Feisty Triathlon · Feisty Triathlon podcast

When anti-doping interrupts your podcast recording...

·43 min·2 clips

Lizzie Rayner says the Dubai and Qatar stretch came with “20 grand on the line” and “quite a few tears.”

1. Feisty Triathlon centers on Lizzie Rayner, Joanne Murphy, and Kelly O'Meara talking about racing, anti-doping, and early-season triathlon news. 2. Kelly O'Meara hosts the episode with Katie Zafaris and Joanne Murphy, while Lizzie Rayner joins after finishing eighth at the 70.3 world championships. 3. The episode asks what it costs an athlete to keep racing after a hard season, then pivots into how anti-doping and race-rule changes affect triathletes. 4. Lizzie says she had only “two and a half weeks off over Christmas” after going from the 70.3 world championships to the last two T100 races. 5. She explains that Dubai was “always in the plan,” even though it came last minute and followed a flight home and then another trip to Dubai. 6. Lizzie says Dylan asked her to race in Qatar, which added “another month” when she felt “pretty finished” mentally and physically. 7. She says “there was 20 grand on the line,” and that the money mattered because she is “quite early in my career.” 8. The hosts describe the emotional side of the stretch, including “quite a few tears” and a coach who said he felt bad for trying to keep her going. 9. Lizzie says she is still pleased she did it, and that the end result was “a good experience” even though it was “pretty rough.” 10. The conversation shifts when a dog barks and Lizzie jokes, “I just wondered if it was anti-doping,” which triggers a longer explanation of testing. 11. Joanne and Lizzie explain that anti-doping officers wait in an athlete’s line of sight after arriving at a home or hotel. 12. They say the tester stays with the athlete the whole time and may sit through conversation while waiting for the athlete to pee. 13. Lizzie says the official must actually witness the urine leave the body, and the sample process can also involve blood. 14. She adds that blood testing is “super fast” as long as the athlete has not trained recently. 15. Lizzie says she has been tested often at races, especially when she was on the podium, and that her last race in Hamburg still led to testing even though she did not finish near the top. 16. She says the craziest example was when testers came to the Isle of Man and had to fly there and stay overnight. 17. Joanne then outlines her own South Africa plans, including a Cape Town cycle tour of 109 kilometers and about 1,200 meters of elevation. 18. Joanne says she will be away for 21 days, flying to South Africa after hosting a conference in Northern Ireland and before the Cape Epic mountain bike race. 19. The tone is conversational and practical, with long back-and-forth explanations, interruptions, and rule clarifications. 20. Listeners who like triathlon rules, anti-doping, and race logistics will enjoy it; people wanting only race results may skip it.

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