Alaskaman™ takes athletes on an epic journey through the cold, crisp, clean waters of Resurrection Bay (2.4mi/3,862m swim), along the beautifully scenic and mountainous passages of the Seward Highway (112mi/180k bike), and up the extreme trails of Mount Alyeska over one of the hardest run courses in the sport (26.2mi/42k run).

With a water temperature around 55°F/13°C, air temperatures ranging from 50°-65°F/10°-18°C, a gain of 4,131'/1,259m on the bike and 5,088'/1,550m on the run, Alaskaman™ will change how you view triathlon.

Nobody sane...

Uh, definitely not me! I'm not a "try"-athlete.

Know a guy from J-town who did it last year - John Bursell

Look at the route maps. I'm in awe that anyone could do this.

I talked to a guy that did this race last year. The racer is the son (in his late-20s) of a friend of mine. He runs triathlons fairly regularly, and he did this race just to see if he could do it. He was one of the few that finished within the allowable time frames, but he did emphatically say that he would never do this race again.

There was a lot of rain the week before the race, so the surface temp of Resurrection Bay dropped almost 10-degrees colder than normal for the race. He said it was brutal!

His wife joined him for the last few miles of the run portion. He said he almost didn't make the final time cutoff, because he was stopping to take selfies with his wife. He did finish, but with only a few minutes to spare.

I'm accepting sponsors...

I think some things should be reserved for the doing before one understands that they can't (or shouldn't, anyway).

[quote=cwh2]I'm accepting sponsors... [/quote

I'm in for a case of Costco light.

Me too...

Oh wait, I thought you said you were already into a case!

I think you're a candidate.

Candidate for what?

An asylum.

You know...

But only obviously.

Carolyn would have loved to try that. Not sure she could finish period, and not in the timeline. But she would have tried. But we are probably almost 10 years past those days... and damn if she didn't get me into duathlons here, since I can't swim... But been years since that too.

You probably would be pretty healthy if you can do crap like that . LOL And a few short up top.

I ran a marathon when I was 22, after 2 months of training. Not nearly enough ramp up, and even at that the time commitment was more than I want to do again. After a little experience with triathlons (that don't compare to this in any way) this summer, I can wrap my head around the idea of the event. The training time required to survive the event sounds... less fun.

PS: A Kirkland case is 48 "beers".

Your point? "hic"

I could finish the bicycle part, I guess. But the rest? I would never make it. Amazing what some people are capable of.

Ironbender, I have a not-very-profound take on “these kinds”of people - Tour De France types, 100-mile racers, the big “tri’s”, SEALS, to be representative, etc, etc. Obviously they need to be in in top, “Olympic-grade” conditioning, and certainly have what ever talent matches the event.

But then they apply something from upstairs that most don’t have — a complete subjugation of pain to the will that will not be denied until the body actually breaks in some way. . Like the English bulldog that clamps his jaws on the bulls throat to be tossed like a rag doll but without one atom of its brain contemplating letting go.

Interesting, crazy-addicted folks.

Yup, Chris to a tee...

Alaskans know how to suffer and some folks like to challenge themselves. Check out the Alaska Mountain Wilderness Classic and the winter Ski Classic. Endurance events have become progressively more challenging over the last 10 years and the best take place in tough environments. My youngest son has completed 11 Ironman events and states that he considers the hot weather events the most difficult.


mike r

"a complete subjugation of pain" sounds so much better than "too dumb to know when it hurts".

Mike, that is impressive!

Watching a number of the Mount Marathon run looneys digging gravel out of their hips, thighs and elbows while waiting for the showers in Seward convinced me that some people just ain't happy till they hurt themselves. Again and again.
There's the AuSable River Canoe Marathon run from Grayling to Oscoda MI.
120 miles of river and 5 portages in 15 hours.

http://www.ausablecanoemarathon.org/

Patient : obesity runs in my family.
Doctor : no you are obese because no one runs in your family.

Classic!

Then there's "if ones dog is too fat," you're not getting enough exercise.

That's truly the biggest challenge in these ultra endurance events. Finding the time to train up.

We just need a Gofundme account to sponsor Chris.