INTO THE WILD

Enticed by its dreamy landscapes and unmistakable challenge, pro triathlete Caroline Livesey heads to Chile to take on the iconic Patagonman...

- CAROLINE LIVESEY

Just as the pain from my feet becomes almost overwhelming, I crest the steep gravel hill and a staggering view opens up below me. For a few seconds I'm distracted by the sheer expanse of it, but then the wind, which has been blowing a solid 60kph all day, whips up a mini gravel tornado. I've never experienced anything like it. It's pelting me hard all over the back of my exposed arms and legs. It's exquisitely painful, but I find myself laughing at the absurdity of it all. The beauty of this raw wilderness combined with the extreme power of nature and my own painful effort to keep running as hard as I can. The wind takes charge, pushing me along, my exhausted legs flailing like a toddler as I try to stay in control and upright. There's still a long way to go on this run and, although I'm leading the race, it's far from over.

In 2018 I crewed for my husband Mark at the inaugural Patagonman extreme triathlon. Held in remote Chilean Patagonia, this race is a wonderful combination of adventure and triathlon. Something about the place, the people and the race is so mystical that Mark was immediately drawn to it. When you're crewing for an XTRI you see almost the whole race from alongside the athlete.

In 2018, as I drove the astonishing bike route, I decided one day I'd come back and do it myself. I've raced triathlon for 20 years, turning professional over eight years ago. But I've more recently found myself drawn to the challenge and unpredictability of extreme triathlons, and, in 2022, prior to heading to Patagonia, I'd already raced both Celtman and Norseman.

Landing at the tiny Balmaceda Airport on a remote plateau high up in the Andes is the point at which you start to understand the scale of what you're undertaking. As Mark (now in the crew role) and I drove along the bike route towards Coyhaique, we were silenced by the landscape. It exhausts your mind just trying to take it all in when you first lay eyes on it.