Stacey & I did this one last year. Stacey was silly enough to go back again with only 8 weeks training under her belt. For anyone who does not know Norseman, it's not like the Dot.com Ironman series. You don't have support, apart from what you provide yourself. We took 3 athletes plus Stacey and they all made Black, two of them in particular because of the level of support.
This one starts by leaping off a ship into a Norwegian fjiord, to swim 3800m, then the first climb on the bike is around 1500m with four other climbs not quite so high, but they add up.
The finale for the run is great, between 25km and 42km you climb 1800m, yes nearly twice the height of Snowdon in the last 17km of an Ironman. You also have to take lights, food and warm clothes for the final 5km part of the climb, incase the mist comes in, or like at the end last year, it snows (great weather for August)
At the end you either get a Black T shirt, which means you succeeded, a white t shirt, that means you tried but where not fast enough, or a dnf which I'm never sure whether that is better or worse than the white t shirt.
If you are really, really mad and achieve 5 black t shirts, then you get a green t shirt. The first ever lady got one this year. Stacey still needs three more, so I guess we are going back. If she makes it each year she will be the 5th woman ever to achieve it, if the people infront of her keep going.
Watch the video and see what you think.
http://www.youtube.com/nxtri
230 athletes started this year and to be honest you have to be pretty hard to turn up, so it tends not to be fools. 176 got Black, 40 got white, 14 pulled out.
One guy I was chatting to afterwards did a double Ironman last year, but only got the white t shirt.
As my 'cave diving' friends says, 'if your not hard, you shouldn't be here!'
Brian
Norseman Extreme Ironman
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Amanda Vipond
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