With a blistering run leg that’s rewritten the pace expectations in professional triathlon, Boulder’s 32-year-old Jason West has carved out a reputation as one of the fastest runners on the global circuit. In 2025 alone, he’s clocked top-three run splits at both T100 Vancouver and T100 San Francisco. Now, West will bring his years of racing experience vis-a-vis an entirely new distance.
On July 20, West will make his full-distance debut at the Athletic Brewing Ironman Lake Placid, the final Ironman Pro Series race offering qualifying slots for the 2025 Men’s World Championship in Nice. With four slots up for grabs, West is aiming to claim one of them. We caught up with him ahead of the race to hear how he’s prepared for the jump to the full distance, how he’s feeling about his form, and what he hopes to learn from this next step in his triathlon career.
“It’s something I’ve always planned to do eventually,” West reflects. “I was just waiting until it felt right. With the Ironman series now, there’s a lot of opportunity if you can succeed at the full distance.”
Even if the lead-up has not been perfectly smooth with a newborn at home and some unavoidable disruptions to training, West describes his mindset as “cautiously optimistic.”
“I’ve had some great sessions, but also missed a bit at times,” he explains. “With this being something new, I’m not really sure what to expect or what my prep needs to look like.”
What West does know is the critical importance of finishing the bike with enough left in the tank to unleash his renowned running speed. The marathon leg, he says, is only worrisome if the bike takes too much out of him.
“I’ve put most of my efforts into training to finish the ride and still have legs,” he says. “The marathon only concerns me if the bike destroys me. I think it’s about starting that run with a lot left to give.”
Rather than simply ramping up volume, West’s training for Ironman has been deliberately measured, balancing volume and intensity with injury prevention to arrive healthy on race day.
“I’d say I’ve always trained as much and as hard as I can, so I haven’t trained more than I have in the past,” he notes. “I’ve just adjusted some efforts in workouts to be specific to the distance and intensity. I think the gut reaction is to just try to train a lot more and do more mileage, but the injury risk is so high.”
A Strategic Debut on a Big Stage
Unlike many first-timers who may pick smaller races to ease into the full distance, West specifically targeted Ironman Lake Placid for its challenging course and stacked professional field. His goal isn’t just to finish; it’s to learn what it takes to compete at a high level over the full distance.
“I didn’t want to race a smaller Ironman with a field that lacked depth,” he says. “I wanted to learn the dynamics of a higher-level race so I can take that into my future training.”
That said, the ambition is clear: securing a slot for the 2025 Ironman World Championship in Nice, France.
“I’ll be disappointed if I’m not able to get a slot for Nice,” West admits. “This looks like the last opportunity to race that course, and I think it’s one that creates a great race. So I do want to have a crack at it this year.”
No matter the outcome, West views this debut as an investment in his future as a long-course contender. And with some of the fastest feet in triathlon now stretching to marathon distance, many would bet on him to find something special in those final 42.2 kilometers.
Belief Over Certainty
That kind of long-range mindset may be West’s greatest strength heading into this new chapter. While much of full distance racing remains a question mark, he’s drawing confidence from the work he’s put in, as well as the years of experience that got him here.
In a recent Instagram post, West captured that balance of preparation and faith:
“Confidence is a funny thing,” he wrote. “Do you get it from performance, or need it to perform in the first place? …There may be unknown, but I’m focusing a lot on the good work I’ve put in and the belief that I’ll be prepared to race the distance. Sometimes that confidence and belief can take you further than you think… Even if it’s not perfect, if you really believe in it, that confidence can help you soar.”
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