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.
Denne historien er fra Spring 2023-utgaven av 220 Triathlon.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Denne historien er fra Spring 2023-utgaven av 220 Triathlon.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
How to Carb Load - Packing your working cells with carbohydrates in the build-up to your big race is a proven strategy to race stronger and faster...
Whichever distance triathlon you're racing, the intensity and duration of your activity will see your body tap into its stores of carbohydrates (in the form of glycogen) to power your effort. While it's possible to top up your tank on the go, it's better to start your event with your stores full to the brim.
The Olympic Champion - On 31 July, Great Britain's Alex Yee put together arguably the greatest one-day performance we have ever seen at an Olympic Games to win gold. And we were there at the finish line to speak to tri's new poster boy...
The opening line of the race report read how 20 years on from New Zealand’s first and only Olympic triathlon gold medal, Hayden Wilde had put in a careerbest performance to regain the title for his nation. Then Alex Yee comes around the corner.Yee’s charge, seemingly from nowhere on the final lap of the 10km run in Paris, didn’t just help him become the most decorated Olympic male triathlete of all time, and didn’t just cap a rivalry that has been building for six years, it left seasoned watchers of swim, bike, run in awe. It will go down as one of the greatest triathlon races; Yee, still just 26, as one of the greatest triathletes. His medals from Paris added to the two from Tokyo, leaving his haul at two gold, a silver and a bronze, and counting.
"I HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO INFLUENCE THE GROWTH OF TRIATHLON"
British Triathlon CEO Ruth Daniels talks Paris, her plans to grow tri and her own personal goals... knees allowing
ZWIFT RIDE
£1,199.99 Zwift's new Ride is an indoor bike that might help you break your PB... but won't break the bank
PARIS SHOWED THE VALUE OF OLYMPIC EXPERIENCE
With the spotlight on triathlon like never before at these Games, debutant athletes talked about being overwhelmed by the unique environment
GAMES AT THE GAMES
After watching and enjoying the Olympic triathlon events, Brunt amused himself by playing the 'guess how far into each event I would die' game...
WHERE EAGLES DARE
With little heat prep, the wrong gear choice and a course-recce mistake, would experienced extreme triathlete Sean McFarlane soar like an eagle or drop like a stone in Italy?
HOW TO INCREASE RUN PACE WHEN FATIGUED
The ability to dig deep in the latter stages of a race helped Alex Yee achieve Olympic gold. Here Ben, a member of Team GB's coaching staff in Paris, explains how you too can find that extra gear...
BUYER'S GUIDE: BIKE COMPUTERS
Log your rides, find your way and monitor your multisport training with a quartet of impressive bike computers...
POLAR GRIT X2 PRO
\"You can't be anything other than impressed with the GPS, whose design is one of the significant changes to the V3\"
