This is still a unique racing model in the world of triathlon and race director, Ian Adamson was just the right guy to bring this racing concept to triathlon. My first observation driving into the transition area at 5am on Saturday was -- WOW -- this event has grown tremendously since 2006 when Em and I raced the first running of the event. That race had less than 50 racers and only a 24-hour division. Last year, the event numbers jumped up to nearly 200 racers and included a NBC filming crew that produced a 30-minute race broadcast as part of the Jeep World of Adventure show. This year, the event reached max capacity at over 250 racers and the parking lot was filled with trailers, RV's, tents, sponsor vendors, a small expo, and a huge rock concert-style stage from Suzuki - the presenting sponsor. The race was officially pimped out!
We had some last minute shuffling on our team, but in the end, it included Steven Waite - an Australian who was part of the winning 3-person team last year, myself - fresh off Ironman Canada last Sunday, and John Gaudette - our pure runner who we considered our wildcard. Even though we had never met one another before the race, we were each motivated to win and take home the $3,000 prize purse for the winning team.
The race started with a mass start swim and the first triathlon was required to be completed in swim, bike, run order. After that first triathlon was complete, each team employed their own strategy to complete the most swim, bike and run legs in the allotted 24 hour time limit. The distances were each 1/10 of Ironman distance (.24-mile swim, 11.2-mile bike, and 2.62-mile run) and the goal was to complete as many legs in each discipline while maintaining equal parts (see race site: for a further explanation).
As I was still in major cramp mode from Canada, my strategy was simple: avoid running for as long as possible. To make matters worse, Steven has been suffering from stress fractures in his legs and was unable to run. We would be relying solely on our young whippet, John Gaudette - a 22 year-old up and coming marathoner we had never met or heard of. I'll be brief and say that John did not disappoint, running a total of 23 of our 26 run legs for over 59-miles of running (I completed the remaining three runs for 7.8-miles of running)!!
Steven and I are both handy cyclists and completed 291-miles of cycling over our 26 legs and 6.50-miles of swimming over 27 legs (we had one extra swim).
It was satisfying to complete the 24-hours and capture the overall win for the 3-person relay team. There was a $3,000 prize purse to our team for winning - which we split evenly amongst the three of us. It was definately a motivator to keep pushing on during the night time hours (riding and running in the dark).
I felt we were under prepared with real food at our transition site, but luckily it didn't have too much of an effect. The race did have coolers of Gu2O and Larabars for snacked and hydrating but one of my saving graces that brought me out of some severe cramping was a bag of Boulder Salt & Vinegar potato chips that Steven gave me to eat. The salt was just was I needed to loosen up my muscles.
One of our best strategies was to implement the NormaTec - Puffy Pants - into our recovery phase between events. With only one athlete racing at any given time, we always had one of the other two team members hooked up and using the Puffy Pants to aid in recovery. This worked wonders as it pumped out the building lactic acid, freshened up the legs, and also served as a bit of a warm-up before heading back onto the course.
Official results are posted now on the 24 HOT site: .
Our team - Team Retul - completed 26 complete tris for a total of 365-miles. Being a savvy marketer, Ian has been applying to the Guiness Book of World Records (GBWR) to officially have our new world record for total triathlons completed in a 24-hour period, added into the 2008 addition. That would be so cool as my parents can attest the GBWR was always my favorite X-mas present as a kid growing up.
I would recommend this race to anyone who wants a challenge greater than an Ironman or wants to race in this unique team setting. It is so cool to have teammates that are depending on your effort. There is no bigger motivator!
Now it's time for a few weeks of rest! Yesterday morning I was so tired that I couldn't even shut my eyes. But, I did eat a huge breakfast at The Kitchen with Tim Carlson. I had Egg's Benedict, Toast, OJ, a Lamb Burger, and a huge side portion of fries. After a quick four hours of sleep that afternoon, I went with Gavin (who just flew back to Oz today), Leon, Crowie, Stephen Packett (which is how you pronounce "Hackett" according to Crowie's girl Lucy), Neri, Katie, Barney and Hadley. Good times, and more good eats. In honor of Gavin's last night in town, we made a few stops around town for a few brewskies and margaritas! A great way to celebrate a tough two weeks of racing.
Until next time,
Lars
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