The Feed Sweeps the Podium at IRONMAN 70.3 Michigan

How often do you get a full podium sweep at an IRONMAN-level event? Four of our elite men put on a show in Michigan. We were able to capture a picture of how the event played out given the various tactics, fueling strategy, and experiences of the athletes throughout the effort.

🇺🇸 Justin Riele - 4th

The swim was solid and quite easy! 23 mins. I was comfortably in the front swim pack holding pace with Ben Kanute, Matt Sharpe and Matt McElroy, putting over a minute into Jackson.

I quickly made my way to the front chasing down Kanute after he dropped me in T1 by about 15 seconds. It took 20 mins of laying down some pretty big power as we averaged 29.3mph on the flats through 10 miles. The effort wasn’t coming very easily, and I knew right away that it was just going to be a really hard day, not one of those perfect days where everything just clicks and feels effortless. In fact, it was the first day this year where I just felt “off” for some reason. My coach and I believe we mistimed the taper a little bit (I felt GREAT last weekend, and a few days prior to the race, and lost some fitness through the race week), and maybe my immune system was fighting something off, or maybe it’s just been a long season and this is a time where it catches up to you and you have one off day… I’ll never really know. My gas tank on the day was right at 95% instead of 100%, but I knew I was going to be just and continued to push hard. We all have days like that and, fortunately, I haven’t had many of them.

Ben and I got through mile 35 of the bike and Jackson surprisingly caught us with one of the strongest rides I have witnessed in Ironman racing (1:55). Ben and I also rode very well with 1:58 splits, sharing the “work” equally taking turns on the front. It was my fastest bike split ever. The three of us entered T2 in clear podium position, Jackson holding a small gap to me and Ben, who had a 3-4 minute gap to the rest of the field.

Tough from the start. After mile 2 of the run, I yelled over at Kyle and said “this is going to get dark…”. The effort at my usual 1:17 half marathon pace wasn’t coming easily, but the legs were still turning over and I was pleasantly surprised. I made it through 9 miles on pace to run a 1:17, splitting 5:55-6:00/miles the entire time but with a higher effort than usual. Just off. At the mile 10 turnaround, I had a 3-minute lead on 3rd place and just completely fell apart. I blew the podium finish after having it in the bag, getting passed in the final mile. It definitely sucks to be that close while simultaneously having the worst 3-mile stretch I have had all year. But that’s just racing, and my time is coming soon! I stayed tough and struggled through the last mile to hang onto 4th place as I battled some nasty stomach cramps / side stitches.

Takeaways:

An easy swim, a PR bike split, and 10 miles of solid running on a “tough day.” If this is as bad as it gets for me on a day where I’m feeling crappy, then I’m feeling pretty good about things heading into a huge 2025. One day later upon reflection, 4th place here is just one more solid result in what has been a great breakout season, finishing right behind the defending champ and 2 Olympians. I’m proud.

With that said, I’m now putting my head down for an extended training block until 70.3 Worlds in New Zealand in December. Time to get to work and make another small jump in fitness before the big stage.

🇨🇦 Matt Sharpe - 3rd

I had a blast this past weekend competing at 70.3 Michigan and it was a killer day for the The Feed team taking first through fourth. I even surprised myself with a podium finish ending up in third overall.

I had a strong swim and exited the water in second, and onto the bike I did my best to position myself within groups. It was a really hard ride for me, and when I started the run I was wondering if I’d have the legs to even hold on for a top 10!

After a couple of miles, the legs came around and I was able to find a strong rhythm. Once I could sense the podium was in play I just kept focusing on pushing hard between each aid station. At mile 12 I passed Justin Riele for 3rd (sorry Justin!) and just gave it my all to the finish.

After an inconsistent summer dealing with an Achilles injury and a focus on my wife’s Olympic campaign, I wasn’t expecting to land a spot on the podium! But this result speaks to the importance of lining up even if you don’t feel perfectly “ready.”

My plan for the coming months is to stick close to home and jump into some local gravel/cyclocross/run races with the ultimate focus on competing well at the 70.3 World Championships in New Zealand.

Nutrition Plan:

General: 170g / hr

Bike: Skratch Super High Carb, LMNT

Run: PF&H 90g Gel

🇺🇸 Ben Kanute - 2nd

The IM Michigan race was solid for me today. I got out relatively well in the swim but lost the feet of Greg Harper, who swam away from everybody else and came into transition about 55 seconds down.

I hammered the first part of the bike for about 20 minutes or so and set some really good power while Justin caught me. We worked well together to hold off Jackson until about mile 28 or 30, and Jackson was just flying today, so he did a flyer off the front at about 45 miles on the bike. He put about a minute into us and then I continued to hold that on the run for about the entire day and just floated around in 50, 55 seconds. Jackson took home the win, I was able to take home second, so a super solid day for me coming off of Big Kona camp!

Nutrition Plan:

Pre-swim: 2 x Maurten CAF 100 Gel 100 (1hr out), 2 x Maurten Gel 100 (just prior)

Bike: 2 x Enervit Drink Mix, 1 x Clif Bloks, 2 x Maurten CAF 100 Gel 100

Run: 3 x Enervit Gels

🇨🇦 Jackson Laundry - 1st

I was just able to take the win at 70.3. Michigan. I had a great day!

I swam in the second group, which was part of my race plan, and was likely where I was going to be, so I wasn't too disappointed that I didn't quite make that lead group.

Then, I had a really strong bike. I was able to catch the leaders, two more Feed athletes, Ben and Justin at about two-thirds into the bike. I rode with them for a bit and then put some time in the last 20k – pushed really hard and tried to get a bit of a gap. I was able to get a little bit of a lead, I think it was only about 50 seconds. But, Ben was kind of running the same [pace] as me. So it was a little bit nervous there for the first 12, 15km, but I was able to start increasing that lead and I was able to kind of enjoy the last couple minutes of the race through town here.

It’s a beautiful place in Michigan to race and I absolutely love it. It's the first time I've ever been able to defend a win, so that was really exciting for me. Super stoked with it, had a great day, and The Feed took the whole podium.

Nutrition Plan:

Pre-swim: 1 x Maurten Gel 160

Bike: 1 x SiS Beta Fuel Drink Mix, 1 x N2 C30, 3 x Gels (2 Maurten, 1 PF & H)

Run: 3 x Maurten Gels, Mortal Hydration