The Israman full and half Iron-distance triathlons are well known for their stark desert beauty, the rich blue and green of the Red Sea and a very demanding bike course that climbs more than 2,000 feet up to a mountainous desert plateau between Egypt and Jordan.

Larry Rosa has been dreaming of coming to this landmark triathlon and here he shares his take on the formidable beauty of Israman.

A blur of churning arms and legs at the 6:15 AM Israman swim start.

A lone standup paddler guides the swimmers along the Red Sea course.

Race favorite Sergio Marques finishes the first of two laps of the swim.

Bikers leaving town, headed for the hills.

Erin Berasini on the steep Israman climb.

Defending 113 champion Edo van der Merwe (NED) on the opening climb.

John Hirsch (USA) on the opening 20k climb.

Dmitry Grabovskyy (ISR) tucks in and gets the most speed on his bike.

A stream of cyclists are bypassing the exit to Mt Hizqiyyahu.

Some stray camels spotted on the Egyptian side of the border along the Israman bike course.

A line of riders pedaling along the Egyptian-Israeli border.

Stunning views and challenging climbs on the bike course at the 2015 Israman Triathlon

Athletes head into T2 to start the run at the 2015 Israman Triathlon.

Diederik Scheltinga (NED) starts the run and passes the 3k sign at the 2015 Israman Triathlon

Runners along the seaside path.

Sergio Marques of Portugal finished 2nd in the 226.

Irena Mazin won the women's 226 title in a time of 11:56:42.

Martina Dogana of Italy won the women's 113 title.

Massimo Cigana of Italy won the men’s 113 title.

Israman Negev Eilat
Eilat, Israel
January 30, 2015
S 2.4 mi. / B 112 mi. / R 26.2 mi.

226 Results

Men

1. Bart Candel (NED) 9:42:24
2. Sergio Marques (POR) 9:57:35
3. Petr Vabrousek (CZE) 10:15:31
4. Lior Zach Maor (ISR) 10:21:20
5. Amit Fein (ISR) 10:32:30

Women

1. Irena Mazin (ISR) 11:56:42
2. Inbar Zahavi (ISR) 12:00:45
3. Dr. Zsuzsanna Harsanyi (HUN) 12:14:45
4. Dora Heller (ISR) 12:33:15
5. Ayelet Ben David (ISR) 13:30:41

113 Results
S 1.2 mi. / B 56 mi. / R 13.1 mi.

Men

1. Massimo Cigana (ITA) 4:33:20
2. Edo Van Der Meer (NED) 4:38:54
3. Dmitry Grabovskyy (ISR) 4:41:39
4. Diederik Scheltinga (NED) 4:50:37
5. Peter Bajai (HUN) 4:52:16

Women

1. Martina Dogana (ITA) 5:16:37
2. Nina Pekerman (ISR) 5:18:58
3. Antonina Reznikov (ISR) 5:35:30
4. Gili Richman (ISR) 5:51:06
5. Lilach Bar Natan (ISR) 6:43:15


All photographs © Larry Rosa