11^th Isklar Norseman Xtreme Triathlon 2013

On the eve of the 11^th Isklar Norseman Xtreme lighting and gale force winds battered Eidfjord. At 5am after a 3am alarm call the competitors jumped off back of a ferry into choppy glacial fed fjord. The swim was slow for everyone, not just me thankfully. It was cold but manageable and 254 athletes headed for the fire lit beacon on the shore. T1 was a blur... Although my race support, my wife - Mette Anderson was invaluable and dispatched me swiftly!

The 40km climb from Eidfjord through the mountain was breathtaking and allowed me to hit a rhythm. Its was only on the climb towards the Geilo Alpine ski resort that light rain gave way to a ferocious headwind, torrential rain, hail stones, thunder, lightning and a thick fog throughout the cycle that made for the toughest bike course I've ever raced. Credit to those who made it to T2

 Arriving in Rjukan with just Zombie hill, a 12km ascent and then a further 5km rough trail climb to the summit of Gaustatoppen, we were fortunate that there was a change in the weather. All the competitors took strength from this and pushed hard for the finish. It’s an epic climb and the Hardangervidda plateau is one of the beautiful places I've ever been to. It’s an amazing feeling to summit and receive the black T shirt. This really is an iconic race.

The last 5KM

The unfortunate outcome of the days lighting strikes was to disable the internal cable car which is normally used to transport finished athletes down from the top of Gaustatoppen. This meant we all had to hike an additional 5k off the mountain once we had finished.

The Summit of Gaustatoppen

This really is the most 'EXTREME' race that ive ever done...I felt wounded and broken on completion. Despite this…. time will tell, but maybe it won’t be the last time I visit Norway!

 Swim -1.08 hrs Bike - 6.58 hrs Run - 5.35 hrs Total -13.47 hrs