Lionel Sanders makes his much-anticipated return to IRONMAN this weekend after confirming he will be lining up for the inaugural Dallas Little-Elm 70.3 on Sunday.
Having missed pretty much an entire season with injury issues – he only raced three 70.3s in the whole of 2025 – the 38-year-old is finally fit and raring to go, announcing on his Instagram page how he was ‘excited to get back out there and crush one this weekend’.
Sanders has undergone a major training and nutrition transformation over the last ten months after he was diagnosed with the condition known as Relative Energy Deficiency, or RED-S.
RED-S diagnosis de-railed season
Suffering from fractures of the rib and sacrum, he sought specialist advice to determine whether there was a common cause behind his issues, which also included periods of poor sleep and feeling unwell.
RED-S is a condition relatively common among athletes where calorie intake is not sufficient to balance out the demands of their heavy training schedules. It can lead to poor post-workout recovery and increased risk of fractures at specific weak points.
As a result of his diagnosis, Sanders completely changed his diet and calorie intake, focusing on taking in a minimum of 7,000 calories each day to cope with his training and race requirements.
He started last season with two wins at the 70.3 in Oceanside and then St George, but did not compete again until he lined up for the 70.3 at Indian Wells in December, where he finished second behind long-time rival and fellow Arizona resident Sam Long.
‘I haven’t checked on my competitors’
It all leaves him somewhat nervous about what to expect when the field for Sunday’s very first Dallas Little-Elm 70.3 enters the water at Lewisville Lake.
“Dallas 70.3 race week is here,” he wrote on his Instagram page. “I’m happy to report that I put in 12 straight weeks of training with no injuries. That is a win in and of itself.
“I haven’t checked in on any of my competitors, so I have absolutely no idea where I stand. I am coming in with peak insecurity. I find that a lot of fun. Excited to get back out there and crush one this weekend.”
Among the pro stars joining him in the men’s field are Sam Appleton (AUS), Ben Kanute (USA), and Trevor Foley (USA), who arrives in Texas fresh from his win at the IRONMAN New Zealand last weekend.
Incredible first-race record
Despite his lack of competition, Sanders will start as the favourite, if for no other reason than the incredible record he has in the opening races of his 12 years on the circuit as a professional.
Starting in 2014 and competing in every season since, he has won his opening race of the year five times, finished runner-up three times and placed third once – meaning that of those 12 opening races, he has achieved a podium finish on nine of them.
The women’s race is headed up by Jackie Hering (USA), along with Vittoria Lopes (BRA) and Minttu Hukka (FIN).
Sanders and the Pro men kick things off at 07:30am local time on Sunday – 12:30 in the UK, 13:30 in Central Europe, 08:30 on the East Coast of the US, and 05:30 on the West Coast – and you can follow their progress on the IRONMAN Athlete Tracker app HERE.
