S.E.T. Top 10 Swim, Bike, Run Entertainment Podcasts

By Henry R. Shoemaker

July 31, 2025

Are you tired of binging episodes of Friends or The Office on those 4-hour trainer rides?  We’ve got you covered with our top 10 podcasts or channels that you could be watching instead.

·         Do you train so much that you’ve invested in a fan that generates more watts that you on the trainer? 

·         Have you ever visited a hardware store for the sole purpose of finding additional cushioning to outfit your aero bar cups?

·         Do you buy extra absorbent beach towels exclusively to catch the rain forest amount of perspiration lost in your basement bike rides?

You, ladies and gentlemen, are the target audience of this post.

Now look, we’re not money magazine over here.  We won’t make you wade through 10 pages only to tell you your most affordable option six hours from the nearest Costco in rural Nevada (Google says that’s a tautology).  We’re going to front load our top picks and let you decide!

Let’s delay no further, here’s our top 10.

1.      Lionel Sanders

No list of triathlon podcasts would be complete without the O.G., Lionel Sanders.  He’s the gateway to the pro triathlete podcast and who better to watch toil in training plan agony while questioning every approach and decision ever made, while simultaneously reversing course?  And the video of Lionel doing impossibly hard biker trainer intervals while he cries, hands down one of the best moments in endurance podcast history.  When traditional TB is firmly planted in it’s final resting place, and the Emmy’s aren’t a thing anymore (are the Emmy’s really still a thing?), this will go down as one of the most significant moments in early podcasting.

2.       That Triathlon Life

This would quite possibly make our list even if it weren’t triathlon or adventure related based on cinematic quality alone.  Eric Lagerstrom has cemented himself as one of the best outdoor cinematographers in podcasts.  His creativity is worthy of Hollywood production budgets.  The fact that he does it while running and riding at paces and watts that us mortals can only dream of cannot be ignored.  That he does it all while maintaining a pro race schedule and fitness is utterly amazing.  Wife Paula adds a compelling perspective into what it’s like for us introverts to have a job that requires us to be public facing.  I relate big time!  The ever-adorable Finn is made for T.V.!

3.       Heather Jackson

Endurance sports’ American sweetheart Heather Jackson and husband Sean “Wattie” Watkins of Wattie Ink fame are two of the most lovable figures in endurance sports, and Wattie shows the filming prowess that inspired Lagerstrom to break into the scene.  Is there a better quote in sports that encapsulates the D.NF. than Jackson at her first Western States,  “The decision is made, the wrist band has been cut... He cut it with a knife, and it felt like he was stabbing me in the heart.”?  Access into the life and heart of this hockey star turned professional triathlete is compelling, and the transition from professional triathlon to world class gravel rider, and top tier trail runner as her retirement endeavor from triathlon is nothing short of amazing.

4.       Trevor Foley

So, you think you’re a triathlete with a fast run?  O.K., but are you 3:44:55 1500m fast?  Trevor Foley, former scholarship UF runner is!  Well, you probably gapped him with your bike power, right?  Not a chance because he probably just laid down a sub-2-hour 70.3 bike split.  Yes, this one time 4:12 miler also pushed a first place 4:12 Ironman Bike Split at Placid of all places.  Don’t worry, you’ve got a chance in the swim, right?  This back of the pack swimmer is going to drop a 27 min 1.2-mile swim.  That’s how much faster the pros are than us.  The back of the pack pro still beats top 20 age groupers by 5+ minutes in their worst discipline.  Any who, watching Trevor and fellow runner and tri coach fiancé Sophie is a great way to log some trainer miles.

5.       Sam Long

YoY o Yo!  Once the biggest villain in triathlon, this young gun has been embraced by the up and coming 20 something triathlon crowd, and watching his young family grow on his channel while he logs gigantic training weeks and just keeps winning is a fun insight into how the Pros are balancing some real-world work/life balance just like us.

6.       Daniel Baekkegard

This young Dane is pushing big bike power, off solid swims, and then turning in 1:13 half marathons.  You won’t catch him live at events in the states much, but he’ll get plenty of airtime with a combination of PTO and IM races tackling some of the toughest courses in the world.  He might just have the best soundtrack on the list.  He’s a superstar on camera with an authentic appeal, great sense of humor, and solid comedic timing.

7.       Team Charles-Barclay

If Heather Jackson is the U.S.’s darling L.C.B. is Europe’s, and any U.S. fans Heather didn’t scoop up flock to her at events too.  The battle braids are a thing, and watching Luci come back from injury and multiple 2^nd place World Championship finishes to finally win it all is moving.  She and husband Reece (a world class athlete himself) have built the EPIC home gym set up, and it won’t take long to get past the British accents and get hooked on the real royal couple’s workout endeavors.  See the level of dedication to eat, sleep, and breath triathlon it takes to get to this level.  Luci’s near Olympic caliber swim put her on the map, but her relentless work to pair that with her now insane bike and run times is what makes her phenomenal.

8.       Sam Laidlow

Is he French, is he British?  You decide, but he’s the 2023 Ironman World Champ (Nice, France), and the youngest to do so.  Having gone 2^nd in Kona the year before as the youngest man in the field, it was no home course fluke.  His channel provides a look into what it’s like to work exclusively with family as his coach father calls the shots, and mum, the real boss of the house, serves as meal planner and family rutter.  I’ll be candid the channel starts lacking a through line but makes up for it big time with the production of, “Ohana | Ironman Kona Hawaii 2024-Sam Laidlow Documentary”.  It’s worth the watch.

9.       Three Way Tie (Joe Skipper/Tim and Rinny/Ben and Kourtney Kanute)

Joe is a compelling personality, but the through line is up and down with setbacks, gaps in filming, and there’s all the soggy British weather.  None the less, Joe’s fun too watch. 

Tim and Rinny would be much higher on the list, but with their retirements, content production dropped off, and so did attention.  It is still worth your time to go back and follow along from the beginning as one of the best videographers in the business chronicles their story of life as a professional triathlon couple with little ones at home. 

Ben has interesting insights and some solid races under his belt.  You can watch the training load of Captain America and his custom Trek race rocket.

10.   The Impossible Route

You can catch this by following VC Adventures (formerly Vegan Cyclist) or going straight to The Impossible Route website.  The first on our list not to be a triathlete, although Tyler does have a local tri under his belt, what this lacks in triathlon content it makes up for in extraordinary bike rides and scenery, compelling, if not overly dramatic storytelling, and the gritty determination you need to get through those 4-hour trainer rides.  If it were more of a true podcast than a ride specific docuseries, it would be much higher on the list.

Want to see our full top 50?  Become a Syndicate Endurance Team (S.E.T.) member (setracing.org) and access the full list for free.