Marc Dubrick opened his 2026 season at Dallas Little Elm Duathlon 70.3 with the fastest swim of the day, big power on the bike, and a hard lesson learned at an aid station. Here's his honest breakdown of how it went.
Good or bad, I am fired up to bring race recaps back because it means the 2026 season is here. So here we go.
14th at Dallas Little Elm Duathlon 70.3
Swim:
Wild start to the day. Crazy winds canceled the age group swim and shortened the pro swim. First time we have had a pro-only swim, which is definitely a step forward. It ended up being 350 meters with a time trial start every five seconds, probably closer to 250 meters of actual swimming.
2:39, fastest on the day, fastest T1, first onto the bike. Job done.
Bike:
That was about as close to a rodeo as I ever want. 35 mph winds with even stronger gusts. After a few days to process it I am actually pretty happy with how it went. The power was there and I felt strong. This was only my fourth ride on the new TT bike. Sign with Ventum for 2026.
The first 45 minutes with the tailwind I averaged 35 mph, trying to stay controlled knowing what was coming on the way back.
The biggest mistake of the day came at aid station one. I chose to switch bottles there since it was a slower section and no littering penalty if something went wrong. Something did go wrong. I messed up the exchange, dropped half my nutrition, and lost the group. Even a small gap in those winds turns into a big one fast. I chased hard but could not get back on and lost about two minutes over the last 30 miles.
Still came away with some solid numbers. 45, 60, and 2 hour power records. (which isn't really what you want in a race) Now it is about being smarter when I use that power and making sure it actually turns into speed.
Run:
1:16:11. Bad. I could feel I was low on energy, and it turned into a bit of a mental battle. It is crazy how fast your mind can spiral when things are not going your way. I caught myself getting frustrated with things outside my control and had to reset.
As a swimmer, I want to be able to maximize that strength, and it is tough seeing more swims shortened or canceled. As a professional sport, I think we need to find a way to keep full distance swims, whether that means better support on the water or multi lap courses.
From there I just tried to focus on what I have done before and keep moving forward. I have run plenty of 1:12 or faster off the bike. This off season we made a very intentional decision to back things off a bit to finally have a healthy March. It showed here, but I know it is the right move long term. It's still a hard time to see for me.
With a few key sessions and dialed nutrition, I know I will be back in the 1:12 to 1:10 range soon and hopefully down to the 1:09s later in the year.
This ended up a bit longer than planned, but I really appreciate you following along. Going to keep these honest and real.
