Ryan entered his first triathlon when a college roommate challenged him to a race in 2006. He was the last one out of the water and says he was instantly hooked. In his junior year, he found himself enjoying triathlon so much he couldn’t pull himself away from it. Jacqui got her start in triathlon while training for the Chicago Marathon. Ryan was coaching her at the time, and would add cycling and swimming workouts to her training to reduce the running volume. In 2010, he suggested Jacqui come with him to race the Buffalo Springs 70.3 triathlon. Jacqui finished nine seconds away from qualifying for the Ironman World Championships, yet despite an awesome result she wasn't hooked. It wasn't until their wedding day in 2012 that Jacqui decided to get serious about tri. On that special day, Ryan shared his dream with her. "Today's the day of the Ironman World Championships," he said to her. "We should be there next year." They made their wedding vows, and an ambitious sport vow. Both Jacqui and Ryan are getting ready to race Kona Ironman this October.   Here are their top 5 tips to train effectively as a couple: 1. Set up a workout room We train a lot indoors as it's time efficient, safe, and allows us to train together when our schedules align. 2. Plan ahead We always know what we have going on and when we will be doing our longer sessions as those sometimes can take the entire day. Planning ahead keeps us accountable to those times and aware of when we will be free together. 3. Meal prep Having meals planned out for the entire week gives some flexibility in the evenings when we are a little more time crunched and trying to get workouts in. 4. Understand this sport can sometimes require you (or your partner) to be selfish There's often times that you might miss out on time spent together. Things come up every week where workouts get moved for whatever reason, and it takes away time being spent together, which leads to the next tip. 5. Set up dates Our favorite is having brunch or ice cream together. In the past, we have even set up having brunch together once per week to try out new restaurants and wouldn't let any workout get in the way of that. Bonus Tip: Be your partner's biggest cheerleader Even if/when your training/racing isn't going as well as you'd like, it is so important to be there for your partner and support them through their highs and lows as well. Look for the Giulianos at the IRONMAN Kona World Championships in a few weeks!   READ ALSO: Road to Kona: Cody Beals’ clear Kona strategy

Cody Beals didn’t fully commit himself to the sport of triathlon until after he completed his degree in Physics, but he was never a stranger to endurance sports. “My parents introduced me to endurance sports almost as soon as I could walk. I got my first taste of competition as a swimmer and later picked up cycling and running as a teenager.” “Endurance sports, like my academics, rewarded consistent, deliberate practice even more than natural ability.” Three full-distance pro Ironman races and three wins! (Image ©Kevin Mackinnon) From his first local “Try-a-Tri” in 2006 Cody Beals steadily produced promising results. He fully committed himself to the sport in 2012 and in 2014 took his elite card making this his sixth season as a professional triathlete. Currently Cody has won three out of three of his full-distance IRONMAN races, recently winning IRONMAN Mont Tremblant in August for the second time. Heading into his first appearance at IRONMAN World Championships in Kona, Cody is confident in his preparation. After defending his title at IRONMAN Mont Tremblant, he plans to continue the same preparation of prioritizing sleep, taking recovery days, and training efficiently with an emphasis on quality over quantity. However, he is not going into the race naively believing it will be like any other race. “The one thing that I don’t have a good grasp on are the dynamics of a World Championship race. World class athletes, who are otherwise disciplined and rational racers, will behave erratically on the Queen K. Many athletes seem to make impulsive decisions, sometimes abandoning carefully crafted race plans in favor of gambling for the podium. The race plays out in a manner unlike any other. It’s the race dynamics, not the place, that intrigue and mystify me the most.” Although he is aware of the athletes who will also be racing at Kona, Cody makes an effort to not follow his competition. This allows him to stay focused on his own process and not second-guess his decisions. Cody on his way to a win at Ironman Mont Tremblant in August. (Image © Talbot Cox) Cody’s average day of training can take all day. From a late morning swim, to an afternoon run, ending the day with an evening ride. When you add in recovery time, and some desk work and that’s a full day! But he explains his training regimen should not be the standard for those looking to try a triathlon. First timers looking to get into triathlons shouldn’t be intimidated or overwhelmed by the more experienced athletes. The triathlon community is inclusive and welcoming. At the end of the day, Cody says, that “the experience of an absolute beginner and a veteran pro out on the race course have far more in common than different.” Last but not least it seems that Cody’s secret weapon is his tortoiseshell cat. He says that adopting her from the Humane Society has been nothing short of life changing and he regrets not doing it sooner. “She doesn't care how my last race or training session went. She's just there to give me unconditional affection and make me laugh every day. I'm convinced that cat cuddles are my not-so-secret weapon for recovery!” READ ALSO: Road to Kona: 5 tips to train effectively as a couple

When she's not in the mountains, you can find Emelie Forsberg in her garden or preparing delicious meals. © Matti Bernitz How and what we eat is personal to each one of us. Some of us feel better and more energised by certain foods, while others feel quite differently. Regardless of our personal view, one thing we all have in common is that eating well is essential for top performance. In our recent article series “Fuelling the engine” we heard from eight athletes and trainers about how they stay fuelled (see the end for the article list). What’s more interesting than their differences, is what they have in common. We’ve combed through and put together six basic principles of nutrition for athletes. Find your rhythm Suunto HQ is lucky to have in-house personal trainer and athlete Matias Anthoni walking around the office. He offers training and nutrition advice to whoever is interested. He says improving how often you eat can improve what you eat. Skipping meals is a no-no for dedicated athletes because it causes energy crashes and bad dietary decisions, which result in poor performance. He advises to get into a rhythm of having a healthy meal every three hours. Get organized To eat six or more well balanced meals a day demands forward planning. It’s pretty hard, if not impossible, to maintain this if you’re operating on a day-to-day basis. Ryan Sandes, Emelie Forsberg, Mel Hauschildt and Lucy Bartholomew all emphasised the importance of being well organised and planning ahead. They sometimes make extra portions of meals at the beginning of the week to have later in the week when they know they will be busy. Being organised means making sure there are plenty of easy, go-to meal ingredients available, too. Balanced meals There are a number of different aspects to having a balanced diet. Ultracycling man Omar di Felice sees it as maintaining a proper balance of carbohydrates, protein and fat, with fatty food being essential for his epic extreme rides above the Arctic Circle every winter. This balance of carbohydrates, protein and fat is what nutrition expert Dr. Rick Kattouf II also drills into his clients. He believes every meal – for dedicated athletes in training – should include this ratio: 50 to 60 % carbohydrates, 15 to 25 % protein, and 15 to 25 % fat. Balance also means eating a variety of foods to make sure you are taking in enough minerals and vitamins. Ski mountaineer Greg Hill tries to have a balance of colors in his meals.  Fresh is best One thing that came through loud and clear from all our athletes and experts is the importance of eating fresh foods. For Emelie Forsberg and Lucy Bartholomew this means preferably straight out of the earth. As an avid gardener and farmer, Emelie grows and harvests much of what she eats. Lucy, ski mountaineer Greg Hill, Mel and Ryan all try to avoid eating packaged foods, instead choosing foods that are as close to the source of production as possible. Whole is the goal Should go without saying: avoid processed food and food with refined sugar. Instead, all our athletes opt for whole foods. Ryan Sandes questioned the idea that recovery shakes could ever replace the nutritional value of whole food. Don't take shortcuts; take the time to eat well. It’s self kindness. Enjoy yourself Emelie, Ryan and Greg all said they don’t get uptight about food. Emelie has a relaxed and intuitive approach to food, and Ryan and Greg are happy to allow themselves to enjoy a pizza or a burger each week. Greg cautions not to try to be perfect; aim to make the bulk of what you eat fresh and healthy. “It’s important to enjoy life as well,” Ryan says. Click below to read articles in our Fuelling the Engine series:  Fuelling the engine: talking nutrition with Lucy Bartholomew Fuelling the engine: talking nutrition with Emelie Forsberg Fuelling the engine: a commonsense approach to nutrition Fuelling the engine: talking nutrition with Ryan Sandes Fuelling the engine: talking nutrition with Ultracycling Man Fuelling the engine: talking nutrition with Mel Hauschildt D.I.E.T (disaster imminent every time), and three unchanging principles of nutrition for athletes Fuelling the engine: talking nutrition with Greg Hill Lead images: Photo by ja ma on Unsplash © Craig Kolesky / Red Bull Content Pool  

Needless to say, Liz is no stranger to hard work and dedication. After pacing a friend during an ultramarathon, she decided it was something she would like to try. She has since embraced the sport of ultrarunning, and since 2015 has powered through three 100-mile ultramarathons. Her short time in ultrarunning has already changed her life and taught her lifelong lessons. “I'm realizing that the most I learn after each long-distance race is how to be a kinder and more flexible person. I bring too much of my Type A personality to these events and have to keep improving my ability to compromise, goal-set on the fly, and most of all, smile,” says Liz. Watch the video below to see how running has changed Liz’s life.

Steve Woods has amassed stacks of content illustrating his experiences underwater including thousands of photos that represent the true devastation of the human impact on our natural world. Through his photographic artistry he has successfully utilized his talent to tell the world this sad story that everything is not OK and we need to initiate change. The Driving Force Steve’s dedicated parents drove for hours across the UK so that they would be able to make their son’s dreams come true, they would take him to any shark exhibition they could locate until one day, there was to be a real shark on display. He was on the edge of his seat, apprehensive, and excited about what he was going to see. On arrival Steve rushed to find the shark only to be confronted with a papier maché model instead. Unperturbed by the severe disappointment, the young wildlife enthusiast did not give up his quest to see a real shark. © Steve Woods Photography Steve began diving at nine years old and with his family and qualified alongside his parents and two sisters in Turkey when he was twelve. “When I was a kid I used to watch old VHS documentaries, I had three or four of them that I collected over the years, relics from birthday and Christmas celebrations gone by I would view them over and over until they tapes wore too thin to play. At any chance I could I would beg my parents to take me down the local garden centre that had an aquarium inside to see the ragged tooth and the grey nurse sharks. I would sit there for hours just watching it slowly doing laps around and around the tank,” reminisces Steve. Fifteen years later he saw the shark he had been dreaming of. The Journey Steve spent his early career working in journalism in the UK driven by a deep seated desire to change the world and make it a better place. Steve grasps the importance of illustrating the issues we face as a community and wants to reach people who perhaps have a lesser understanding of the impact of their everyday actions. During his journalist years he committed a lot of time uncovering the detrimental aspects of fish farming and fisheries and spent time underwater to see how the problems could be managed and minimised. The 2008 shark experience Steve had in Indonesia stayed with him and he soon found himself burning his savings on new camera equipment, securing a one way ticket to Indonesia and leaving the world of British journalism far behind for a life of adventure and to use his photography skills to help protect the oceans. Once he arrived in Lombok he took up work with local dive centres and photographed guests on their diving adventures so they could take home cool memories from their dive trips. The experience was valuable as it gave him a deeper understanding of how to capture light in water and the technicalities of shooting stills under the sea in order to capture the powerful and clear images he does today. Soon he found himself involved in setting up a shark conservation foundation alongside a team of local groups and conservation projects called the Gili Shark Foundation. © Steve Woods Photography Gili Shark Foundation “We began photographing sharks, we thought they were all the same as did the community. When we started identifying them we noticed there were many more than we initially thought there were. Gili Shark Foundation was a great way to get the whole island working together. Everyone was involved in shark counts, events and data collecting.” Steve had achieved what he set out to do by using his passion to highlight nature and the human impact. After a successful time in the Gili islands he moved to Raja Ampat to continue working in conservation. Plastic is prevalent in remote areas, as well as most other environments and Raja is experiencing the same issues. Steve worked with the local communities to show them how to start and maintain effective conservation efforts in areas that have potential. The key to successful conservation projects is longevity with a clear plan for the future. “The only way to change the human habits it by educating an involving the local communities. If you go in and rule over a population then it is an imperialistic act. When we came to Raja, the locals were well aware the plastic waste was increasing and that fish stocks were decreasing. We worked together to come up with a plan that would enhance their lives and make them more money.” Steve says. Looking back on his career so far, he talks of many memorable moments working underwater including humpback whale, shark, manta encounters but he considers the smaller experiences that really stick with you as a photographer and as a human. “Originally when we set up the shark foundation we were rescuing sharks from fisherman in Bali and then we got permission from the government to release them into a fishing projected area in Lombok. First time I had ever done anything like this. We completed research, spoke to people and made plans. Collected the animals and sent them off on a fast boat to be released into water. Who knows if they were going to survive, but we had given them a chance.” Steve says. Three months later they identified that same shark by the dot pattern in the skin. Steve acknowledges this is a small achievement while 200-400 million sharks slaughtered every year, but this moment struck a chord and the feeling has stayed with him. More and more he uses his photography working alongside marine conservationists to support their work and he hopes to grow this reach and increase the impact. © Steve Woods Photography The Future “Visual language is so important nowadays, if people know they can change their minds.” Ask Steve how he will change the world in the future, he will tell you “one step at a time”. © Steve Woods Photography Suunto took five lucky competition winners of the trip to Raja Ampat on the Suunto D5 photo shoot, they were dive instructor Rosie Sheb'a from Australia, student Niko Lekhraj from Singapore, outdoor guide Anders Vestergård from Denmark, designer Xiaomo "Momo" Wang from China and nature activist Lilian Ellevog from Norway. See them diving in Suunto D5 images and videos.

Record-breaking ski mountaineer, adventurer and Suunto ambassador Greg Hill has always been a foodie. Eating well is about enjoyment, which also serves his nutritional needs. He approaches it in that order, not vice versa. “Nutrition has always been important but more so because I really enjoy eating great food,” he explains. “Yet I also understand that the fuel we put in our bodies determines how well it runs. Much like an engine, if you put bad gas into it, it will run poorly.” Photo by Angela Percival/ Arcteryx Fresh colors Greg tries to eat fresh vegetables with a variety of colors, which he says indicates nutritional richness. Whenever possible, he also cooks with food from local sources. “I do grow a small garden every year, with tomatoes, potatoes, garlic, carrots, broccoli, beets, just your basics,” he says. “It’s so nice to go and grab them directly from my yard.” Week day diet Greg and his family are following the “week day vegetarian diet”, meaning they only meat on the weekends. This contributes to personal health and reduces their impact on the planet. “The personal health side is pretty clear, there are so many articles about reducing red meat in your diet and the benefits involved, from a reduced potential for cancer to lower cholesterol, to living longer,” he says. “One of the simplest way to decrease my family’s carbon footprint was to decrease our meat intake; livestock farming is responsible for 20-50 per cent of the greenhouse gases, so this was an easy way to become better earth dwellers. If you ever look into livestock it is amazing the deforestation involved, the extreme water usage and over un-sustainability of it. Photo by Angela Percival/ Arcteryx Healthy balance While the Hills like to keep it fresh, they also allow themselves to indulge in a fast food meal once a week, like ordering a pizza on Friday movie night. Perfection is not the goal, Greg says, just as long as the the bulk of their diet is fresh, healthy food. “Like every family we have certain meals that are staples, enchiladas, lasagna, salad rolls, pad thai, pizza on friday nights, and my favourite – the glory bowl,” he says. Tofu glory bowl In the bowl 2 cups cooked brown rice1/2 cup grated beetroot1/2 cup grated carrots1/2 cups almonds, toasted1/2 cups spinach leaves1 cup tofu, cubed Dressing 1/4 cup tahini1/4 cup apple cider vinegar1/2 cup nutritional yeast flakes2 gloves garlic3 tablespoons tamari1 tablespoon maple syrup1/4 cup olive oil1/4 cup water Instructions Prepare the brown rice and set aside.Fry tofu cubes in a pan.Add dressing ingredients into a blender to prepare the dressing. Add oil in a steady stream. Taste, and thin with water if required.Assemble the bowls by placing cooked brown rice into two bowls, top with beets, carrots, spinach leaves, almonds and fried tofu cubes.Drizzle bowls with dressing.  Lead image: Photo by Fancycrave on Unsplash. Click below to read articles in our Fuelling the Engine series: Fuelling the engine: talking nutrition with Lucy Bartholomew Fuelling the engine: talking nutrition with Emelie Forsberg Fuelling the engine: a commonsense approach to nutrition Fuelling the engine: talking nutrition with Ryan Sandes Fuelling the engine: talking nutrition with Ultracycling Man Fuelling the engine: talking nutrition with Mel Hauschildt D.I.E.T (disaster imminent every time), and three unchanging principles of nutrition for athletes