk themselves up the way “some” of the top age groupers do.
Thanks for the feedback everyone! Good news is Matthew Marquardt’s interview will be live tomorrow. He is performing like a pro, but in the age group competition. The second year medical student at The Ohio State University dominated in his first Kona World Championships! He raced and beat many top level pro athletes this year. Michelle and I were lucky enough to be his first podcast interview.Last month, within a minute of Sanders! And close to being faster than Sodaro. He must have had a blast, starting at the back of the field on the Thursday (M25-29) and riding through the field.
Recall that Astle was fastest amateur at Kona in 2019 (with full time job) and 31 months later she was 5th in her first PRO world champs.
Looking forward to listening. Edit: Very good, while on the turbo.
Michelle and I want this podcast to be about the age group race and the journey to Kona qualifying. In many ways the 8 interviews we did in this first series answers a lot of the questions we had on what the top age group athletes in the sport have done, but in some examples ie Matthew’s it doesn’t resonate as well.
After this 2022 Kona series we will be doing many more interviews with athletes who are more similar to myself.
13 hour Ironman 6 hour half for a couple years… just doing triathlon to finish and making small changes to try to improve along the way.
I think a lot of athletes who have dreamed of racing in Kona might want to know how you go from middle of the pack to front of the pack.
We hope to share some of those stories and follow a few athletes next year when they are making that dream come true.
The “professional AG’er†is serious business these days especially in our “social media†driven society. Hell they probably get more swag and sponsor support than lower tiered professionals.
Does this happen in any other sport? It’s obvious it doesn’t happen in ballsports, but what about other endurance sports?
Ignore these asshats on Slowtwitch Mike and enjoy this process with your wife.
You read my mind! PTO is lifting the sport’s profile and rightly so. The age groupers are relegated to the entrepreneurial type like the OP. Kudos to him!
Here’s a couple trying to get more attention/eyeballs/ears to the sport paying attention to the age groupers. He who shall not be named is the most popular triathlete in social media because of his openness and age groupers can relate to him and his non-pro approach to being a pro. Kind of ironic but guess who get’s the most money from social media and his sponsors.
One caveat mentioned by some are the AG sandbaggers as well as the type A narcissist type ala TdF guy which may barely show its presence during the podcast but not as much in real life.
Yes, that is exactly my point (see edited original post). I know it is the reality. I just think it is dumb and I don’t think many other people realize what is going on.
