Master List of Epic Races
Hey team,
I've been keeping a list of epic races that I'd be potentially interested in tackling one day as I come across them. These would be more that the standard Ironman, ultra, or cycling event with something that makes them especially challenging. Let's create a master list that perhaps can be turned into a wiki entry.
In no particular order, here are my lists...
Extreme Triathlons / Multisport Events
This list is probably the most incomplete because I have the least interest in doing standalone cycling events.
What races would you add to the list?
I've been keeping a list of epic races that I'd be potentially interested in tackling one day as I come across them. These would be more that the standard Ironman, ultra, or cycling event with something that makes them especially challenging. Let's create a master list that perhaps can be turned into a wiki entry.
In no particular order, here are my lists...
Extreme Triathlons / Multisport Events
- Ultraman Triathlon. A three day stage-race style triathlon. Held in Florida, Hawaii, and Australia. Ultraman Canada became Ultra520k Canada.
- Epic 5 Challenge. 5 Ironman distance events on each of the 5 Hawian Islands in 5 days.
- Norseman Xtreme Triathlon. Ironman distance with an icy swim and mountain climb for the run.
- Alaskaman Extreme Triathlon. Ironman distance with potentially cold swim and run finish climbing 4,000ft up a mountain.
- Wilderman Off-Road Ironman. Tough looking MTB ride with river crossings and a bushwhack of a run. Iron and half-iron distances.
- Doxa Threelay. This is a 36 leg triathlon in Utah that is usually done by teams but can be done solo.
- The Leadman. Complete 5 of the Leadville races culminating in the MTB 100 and Trail Run 100.
- Florida Extreme Triathlon. 3-day triathlon from coast to coast of Florida.
- Celtman. Triathlon through the Scottish highlands with a cold water swim in a loch and run over two mountains.
- Swissman. A point to point race starting in the southern part of Switzerland, leading over three mountain passes to the central part of Switzerland and finishing with a final climb in the heart of Switzerland just at the bottom of the massive mountain backdrop of the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau. More than 15,000ft of vertical.
- Austria Xtreme Triathlon. Patterned on Norseman, Celtman, and Norseman. Has more than 15,000ft of vertical.
- The Brutal Extreme Triathlon. Half, full, double, and triple Iron distance with 2,500ft of climbing per 29 mile loop on the bike and the run finishes by ascending the tallest mountain in Wales.
- Alpineman Xtreme Triathlon. Similar to Norseman. In Slovenia.
- Canada Man Xtreme Triathlon. Similar to above with 2500m of climbing on the bike and 1200m of climbing ont he run up to Mont-Mégantic Observatory.
- Savageman 70.0. One of the toughest half-iron distance races with over 6,000ft of climbing on the bike and 1,300ft on the run.
- Challenge Iceland. Half-iron distance with cold water swim and over 3,500ft of climbing on the bike.
- St George Ironman 70.3. Arguably the toughest Ironman-branded 70.3 with over 3,500ft of climbing on the bike and 1,200ft on the run in often extreme weather, ranging from 90F temps to monsoon rain and winds. In my opinion, every long course triathlete, especially those in the western US, should do this race.
- Ironman Wales and Ironman Lanzarote. Arguably the toughest Ironman-branded 140.6 races. Alternatively ranked 1st and 2nd.
- Xterra Maui. World championship for Xterra but general entry slots are available. The toughest triathlon Al Truscott has ever done, which is saying alot.
- American Zofingen. Duathlon with trail running and road biking.
- Powerman Zofingen. The original, the unequaled, the unparalleled, baddest ass duathlon in the world.
- SOS Triathlon. The original bike, run, swim, run, swim, run, swim, run event.
- Uberman Triathlon. Swim the Catalina Channel, bike 400 miles from LA to the start of the Badwater run, and then do the Badwater run. Absolutely insane.
- The Grand Sam of Ultrarunning by completing the Vermont 100 Mile Endurance Run, the Leadville Trail 100 Mile Run, the Wasatch Front 100 Mile Endurance Run, and Western States 100 Mile Endurance Run all in the same year. Any one of these is epic by themselves.
- Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc (also referred to as UTMB) considered one of the most prestigious 100-milers in the world.
- Hardrock 100 in Colorado with over 65,000ft of vertical. Considered by many to be the most difficult 100-miler.
- 200 mile ultras including Big Foot 200, Tahoe 200, and Moab 200 (actually 234 miles).
- Marathon des Sables six-day, 154-mile stage race through the Sahara desert.
- Badwater Ultramarathon. 135 miles from the lowest point in the US in Death Valley to the top of Whitney Portal.
- The Spartathalon that covers the 153-mile course from Athens to Sparta that Greek messenger Pheidippedes ran.
- H.U.R.T. 100 through the sultry jungle of Hawaii.
- The Barkley Marathons. Only 15 finishers have completed it since 1995.
- Antarctica Marathon. Arguably the most remote race on this list. Run a marathon on the dirt roads between the base stations in weather around 10F.
- Mustang Trail Race. 8 stage race. Per Al, "These folks *run* up and down a totally desolate and isolated section of Nepal north of Annapurna, at altitude from 9000-14,000' feet. No roads, just trails. 25% grades are common."
- Infinitus 888k Ultrarun with 240hr cut off.
- Fell Running 24-Hour Challenge such as the Bob Graham Round. Fell running is big in the UK and is basically running off road where significant climbing is involved. The goal of the rounds is to hit a set number of peaks, usually upwards of 40, within 24 hours.
- Epic 5 Run. Five 50k runs in five days on each of the five Hawaiian islands.
This list is probably the most incomplete because I have the least interest in doing standalone cycling events.
- Leadville MTB 100. The race across the sky.
- Lotoja, or Logan, UT to Jackson, WY. Over 200 miles of road riding in a single day.
- Tushar Crusher in the Tushar Mountains of UT. 70 miles with over 10,000ft of elevation gain on mixed surfaces. Can be done with a cyclocross bike or MTB.
- Tour Divide. 2700 miles down the Rockies.
- Race Across America. The name says it all.
- Double Triple Bypass in CO. 2 x 120 miles/20,000' gain.
- Markleeville Death Ride in CA. 129 mi/15,000'.
- RAMROD. Ride Around Mt Rainier in One Day 160 miles/10000'.
- RAW / Race Across the West. Race Across The West from San Diego to Durango on the RAAM route, same concept.
- Seattle to Portland. The one day version. 210 miles, 5400' elevation gain, and most often a head wind.
- La Vuelta. 375 miles around Puerto Rico in 3 days
What races would you add to the list?
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Then consider adding shorter events that are known for their challenge. E.g., St Croix 70.3 if this wasn't the last year. SavageMan and Challenge Iceland are other possibilities.
Duathlon: American Zofingen, and its Swiss progenitor
Triathlon: Xterra on Maui. The hardest tri I've ever done - way more devastating than St George 70.3.
Cycling: Double Triple Bypass in CO (2 x 120 miles/20,000' gain) , Markleeville Death Ride in CA (129 mi/15,000'). RAMROD (Ride Around Mt Rainier in One Day 160 miles/10000'). RAW (Race Across The West San Diego to Durango on the RAAM route, same concept)
And, to earn eternal icon status, this event:
http://mustangtrailrace.com
I trekked the route last year. These folks *run* up and down a totally desolate and isolated section of Nepal north of Annapurna, at altitude from 9000-14,000' feet. No roads, just trails. 25% grades are common.
I'd love to do all of these! The Antarctica Marathon and Mustang Trail Race especially look like true bucket list races.
Interesting about Xterra Maui. I have a few friends who've done it, and they all said it was tough. I thought Xterra Utah was probably pound for pound the toughest tri I've done with a nearly continuous MTB climb of around 3000ft up to Snowbasin and then starting the run by charging up the ski slopes. Maui would have high WAF, so good chance I'll do it in the next few years.
note that the American Zofingen run course is single track & gravel carriage roads, the bike is on paved roads with a short gravel section.
add the sea2summit triathlon in Maine/NH - swim in an estuary of the Atlantic in the AM & summit Mt Washington after a 92 mile bike with a 2000' net gain included in the 5000' of climbing
Sorry Gabe - you aren't allowed to enter American Zofingen without FIRST putting Powerman Zofingen on the list ... the original, the unequaled, the unparalleled, baddest ass duathlon in the world. I came back with 2 stress fractures and a torn muscle when I did it. Powerman Zofingen is what Al was telling you when he mentioned AmZof's "Swiss progenitor".
http://www.uberman1.com/#our-story-1
Infinitus 888k Ultrarun with 240hr cut off
http://www.endurancesociety.org/infinitus.html
Here's the website for Alpineman, it belongs on the list: http://www.alpinemanxtri.com/index.php/en/
For cycling, think about La Vuelta - 375 miles around Puerto Rico in 3 days. I am entered for Jan 2018 and will write a report about it afterwards: http://www.vueltapr.com/
One question that occurred to me: what is considered the toughest Ironman-branded 140.6? IM Lanzarote?
@Scott%20Dinhofer my bad, I wasn't sure what a carriage road was since that's not really a thing on the west coast. I'll fix it. I love Sea2Summit! I remembered you and Tim doing it but couldn't remember the name.
@Paul Hough I wasn't sure what race Al was referring to -- thanks for the clarification. Powerman Zofingen sounds like a monster! La Vuelta sounds epic too!
@tim cronk Wow, those are just beyond epic! I can't imaging swimming from Catalina Island, biking to the start of Badwater, and then running Badwater. Are you considering it?
@Mariah Bridges I love it, mix some adrenaline in with your endorphins!
@Mark Maurer one of my buddies has done that and said it was super tough. I thought it was Portland to Seattle? Is there a another race?
Trirating.com says IM Wales is the hardest with IM Lanzerote the second hardest of Ironman-branded fulls.
IronIndex.com says IM Lanzarote is the hardest with IM Wales the second hardest.
Judging by the number of finishers in the senior age groups, it appears to me that TriRating is correct and IM Wales is toughest. E.g,. 7 finishers in M65 at Lanzarote this month while Wales has never had more than 2. Also 2 finishers in M70 at Lanzarote this year while IM Wales has never had even 1.
http://stories.strava.com/the-fells?utm_source=strava-app&utm_medium=dorado&utm_campaign=2016_Blog_Posts&utm_content=FellRunning
I'll add this to the master list.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fell_running#24-hour_challenges
Surprised I'd never heard of SkyRunning Association. Even more surprised they don't have a race in Utah, since they are sponsored by Altra which is a Utah company.
A similar type of race with big vertical is the Speadgoat 50k at Snowbird, UT that has almost 15,000ft of vertical. The finish times are usually in line with 50-milers. It's on my bucket list of races, especially since it's 20 minutes from my home. Just haven't been able to make it work with my schedule.
http://karlmeltzer.com/speedgoat-50k/
check out the video.. http://rednewtracing.com/BreakneckPoint/Media
http://www.caxtri.com/description_eng.html
*A 3.8 km swim on Lac Mégantic, starting at dawn;
@Scott%20Dinhofer that looks badass!
@Francis Picard looks like another challenging Xtreme triathlon. You should do it! I've added it to the list.
I got an email that Epic 5 now has an event where you run five 50ks in five days on each of the five Hawaiian islands. I'd personally be more interested in this than the Epic 5 triathlon. It just seems a shame to only spend a day on each island. Added to the master list.
Please consider making the list a Wiki article for EN. I'd love to see more and more ENer "doing cool shit with their fitness vehicle," to quote Rich. Perhaps it could be a challenge for third year ENers to pick something off the list.