The TriDoc Podcast, triathlon and health in one place · Dr. Jeff Sankoff

Ep. 193- Inside the Triathlon World with Matt Hanson + A Return to Saunas

·58 min·3 clips

Matt Hanson says he left academia wanting to know whether he had "what it took" as a triathlete.

1. The TriDoc Podcast episode 193 centers on Matt Hanson and sauna use as a medical mailbag topic. 2. Jack Sankoff hosts the show from Denver, and Matt Hanson joins later as a professional triathlete, coach at MH Racing, and recent Ironman New Zealand podium finisher. 3. The episode asks what Hanson is chasing in 2026 and whether saunas help heat acclimation, recovery, and endurance performance. 4. Hanson says he left a college professor job to avoid wondering whether he had "what it took" in triathlon. 5. He says world-champion success has not happened yet, but another Kona slot remains a goal. 6. Hanson says his daughter is two years old and is just starting to understand what he does. 7. He says he wants to be the same influence to her that his parents were to him. 8. Sankoff previews Hanson's recent podium at Ironman New Zealand, his 2025 race load, and his lighter 2026 schedule. 9. The show also notes the North American season opener in Little Elm, where wind canceled the swim. 10. Sankoff points to Lionel Sanders, Ben Kanute, and the coming Oceanside start list as examples of how the 20-meter draft zone may shape racing. 11. Hockman joins Sankoff for the sauna mailbag and describes a recent wave of illness affecting athletes and families. 12. They mention Tokyo-style travel problems for a pole vaulting trip to Nike Indoor Nationals in New York City. 13. Hockman and Sankoff then return to sauna evidence, including a 2024 review by Laukanen and Soar from Scandinavia. 14. The review links regular 20-to-30-minute sauna use with lower blood pressure, less oxidative burden, reduced systemic inflammation, and better endothelial function. 15. Sankoff cites a 2025 systematic review by Ahokas covering 14 studies on acute and chronic post-exercise heat exposure. 16. He says four studies found no measurable recovery benefit, four found clear benefit, and one found negative effects. 17. The same review found possible running benefits in hot environments, but not clear improvements in cycling performance or VO2 max. 18. Sankoff also cites a 2026 review by Yamasaki and a 2018 review reporting 32% longer time to exhaustion and improved plasma volume. 19. Hanson then introduces his own perspective on race scheduling, family time, and the practical demands of training indoors in Denver. 20. Listeners interested in triathlon tactics, sauna protocols, and race-week acclimation will get the most from this episode, while people wanting a pure race recap or a short news brief may skip it.

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