REMINDER: YOUR SUBMISSIONS ARE ENCOURAGED | | |
1. The 2025 Women's IRONMAN World Championship race was held last Saturday. I have a few highlights on some of the remarkable women who competed this year.
2. Continuing with triathlons, in Philanthropy, I have an athlete who completes extreme endurance challenges to raise money for charities.
3. In Architecture, I have an update on the world's tallest bridge over the Huajiang Grand Canyon in China. Travelers can now enjoy a cup of coffee half a mile in the air from the cafe atop one of the bridge's towers.
4. In Nature, I have two stories of perseverance, one of rare maritime lions adapting to a coastal environment, and the other of a conservancy group dedicated to helping Namibia's Cape fur seal population survive man's impact on their environment.
5. In Flock Friends, reader Lexi Stuhr has shared a couple of pictures from a hot air balloon ride over the Tucson landscape.
6. MoMA, The Museum of Modern Art, is offering a free weekly newsletter course on modern art. I've included a link to the course description and sign-up form in The Arts section of this week's newsletter.
7. In Wellness, I have an introduction to Pilates from the Cleveland Clinic that will help anyone looking for a healthy, low-impact exercise routine get started.
8. Thursday was Global Cat Day, so I'm including a photo of all of the Flock's feline friends in the Pet's Corner.
9. I'm closing this week with another note of positivity in Bindu's Corner.
I hope you will pick and choose, and read what might touch your heart, and that in a small way, I have been able to add a bit of comfort to your day. Please feel free to share the Flock…
| | Now, to this week's Flock. | |
1. 2025 IRONMAN World Championship Kona
| | The 140.6-mile 2025 Women's IRONMAN World Championship race was held last Saturday, October 11, in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. Solveig Lovseth of Norway won the professional division with a time of 8:28:27 in her first IRONMAN World Championship attempt. I also want to commend the performances of some other athletes in this year's race. Anne Reischmann managed a 31st-place finish after announcing her pregnancy shortly before the start, and Holly Lawrence finished sixth just one year after giving birth to her first child, daughter Poppy. I also want to give immense respect to Natalie Grabow, who at 80 years entered the record books as the oldest woman to finish the IRONMAN World Championship, what an accomplishment. | |
‘Wonderful surprise’ for Reischmann while Lawrence celebrates Kona finish line emotion
So much to celebrate at the women's IRONMAN World Championship, especially for Anne Reischmann and Holly Lawrence
| | From: Tri247, By: Jonathan Turner, October 14, 2025 | | |
Anne Reischmann and Holly Lawrence both had significant additional reasons to celebrate competing – and completing – in the IRONMAN World Championship over the weekend.
For Reischmann had revealed just before the race that she had found out she was pregnant, while Lawrence’s brilliant sixth place came just a year after the birth of her first child.
‘Wonderful surprise’
German star Reischmann won IRONMAN South Africa early on in the campaign and is ranked in the top 30 in the world.
And posting on Instagram just before the start of the most important full-distance race of the season, she revealed: “A couple of weeks ago my road to Kona took an unexpected turn: during my preparations for the World Championships, I found out that I’m pregnant. Joel and I are very happy about this wonderful surprise.
Love and support
And the emotions were flowing in a fantastic way too for Lawrence, who only took part in her first IRONMAN at Lake Placid in July.
The US-based former 70.3 World Champion from Britain was sixth in 8:52:40 and greeted by husband Sean and one-year-old daughter Poppy.
Lawrence wrote on Instagram: “The finish line emotion said it all"
| | Pregnant at the finish of the Ironman Hawaii: Anne Reischmann listened to her body | | Inside the fitness routine of 80-year-old Natalie Grabow, the oldest woman to finish the Ironman World Championship | | |
They keep saying: Age is just a number. We keep hearing it and take it with the usual nonchalance until someone like Natalie Grabow comes along and proves that statement true with her determination, might, and achievement.
At an age when many people slow down, Natalie Grabow is pushing forward – and pushing hard. At 80 years old, she has become the oldest woman ever to finish the Ironman World Championship in Kona, Hawaii. Her time: 16 hours, 45 minutes, 26 seconds, beating the 17-hour cutoff and setting a new age-group record. But her achievement is not just about crossing the finish line; it’s about the years of training, dedication, discipline, and strategy that got her there.
Grabow did not start life as a triathlete. She began running 5K and 10K races in her middle age. It was only later, in her 60s, that she learned to swim and embraced the full triathlon challenge. Over the decades, she built fitness, skill, resilience, and mental strength. In preparation for her record-breaking Kona run this year, she followed a daily training routine tailored to her age, balanced rest, mobility work, and nutritional support. And now, many of us see her as a living example of how age is just a number if discipline, intelligent training, and passion carry you – as we should.
| | Race Rewind | 2025 IRONMAN World Championship, Kona, Women's Edition | |
2. Philanthropy: Peter Wright
| | Peter Wright is an endurance athlete from Jersey, the Channel Island off the coast of France, not the US state shaped like a peanut, who completes endurance challenges to raise money for charities. Recently, he completed an impressive seven iron distance triathlons in seven days to raise funds for four charities that support families affected by childhood cancer. | | Man Completes Seven Iron Triathlons in Seven Days | From: BBC News, By: Chris Craddock, October 10, 2025 | |
A Jersey man has finished seven Iron distance triathlon challenges in seven days to raise money for four charities.
Peter Wright, 52, swam, cycled, and ran nearly 1,000 miles (1,609km) for the challenge which came to an end on Thursday.
He has raised more than £11,000 for CLIC Sargent Jersey, Kezia's Fund, Lily McGarry's Fund and The LouLou Race Foundation.
An Iron distance triathlon requires athletes to swim 2.4-miles (3.8km), cycle 112-miles (180km) and complete a 26.2-mile (42.2km) marathon distance run.
Mr Wright was cheered over the finish line by friends who had been supporting him through the challenge.
He said it was "unbelievably tough to get it done" and he was "just chuffed to bits to finish ".
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3. Architecture: World's Tallest Bridge Part 2
| | The cafe at the top of the world's tallest bridge that I posted about two weeks ago has opened, allowing travelers to enjoy a cup of coffee accompanied by spectacular views from their seat half a mile in the air. | |
World's Tallest Bridge Opens Glass Cafe at a Staggering 2,600 Feet in the Air
Visitors can drink their coffee half a mile into the clouds
| From: People, By: Rachel McRady, October 9, 2025 | | |
If you’ve ever dreamed of drinking a cup of coffee half a mile into the air, there’s a new way to get your morning cup in the sky.
China’s Huajiang Grand Canyon Bridge, which opened to traffic on Sept. 28, is opening a glass cafe 800 meters (2,624 feet) in the air called Interstellar Coffee.
According the Guizhou Daily Tianyan News, the cafe, which is perched atop one of the towers, will have two floors and a 360-degree unobstructed view thanks to its glass walls. It will feature Captain George Coffee with plans to expand its selection in coming months.
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Visitors will reach the dizzying height via a glass elevator, which can hit the top in under one minute. There’s also a 1,900-foot high glass walkway for visitors, and tourists will also get the chance to bungee jump off the massive bridge.
The Huajiang Grand Canyon Bridge is located in Southern China over the Beipan River and has become the tallest bridge in the world. It cut transit time in the Guizhou province from two hours to two minutes, NBC News reported, citing local officials.
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4. Nature: Namibia's Skeleton Coast
| | Wildlife photographer Griet Van Maldren has captured a story of adaptation and perseverance in the animal kingdom, photographing rare maritime lions on Namibia's Skeleton Coast. The lions have migrated from the Namib Desert to the Skeleton Coast in pursuit of food, adapting their diet to include Cape fur seals along the way. Her photos have received praise from the Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition, which I have covered in 2023 and 2024. | 'Their resilience is a lesson to us all': The maritime lions hunting seals on the beach | From: BBC, By: Isabelle Gerretsen, October 11, 2025 | |
In Namibia, a group of desert lions have left their traditional hunting grounds for the Atlantic coast, to become the world's only maritime lions. One photographer captured this dramatic change in behaviour.
It is an incredibly striking photo: a lioness gazes into the distance on a pebbled beach in Namibia as tempestuous waves crash in the background. She guards her prey, just out of view – the carcass of a Cape fur seal.
Belgian photographer Griet Van Malderen captured this dramatic shot of Gamma, one of Namibia's desert lions who has learned to hunt seals to survive in the harsh environment of the Skeleton Coast. Her photo was highly commended at the prestigious Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition, run by the Natural History Museum in London.
[Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition https://www.nhm.ac.uk/visit/exhibitions/wildlife-photographer-of-the-year.html]
"She was guarding the seal all day," Van Malderen says, who spent days waiting to capture the shot, watching Gamma from her car. "It's really amazing to see how their behaviour is starting to change."
There are just 12 desert lions living along the Skeleton Coast, out of a total population of around 80. They have moved from the arid Namib Desert to the Atlantic Ocean in search of food, drastically changing their diet and behaviour in 2017 to adapt to this new habitat – and appearing to thrive from the change.
| Maritime lions may feed on the Skeleton Coast's cape fur seal population, but they pose little threat to the overall population of seals. The real threat to the seals is posed by plastic waste from commercial fishing and industrial activities in the coastal waters. Teams from Ocean Conservation Namibia patrol the coastline to rescue Cape fur seals entangled in fishing lines and nets or injured by fish hooks and plastic waste. | Seal Rescues & Ocean Conservation in Namibia | |
Namibia is home to over 1 million Cape Fur Seals. These intelligent, curious animals are increasingly at risk from abandoned fishing nets and lines, marine plastic waste, overfishing, illegal fishing and aqua farming, commercial exploitation through the annual seal harvest, and industrial activities like deep sea and phosphate mining.
Our team patrols beaches, monitors seal colonies, and rescues entangled animals, often in dangerous and challenging conditions.
Ocean Conservation Namibia is dedicated to safeguarding marine life along the Namibian coastline. Our team conducts daily patrols to rescue Cape fur seals from entanglement in fishing lines and nets. Through public awareness campaigns, scientific research, and collaborations, we strive to ensure the conservation of our oceans.
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Box Strap Around a Seal’s Neck – Again
>MORE SEAL RESCUE VIDEOS
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5. Flock Friends: Ballooning Over Tucson
| | Flock friend Lexi Stuhr has shared these pictures from a hot air balloon ride over Tucson with her good friend, world traveler Walter. | | Looking out over the Tucson valley. | | Please submit photos, stories, poetry, or thoughts
that you would like included in the Flock using this link. | |
6. The Arts: A Free Course From MoMA
| | Here's an excellent opportunity to expand your knowledge and appreciation of modern art. A free four-week course from one of the world's premier museums of modern art, MoMA in New York City, delivered to your email inbox, covering a different aspect of modern art each week. | |
Modern Art & You
See art through a new lens with this free weekly newsletter course.
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Over four weeks, you’ll learn about iconic works of modern art—making connections to your life, inspiring your creativity, and helping your trivia game.
Course Benefits
- Gain confidence looking at art in just 15 minutes a week
- Hear directly from artists and MoMA experts
- Nurture your inner artist with weekly creative prompts
- Earn a certificate
| | Introduction to Modern Art & Ideas | | I'm a big fan of Pilates; it's an excellent way to build core strength and balance while minimizing the risk of injury. If you are in Tucson and want to give Pilates a try, I recommend scrolling down to the bottom of this newsletter and finding Kyria Sabin of Fletcher Pilates in the Flock Regulars section. | |
Pilates 101: What It Is and Health Benefits
Pilates can improve muscle tone, flexibility and strength, as well as help you heal from injuries
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If you’ve been looking for a new workout routine that can give you a good balance of flexibility, strength, muscle tone and help for a few aches and pains, Pilates may be the answer. It might look a bit intimidating at first, but it’s much easier to get into — and, depending on what you do, less expensive — than you might assume.
While Pilates has been around for nearly 100 years, it continues gaining traction, picking up new devotees all the time. Part of the reason it’s become such a popular mode of exercise is that it’s customizable to fit you and your health goals, regardless of your age, sex, health status and fitness level.
Benefits of Pilates
If you dig into the research on the health benefits of Pilates, you might find it more confusing than helpful. On the one hand, there’s considerable research into its health benefits for a wide range of people and health conditions. On the other hand, most studies only have a small number of participants — and only monitor those participants for a short period of time.
While the science may not be especially persuasive, 100 years’ worth of anecdotal evidence (from people’s personal accounts vs. research) is nothing to sneeze at. Like yoga, tai chi, qigong and other intentional movement exercises, the potential benefits and generally low risk make it worth trying. And like all exercise, what’s most important is whether or not you enjoy it and how it makes you feel.
| | 8. Pet's Corner: Global Cat Day | | Yesterday, October 16th, was Global Cat Day, a designation intended to both honor our domesticated feline companions and to promote community (TNR) Trap-Neuter-Release programs to help control feral cat populations. In observance of Global Cat Day, the image above includes every cat that has graced the Flock's Pet's Corner. | | Bindu always shares the most uplifting thoughts with us. | | These Flock regulars are always here for you: | | Don't Be Shy: Share Your Stories! | | I'm looking forward to sharing more of your personal stories - oral, written, or otherwise, as we enter our third year. I'd so love to present them to The Flock, hit a mailbox below to share your story. | | Subscriptions & Idea Submissions
Reminder: Your submissions are always welcomed. | | |
Feel free to forward this email to a friend. If this was forwarded to you and you would like to receive your very own Flock Newsletter, you can sign up here. If you have any questions or suggestions for future Flock resources, don't hesitate to contact me.
Your fan and friend,
Beth
| | | The information and materials contained or referenced in this newsletter are for informational purposes only and not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult a physician or other qualified medical professional with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition or treatment and before beginning a new health care regimen. Do not disregard professional medical advice or delay seeking medical advice or care based on anything contained in this newsletter. | | | | |
