No Limits Map to Triathlon Podcast · Todd Malcolm - Ironman specific triathlon coach

217 Hilary Topper's new book ~ Unlocking the Triathlon

·43 min·5 clips

Todd opens with the familiar No Limits Map to Triathlon rhythm and brings Hilary Topper back for another conversation. He mentions that the last time they spoke was in 2022. Hilary is back with a new book. The book is called Unlocking the Triathlon, A Beginner's Guide to Competing in a Triathlon. Todd says he really enjoys talking with her and thinks listeners will too, which sets the tone right away. Hilary talks about why she wrote the book and says it is about triathlon and how it affects people's lives. The conversation stays close to the beginner experience. It keeps coming back to how triathlon feels at the start and how it settles into somebody's life. Todd and Hilary swap stories about first races and the feeling that comes with just finishing. That's a big part of what they are talking about because it feels real, not polished. Hilary brings up a story from the book about a first-time athlete in Boston who starts with very little and eventually becomes a professional triathlete. Years later, that same athlete goes back to the same race and wins it. Todd likes that kind of redemption story because it lines up with the way a lot of triathletes think about progression. He shares a similar story from his own racing life. He says he once finished almost dead last and did not care at the time because finishing was the whole point. Then, after training and more years in the sport, he went back and won that race two years in a row. Hilary and Todd both land on the same idea. The first goal is simply to finish. After that, the goals get a little different. You start thinking about getting faster. You start thinking about age group placement. You start thinking about beating your buddy, even if your buddy keeps beating you. Todd says that's part of the fun. Hilary agrees, and the conversation stays in that easy, lived-in lane. The episode does not rush. It circles around memory, progress, and the way triathlon keeps giving people new reasons to sign up again. Todd closes by looking ahead and joking that Hilary may have to come back for another book someday. He also points listeners to his free triathlon guide at thetriathlonguide.com. Then he signs off in the same encouraging way the show usually does, asking people to keep showing up and push your limits.

As heard by us

A warm, grounded triathlon conversation about starting, staying with it, and coming back stronger.

Hilary Topper and Todd Milcom keep the focus on what triathlon asks of people, not just what it takes to finish. The conversation moves easily from beginner advice to the quieter work of staying in the sport, with a redemption story that gives the episode some lift.

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Why you'd press play

Press play for a calm, coach-led conversation about a beginner's guide to competing in triathlon.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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