How Sam Long took "revenge" on himself and got back to winning
Sam Long dubbed Ironman 70.3 Boise his “Game of Revenge” … “but the revenge wasn’t on anyone else, it was on myself.”
Few people would challenge themselves so explicitly, but it’s hard to quibble with the results. Long took the lead roughly 20 miles into his bike leg and never looked back, shattering the bike course record with a time of 1:52:37 over the course of 56 miles on his way to winning the race by nearly five minutes.
Long felt that he hadn’t shown off the best of himself in a long time. Saturday’s win reminded everyone — including himself — just how good he can be.
A friendly face at the finish line.
“This season has come with a lot of life adjustments,” Long said. “I dealt with some health issues unrelated to triathlon that definitely took an energetic toll, we welcomed our second child, spent eight months with a baby who didn’t sleep, and I realized I simply wasn’t recovering the way I used to. That meant making some real adjustments to my training and recovery. This race felt like closing that chapter and getting back to the signature Sam Long dominant performance that we hadn’t seen in a while.”
Long emerged from the water 2:32 back from the race leader, which was a more than manageable gap for him. Indeed, he laid down a blistering pace on the bike — nearly 30 miles per hour — to quickly put the competition out of sight. He was never threatened on the run.
The win was spiritually reaffirming for Long, especially with Ironman World Championships in Kona coming into view. Before the race, he was given a boost of confidence from longtime Trek Race Shop team support manager Mark Andrews, who was in Boise with Long.
Back on top!
“He told me, ‘Don’t race with a bike computer. Just race. Race on feel.’ And when Mark says something, you listen,” Long said. “I was also so happy to race on the new bike—’Yolanda’—and add another fastest bike split while securing my 22nd professional victory.”
Long will be taking on Ironman 70.3 Northern California in Redding in mid-August before turning his full focus onto Kona. He’ll join fellow Trek Factory Racing triathletes Marten Van Riel, Matthew Marquardt and Taylor Knibb, who all had spectacular weekends of their own just a week before.
This group knows how to wring out every ounce of effort from their bodies. We can’t wait for October.
