1. What surprised you the most about the T100 race experience?
Honestly, not much! I’ve been following these races all year and did my homework. The T100 team has every aspect of race week dialed in, making it such an enjoyable experience for the athletes. I was stoked to receive a wild card and wanted to make the most of the opportunity!
2. What were you most proud of in your race?
I’m still feeling a bit bittersweet about my result, but I’m really proud of how I mentally battled back on the bike. I’ve made great progress on the bike but still don’t have the power to stay with the pack at the start, so I ended up getting dropped. In long-course racing, it’s never over until it’s over, so I kept finding ways to stay motivated. I managed to pick up some momentum and caught three athletes who went out hard and blew up by the end of the bike. The run was a rough one though!
3. What is the origin of “Marc the Shark”?
I wish I had an epic origin story for “Marc the Shark,” but I think it gained traction because of my first-out-of-the-water finishes. What I want it to represent, though, is giving everything I have on race day—no excuses and zero self-imposed barriers.
Just like physical training, the mental side of sports takes practice. I believe the difference at the sport's top level often comes down to how athletes handle adversity, uncertainty, and those dark moments during a race. It’s about finding a way to push through, trusting (and hoping) that it’s worth it. Trust me, even if you crash and burn, it is worth it! I’ve also been working on some Marc the Shark swag, so watch for that!
4. How far ahead of time were you notified of your Wild Card spot? How did that impact your race prep?
I was notified about four weeks before Las Vegas while en route to Cozumel 70.3. My coach, James, and I would have made it work no matter what, but the timing gave us plenty of room to recover for 3–4 days after the Cozumel race and then complete two solid weeks of training before heading to Vegas.
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