I’ve raced in over 200 triathlons, countless 70.3’s, and 16 Hawaii Ironman’s, but nothing would prepare me for racing Norseman. A race commonly referred to as the “World’s Toughest Triathlon,” the Norseman Xtreme Triathlon was a race experience few will ever be a part of. This is my story.
As I write this, I’m somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean decompressing from one of the most bone chilling, captivating, and inspirational races I’ve ever experienced. The Norseman Triathlon in Eidfjord, Norway delivers a triathlon experience like no other on earth. It boasts an unimaginable total elevation gain that makes you question if you’re reading it correctly. It allowed me to see a part of the world I had only read about, and truly helped me define who I was as an athlete.
Since Norseman is a 100% self supported race, I traveled with my support crew of Eric Wynn and DJ Snyder to help me along the way. As I learned throughout the race, a solid support crew is absolutely crucial for completing the race safely, and I was lucky to have them on my team. After meeting at my home in Colorado the weekend before for some additional race prep, we flew out of Denver on Monday afternoon, eventually planning to arrive at the race by Tuesday evening.
That’s when our scheduled travel plans deviated. Our routing was Denver to Minneapolis, Minneapolis to Amsterdam, and Amsterdam to Olso. We would then rent a car to drive from Oslo to Eidfjord. After our overseas flight was delayed by one hour, it started a domino effect, missing our connection to Oslo, resulting in the three of us scrambling for options to get to the race on time. The only viable option was to rent a car and drive from Amsterdam to Norway, an 18 hour trip! We booked a car, loaded our gear and were on our way.
It took us 2 days, but we were able to drive through The Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, Sweden and finally Norway. Sounds like a pretty sweet drive if we didn’t have the race coming up so soon. I even managed to get in a 45 min run in Copenhagen at 1AM (can’t miss my workout). It was actually a nice trip and we arrived in Eidfjord on Wednesday evening, only a day later than planned. As soon as we got into town I was floored by the beauty of the town and the landscape. It was one of the prettiest places I’d ever seen. We parked at the water’s edge and Eric asked me “What do you want to do Tim?” I quickly replied, “Swim in the Fjord.” Within minutes I donned my Zoot Bolt wetsuit, dove off the dock, and swam for 20 minutes in the 56 degree water. Definitely one of the coldest and most iconic swims I’ve had. I was so cold in face that it resulted in some significant slurred speech like trying to talk after visiting the Dentist. I tried to concentrate on speaking in complete, coherent sentences since Eric was constantly filming me, but I had unwillingly surrendered to the cold. After warming up, we met the race staff, and checked into our amazing cabin which was a 5 minute walk to the water. Due to our later arrival, we couldn’t do recon of the entire course, but managed to get in some solid rides and swims and felt as ready as I could for race day. I’d have to wait and see the rest of the course on Saturday.
The final 12 hours before the start I did my best to relax and get a solid rest. Better said than done as my mind was all over the place resulting in about 1.5 hours of sleep (new record for pre race). My alarm went off at 2:15AM. Transition was open from 2:45AM-3:45AM, and the race started at 5AM. Not exactly the best scenario, but like I always say, control what you can control. We were up and out the door at 3AM and got my bike set up. It was raining, windy, and high 40’s, but that was good weather compared to what was to come. After all, this was a race like no other.
DJ and I boarded the ferry for the swim start at 4AM, and 40 minutes later we arrived at the race start in the middle of the fjord. After suiting up and giving my wife a quick call, the race official gave us the green light to get into the water. After jumping into the 59 degree, 1300 foot deep water, I did a few backstrokes and looked into the sky and said a quick prayer for allowing me to get here and be a part of something so special.
As I swam to the starting line of kayak’s, one of the things I’ll never forget is how most of the 290 participants were cheering and hollering, because they were so excited to race. It’s not often you see this at other races, which is a reminder of how unique the people are at Norseman. Not one time did I hear anyone complain about the cold. These are a dedicated group of athletes who were sincerely happy to race and their attitude showed it. I felt honored to be included with such an elite group.
The horn went off at 5AM sharp and we were off. I immediately blocked out the cold and settled into a rhythm toward the front of the race. Before I knew it, I saw Eric alongside me in a boat filming, and wow, the images he captured were nothing short of spectacular. The course was relatively simple, and sighted mainly on the city lights of Eidfjord in front of me, and the shoreline to my right. There was one yellow buoy close to town where we turned left to the finish. The water temp actually dropped to 55 degrees as we got closer due to the continued renewal of freezing cold mountain water draining into the fjord. I felt this right away. By this time the cold had made a significant impact on my hands, feet, face, and core and wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon. Coming out of the water came with its own challenges. Going from a prone to standing position quickly after a 2.4 mile swim is tricky in “normal” conditions. However, the cold water magnified that feeling about 10x so I was even more disoriented and dizzy coming into transition. Swim time: 58:55.
T1 for me was a little different from prior races. OK, it was very different from other races. Plain and simple, the cold water had been so taxing on my body that it pretty much rendered my hands and feet useless, thereby making me dependent on Eric and DJ to assist me with my clothing (all allowed at Norseman). After putting on layer upon layer of clothing in the hope of possibly getting warm, I hopped on my Ventum NS1, and was on my way to tackle the famous 180k ride.
The 4000ft climb in the first 25 miles of the bike was pretty much insane. My strategy was to bike extra hard the entire climb with the sole purpose of generating extra heat. It made sense on paper, but the reality was there wasn’t a chance of me getting warm. I knew that I still had to continually put forth effort to at least try to get the feeling back in my hands and feet. This climb up the Måbø valley was unforgiving and beautiful all at once. The cold made it very difficult to enjoy the jaw-dropping combination of low hanging clouds, endless waterfalls, and dramatically high peaks. What made it even more challenging was the continuous rain, and bone chilling wind during the climb and at the top at Dyraunt. It also continued through the Hardangervidda plateau. My Wahoo Elment Bolt showed 30 degrees, with race directors reporting a balmy 24.8F with the wind chill.
I later learned that this was the coldest temperature ever recorded at Norseman. My frozen hands and feet proved it to be true. Due to my hands being cold and inoperable, I accepted the fact that it was impossible to grab food or water, and had to rely on meeting Eric and DJ to feed me. Luckily I had just enough movement to use my brakes which was absolutely crucial. I knew (or rather hoped) the conditions would be temporary, so I blocked the discomfort out of my head and focused on moving forward the best I could. At one point a race marshal passed me, gave me a thumbs up and said, “Don’t worry, it’ll get better.” I also kept thinking about what the race founder, Harek Stranheim told me the day before, “Comfort will always be waiting for you.” Staying positive was key and was easier to do with the continued smiles and thumbs up from competitors, support crews, and local spectators. We were all in this together. This was Norseman.
Things finally got slightly warmer about 4 hours into the ride. Still no feeling in my feet, but I was at least able to grab my food and drink. I remember saying out loud, “yes, I can grab a gel!” I quickly realized that even though it was getting warmer, especially on the up hills, there were little or no flat sections so the down hills just got me cold all over again. Therefore, no need to take off gloves, arm warmers, or beanie. The bike course took us through some of the most beautiful places in Norway, so I tried my best to look around from time to time to enjoy it. It went through places that are not seen and felt by very many people. After all, this was a little more of an adventure than competition. As the end of the bike came near, I calculated I was in the top 30 or so overall. That boosted my spirits as my ultimate goal was to earn the coveted black t-shirt for being a top 160 finisher. Total bike time: 6:30, approx 10,500ft of climbing.
As I entered T2, Eric and DJ were there to help me with my gear, and I was quickly on my way to the marathon. At this point it was warmer so I could finally strip off all my cold weather gear! Yes! However, my feet were still numb and only after 5k did the feeling in my toes start to come back. It took 8 hours of racing to finally feel my feet again, no joke!
The opening miles of the run were fairly flat around a lake on my way toward Rujkan and felt so good to finally work up some sweat. At 11.7 miles, I finally got my first glimpse of Mt. Gaustatoppen, the finish of the race. It was pretty far away, and still had to climb over 6,000ft, but I could still see it. Needless to say this gave me an extra mental boost and I knew I was going to make it. This is where comfort was waiting for me. I was feeling really smooth and started picking off people from earlier in the day. At one point, I passed an athlete from Italy when my excitement came out and said to him, “I still can’t believe that we are actually racing Norseman!” Not sure if he understood what I was saying, but he nodded and gave me a thumbs up.
At mile 16, I got to Zombie Hill, a long arduous climb with numerous switchbacks starting the climb to the finish at Mt. Gaustatoppen. I went through a race checkpoint and learned that I was in 36th place overall as I began the climb. Barring any unforeseen, catastrophic circumstance, I continued on knowing I would likely get a black T-shirt! Mt. Gaustatoppen is the highest mountain in Northern Europe sitting at 6,187ft. This is the point where they only allow the top 160 athletes to continue to the top and earn the black finishers t-shirt. Any athlete in place 161 or greater is required to do an alternative, flatter route, but still completes the same distance and gets a white t-shirt.
The start of Zombie Hill was like a punch in the face. DJ was now allowed to run with me until the end of the race and we were immediately greeted with a 10% grade. However, I love to climb and did a lot in training so I felt prepared, and actually excited to start the climb regardless of what my pace might be. DJ’s company was fantastic and made the run much more enjoyable. The switchbacks at times seemed endless, but I tried to make a conscious effort to run as long as I could. I didn’t start a run/walk until 3 miles up the hill when my running legs basically had other plans. After telling them to “shut up”, I did a little bit of walking and actually felt better. I continued downing PowerBar gels, water, and PowerBar Cola Energy Chews, which seemed to do the trick. We eventually got to the trailhead which took us to the final 5K. Eric joined us as well and got some excellent video of us navigating our way to the finish. It was a non-stop, rocky, steep trail fueled by locals cheering us on with every step we took. It was amazing! The last 2 miles were the toughest, trying to manage replacing lost calories, securing footing on the continuous unstable and slippery terrain, and trying to stay warm. Yes, at this point the cold returned :)
I’ve always said that you know when you’re enjoying your race, when you’re sad that it’s almost over. This was definitely true as I approached final switchbacks to the finish. I still couldn’t believe that after seeing the finish line so many times online, that I was actually there, finishing my journey. Once I got to the top, I was overcome with emotion and simply needed a minute for myself. After burning 10,865 calories (thank you Wahoo Elemnt Rival), I reflected on my journey from getting an entry, to the countless hours of training, to thinking about my family & friends that sacrificed their own time to assist me in finishing Norseman. It is a moment that will be with me forever.
A few closing thoughts:
My Norseman experience would not happen if it wasn’t for the support of Eric Wynn , DJ Snyder, race manager Dag Oliver, and my family. I can’t thank them enough for what they did for me. Not once did the thought cross my mind to quit or stop. When I was at my low points, I forced myself to smile. It’s amazing how it instantly made me feel better.
It was an honor getting to know Norseman race founder Harek Stranheim and the entire Norseman race staff. They know this race inside and out and always kept us safe.
Never underestimate the power of nature and what it can do. Embrace it and appreciate its power and beauty. We can easily get wrapped up in our everyday lives, and sometimes forget that there is a whole world out there that we can learn from. Get out there and see it.
The people of Norway are amazing. If you want to do well at Norseman, think like a Norwegian. They are a special breed. :)