“You have to evolve or die,” says Sam Long midway through his latest YouTube video, which is embedded below, as he looks back at his emphatic victory at IRONMAN 70.3 Boise – and ahead to what comes next.
The ‘Big Unit’ won by nearly five minutes at Boise, another brilliant bike leg putting him in command before he closed it out in style on the run.
With two young children, training these days is even more of a juggling act for the popular American but he continues to rack up impressive results, with all five of his 70.3s in 2026 seeing him finish in the top four.
‘The best version of myself’
And referencing that most recent display in Idaho, he says: “For me it shows that I can now do things differently. I can rely on the huge amount of work I’ve done and I can be the best version of myself that I’ve ever been.
“Because I do believe that this was one of the best races I’ve ever seen out of myself – it was one of the most well-rounded approaches that I’ve ever seen.”
Kona on the horizon
And there’s not much time for Long to rest on his laurels as he’s in action on Sunday 16 August at IRONMAN 70.3 Northern California, which also sees the return from injury of his great friend and rival Lionel Sanders.
“Next up is Northern California and it’s going to be a great race,” promised Long. “We’ve got Lionel Sanders, which always gets me super-excited, Jackson Laundry and Jeremy Maclean so really looking forward to that.”
The clock is also now ticking towards the IRONMAN World Championship in Kona, Long having qualified for that last year when he was second at IRONMAN Arizona.
The field will be finalised after the last qualifying event at IRONMAN Kalmar on the same weekend as 70.3 Northern California and Long added: “Obviously Kona is getting close.
“It’s always in the back of my mind this year – last year I felt I maybe over-hyped Nice a little so I’m very focussed on it but a bit more relaxed about it this time.”
