Sam Long is adamant that he still wants to kick off his triathlon season with an IRONMAN double at Oceanside 70.3 and Texas – despite his pre-season training being hampered by what he described as a ‘perfect storm’ of illness and poor health.

The American, who has committed himself to the Pro Series for much of 2026, is keen to stick with his original schedule, which would see him open in California on March 28, before then stepping up to full-distance racing at The Woodlands on April 18.

However, his preparations have been thrown into chaos after initially picking up a skin infection on his bottom, which seems to have lowered his immune system to such an extent that he has since struggled to shake off a nasty virus.

A month of battling illness

Such is his desperation to feel well again that he has gone to the extreme measure of giving himself a ‘buzz cut’ in the hope that he can rid himself of the ‘sickness and the weakness’ which have plagued him.

His troubles were first revealed in an Instagram post on his official page one month ago, where he spoke of the discomfort of the infection in his buttocks, which needed surgery to remove, and how the virus had completely wiped him out, to the extent that he needed to pause his training programme.

Returning to Instagram with an update, Long described his ‘perfect storm’ and even shot a video of the somewhat extreme measure that he has now gone to in an effort to move on from his illness.

“It’s been the perfect storm of not ideal things happening, to have spent nearly the last month battling poor health,” he wrote. “What I believe happened was an infection requiring antibiotics, which led to a decreased immune system.

Still eyeing Oceanside to start season

“Which, in combination with my son bringing a virus home from school and me trying to ramp up Ironman training for Texas, led to some big sickness (hero workouts!).

“I have settled in and decided that I am on my body’s timeline and that it’s a long season. Hoping to be better and still able to start season at Oceanside.”

He then urged his followers to ‘swipe to see my trick for fixing my health’, and revealed his video where he has completely shaved off his hair, looking for a fresh start.

“In the end, there was only one thing left for me to do,” he says in a very nasal voice. “And that was to shave my head. It’s always a great thing. I like to grow the hair out.

The drastic buzz cut

“Then, in a moment of feeling weak, I needed some extra strength, and I cut the hair off. I told my brain that the sickness and the weakness were infested in my hair, and that now, by cutting it off, I’m going to regain my strength and get back on track to have a great, great season, which will hopefully kick off in Oceanside and then continue on to Ironman, Texas.”

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A post shared by Sam Long (@samgolong)

Long always knew that this season was going to be different, as he and his wife, Lara, welcomed their new addition, Sebastian, to the family, a baby brother for their eldest son, Leo.

We only hope that the new style of buzz cut brings him better fortune as he looks to truly kick on with his pre-season training.