Over the past several years of Ironman distance racing, I have learned that the harder the course, the more excited I get to train and race. As I searched for "hard" triathlon race courses to add to my bucket list, the Norseman triathlon in Norway always seemed to come up first in my google search. Everything about that race was everything that I don't enjoy (cold water, cold temperature, wind) but I kept coming back to that race and thinking "I need to do that."
The Norseman triathlon is part of the XTRI series. The XTRI series originated with Norseman Xtreme Triathlon in 2003. Jumping off a ferry into 50-degree water, cycling over 10,000 feet elevation in cold, wet and windy conditions and then running over 4600 feet to climb a mountain to reach the finish line. Although the distance of XTRI events may be similar to a standard Ironman distance triathlon, these events are much more extreme.
The XTRI events have small fields, often with a max of 150-250 athletes. Every participant is required to have a support crew as the race is entirely self-supported. Besides designated transition areas, there are no catered aid stations. You are on your own from start to finish with specific areas where you can receive nutrition from your crew. The races are held in beautiful locations with extreme terrain. Most races include trail running for the marathon portion and will finish with some type of epic climb/hike to the finish line. Conditions can be extremely hot to extremely cold and everything in between. Often, the swim starts very early (4-5 am) and the water temperature can be very cold (50-60 degrees F).
With races around the globe, the trademarks of an extreme triathlon include cold water, strict time cut-offs, a lot of elevation gain on the bike and the run, utilizing a support car and crew, a mix of running terrain, a crew member to accompany you on certain sections of the run and beautiful scenery. Every race ensures that you will feel and see the local community as you race for 10+ hours.
Because the Norseman still feels a bit too extreme for me right now, I will be dipping my toes in the waters of Lac Megantic, Canada on July 2nd for my first XTRI event. Karel will be my support crew throughout the race and he will also hike the last 8.5K of the run with me to reach the finish line at the summit of the Mont Megantic Observatory. The bike has 8200 feet of elevation gain over 112 miles an the run has ~5000 feet elevation gain over 26 miles. The race starts at 4:30am.
This event will be a great learning experience for me because on September 1st I'll be participating in Icon Xtri. Although Canadaman will feel a little more extreme than a standard Ironman, Icon will be the biggest athletic challenge that I've ever taken on in my life. Located in Livigno, Italy (at almost 6000 feet), I'll be swimming 2.4 miles in the fresh water of Lago del Gallo. I'll be cycling 121 miles up the Forcola pass, into Switzerland to climb the Bernina Pass, then down to St. Moritz to climb the Fuorn pass, descending to Val Mustair and then back into Italy. To finish the bike, I'll be climbing over 48 switchbacks up the famous Stelvio Pass (second highest pass in Europe at almost 9000 feet). The bike course will cover over 16,000 feet elevation gain. And then its time for the marathon, which is a mixture of road and trail running, finishing with a 10K, 3600 feet climb to the finish line which sits at almost 10,000 feet high.
Canadaman XTRI will be my 20th Ironman distance triathlon. I've really enjoyed my preparation for this event. I'm excited for an athletic challenge that will feel a little familiar and a lot different to what I am used to. I'm also looking forward to sharing this experience with Karel. Although we've raced on the same race course many times, we've never raced "together" so I look forward to having his support throughout the race and sharing the final 8.5K climb/hike with him as he helps me get to the finish line.