For the truly brave triathletically inclined adventurers, the Norseman Xtreme must be at the top of the bucket list. The course is precisely the Iron distance but its mythic stature cannot be measured in mere length. Instead, regard the breathtaking view of the cold swim framed by the jagged v-shaped rock walls of the fijord carved out by glaciers over millennia.

Then ride the precipitous inclines and declivities of the bike course which wrap around old Viking roads for 112 miles toward the final destination – the run. Ah, the run. Nothing too scary about the first 20 miles. Ah, but then even the greatest of aerobic practitioners are met by a 10k crawl up triathlons’s equivalent steepness of the Eiger. It's a wonder that entrants do not carry pitons and spikes to inch their way up the forbidding rocks, covered almost always under a blanket of gray doom-laden clouds. The reward for traversing some 5,000 meters of ascent? Why, a T-shirt!

Some spirits are indomitable even in the face of the final climb up Zombie Hill.

A rugged freighter transports the swimmers down the fijord to the beginning of the swim.

The dark green water gives an intimation of the deepness of the fijord.

One of the leading women.

Nearing the land.

A pack of contenders at the swim finish.

Evan Chiodera had the fastest bike split – 5:48:36 – and finished 7th in 11:45:20.

Mohamed Lahna finished in 15:27:30.

Nissik Juell finished in 13:58:27

Rounding a lake in mountain territory.

Inching their way up Zombie Hill.

Allan Hovda, last year’s third place finisher, erupts with joy to celebrate his victory in a time of 10:52:07. He posted the fastest run/climb of the day – 3:56:11.

Photographer Delly Carr zeroes in on the Norwegian's triumphant moment.

Women’s winner Line Foss arrived at the finish in 12:56:27. She had the fastest women's run – 4:46:10.

Foss wore the appropriate mountain running gear.

All 247 finishers gathered for a Norseman Xtreme team picture.