Pilot program Limitless helped 1000 women to the start line of a triathlon – for free

In October 2023, the world of triathlon changed forever. Lucy Charles-Barclay did something that no one since Dave Scott in 1982 has done: she led the Ironman World Championship from start to finish. Epic. Record-breaking. Hard-fought. Years in the making after finishing runner-up four times.

But for me, what was perhaps even more impactful was seeing and feeling that race through the efforts of every athlete racing and what made it unique: every competitor was a woman. Remember, the men raced in Nice that September. The women had Kona all to themselves.

Early in race week, the energy seemed reserved, almost timid. We’re all programmed to enter high-stakes environments with expectation. And maybe this is how the women feel when the other two-thirds of the field are men. Yes, men are different. They’re wound tight with a kill-or-be-killed intensity.

But by the midpoint of race week, the entire feel shifted – dramatically. The women realized they owned the space. It was their race, and they could do it their way. They were focused, yet supportive. Preparing, yet polite. Competitive, yet cooperative. The air of celebrating the journey outpaced the hurry to the finish line.

I’ve been inspired by so many women in this sport. It was Julie Moss crawling to the finish line in 1982 that sparked my quest to become an Ironman finisher. It was training alongside Erin Baker in 1989 that showed me what being dedicated to being the best really took. And on this day in 2023, it was every one of the 2,039 women who crossed the line in Kona who inspired me with something else.

It became a personal quest to do something that would engage more women to give triathlon a try. My longtime friend and business partner, Scott Zagarino, has thought about this ever since that day in 2023. Inspiration sparks inspiration and we were both inspired by that race.

We kept asking the same question: What can we do to help make an impact for women who want to get into the sport? There were already so many great groups dedicated to this cause, supporting one woman, then another, and another. I wanted to help all of those groups, but how? The answer became clear: do something big that adds to all of them. But what?

Then, late last year, an idea fell out of the sky. What if we broke down one barrier to entry? What if we could provide training guidance to a huge number of women and support them at a scale and on a timeframe that could truly make an impact? Not two weeks of free training for five lucky lottery winners, but something big.

We spoke with TriDot and came up with Limitless: give 500 women free training for a year. The idea took shape.

The initiative launched. We hoped we’d get a couple hundred to sign up. But guess what? We had 500 signed up before 24 hours had passed. So we went even bigger and expanded it to 1,000.

One thousand women around the world would get training for free for a year on TriDot. Not only that – we recruited mentors to be points of contact for every single one of those women. We created a women’s-only Facebook group where they could share their journeys.

We also created a monthly live event they can all log into, where hugely inspiring women from the sport share their journeys. Siri Lindley and Michellie Jones were the first two. Jackie Hering and Julie Moss are up over the next two months.

Has it been a success? Has it had an impact on getting more women into the sport? The answers to those questions are less important than these two: Will the women who joined Limitless adopt triathlon as part of their lifestyle and embrace it as part of their community? Will those 1,000 women inspire thousands more as their family and friends see the profound impact sport is having on them?

That remains to be seen. But I’m hopeful – and I’ll be doing everything I can to continue the Limitless journey.

Mark Allen is a six-time Ironman World Champion and one of the most influential figures in triathlon history, known for both his legendary racing career and his work as a coach and mentor to athletes around the world.