Xtreme triathlon
Extreme (or Xtreme) Triathlon refers to a type of triathlon competition where competitors race over distances broadly equivalent to those of an Ironman triathlon (3.8k swim, 180k bike, 42k run). They are by definition held over more extreme courses and potentially more extreme conditions due to the remote locations and large elevation changes.
The original Extreme Triathlon was the Norseman Xtreme Triathlon first held in 2003. Many other races have followed on from this and in 2012 the concept of "AllXTRI was launched" as a global brand that encompassed Norseman along with Celtman and Swissman. This evolved into what is now known as the XTRI World Tour® although many other non-affiliated races of similar format exist around the world, falling under the general term of extreme triathlon. In 2019 Norseman hosted the first XTRI® World Championship which athletes are eligible for by qualification at the previous year's XTRI World Tour® races.
The number of participants is limited to 250 and some races operate a ballot entry system due to high demand for slots. Many athletes have tried and failed to gain entry to some races over many years. These small numbers allow races to be held in remote and inaccessible locations which is a defining characteristic of extreme triathlon.
Races are predominantly "unsupported" so competitors need to have personal back up crews that support them with cars to provide them with food and drink. The support crews also often need to accompany their competitor on any potentially dangerous mountain sections. During these sections, competitors are often required to carry a backpack containing emergency food and clothing should the weather change.
Course formats[]
One of the defining aspects of extreme triathlon is that the courses are typically far more challenging than a typical Ironman/ long distance and can be longer.
Swims often incorporate colder water temperatures than would not be permitted in a normal race and the smaller number of competitors allows swims to be conducted from much more remote or inaccessible locations including deep water starts accessed by boats and challenging point to point courses.
The cycle sections can be in excess of 200k to fit remote roads and may contain several thousand meters of ascent. They are frequently point to point and participants require a support team to follow them throughout.
Extreme triathlon runs can vary in length. Whilst the Norseman course has been officially accredited as marathon distance, other courses may be a little less or more. They all have a large component of often challenging and technical off road running with some courses being almost entirely off road. They also typically have a large amount of elevation gain, sometimes more than the cycle sections and a number have mountain finishes.
Extreme triathlon communities & activities[]
Many extreme triathlon races created Facebook groups to allow their athletes to plan and discuss races. Some of these are relatively open format, and some set up with a closed audience related to specific athletes in specific years.
In late 2019, a 'Global Extreme Triathlon Forum' Facebook group and 'Global Extreme Triathlon Club' on Strava were also set up to create a community across all extreme triathlon races worldwide, and also help nurture aspiring athletes. This has been successfully growing ever since.
COVID in 2020 impacted races globally. All early extreme triathlon races were cancelled or postponed, but some later races managed to convene due to their format of being small in more remote locations. In this backdrop, Norseman and also the XTRI World Tour® created MyXTRI® virtual challenges where athletes completed 'events' wherever they could, or on Zwift (or similar) if unable to get outside.
World Championship in Extreme Triathlon[]
The "Grand Finale" of Extreme Triathlon, or the XTRI® World Championship takes place at Norseman each August. Every official XTRI® World Tour race is a qualifier for the championship, giving 4 slots (1st 2 male, 1st 2 female) to be on the start line in Eidfjord.
World Rankings[]
The current Extreme Triathlon World rankings for 2021 are as follows:
WOMEN:
1. Julie ASPESLETTEN - NOR
2. Flora COLLEDGE - GBR
3. Dominique LOTHALLER - AUT
MEN:
1. Jon Sæverås BREIVOLD - NOR
2. Kristian GRUE - NOR
3. Allan HOVDA - NOR
[1]
Trademarks[]
The terms "XTRI" and derivatives and SOLO POINT FIVE are owned by XTRI World Tour AS, Norway. These terms are not a generic descriptions of Extreme, or Xtreme triathlon but are registered and protected trademarks.
Active Race catalogue[]
| Race | Status | Distance | Org | Ascents (mtrs) | Country | Extras / Mythical feature(s) | Established | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alps Man | Active | Full & Half | Independent | 5600 |  France |
"Le Tournant" Bell High Route Cutoff | 2016 | |
| Altriman | Active | Full | Independent | 6320 | France |
Port de Pailhères (12km @ 9%) | 2015? | |
| Amazigh XTRI® | Active | Full | XTRI World Tour Prospect | 2930 |  Morocco |
2022 | ||
| Austria eXtreme | Active | Full | Extreme Triathlon Series | 5786 |  Austria |
Styrian snowfield run | 2015 | |
| Aurlandsfjellet(AxTri) | Active | Half | Independent | 4200 |  Norway |
2011 | ||
| Bearman XXL | Active | Full | Independent | 6175 | France |
Bear Chair finish photo. | 2017 | 8848m option for Bears. |
| Ben Nevis Braveheart | Active | Half | Independent | 1970 |  Scotland |
Highest summit in UK. | 2017 | |
| Blacklake XTRI® | Active | Full | XTRI World Tour | 5800 |  Montenegro |
Immortals Wall, 2 lake swim, bike over Worlds 2nd deepest gorge. | 2019 | |
| Brutal | Active | Full | Independent | 4350 |  Wales |
They do multiples! | 2012 | |
| Canadaman XTRI® | Active | Full | XTRI World Tour | 4000 |  Canada |
Mt Megantic Observatory finish | 2017 | |
| CELTMAN! XTRI® | Active | Full | XTRI World Tour | 3769 | Scotland |
Cold jellyfish swim, Beinn Eighe Ridge | 2012 | |
| Cheaha | First 2022 | Full | Independent | 4570 |  USA, Alabama |
Mt. Cheaha "The High Place" | 2022 | New race, launching 2022. |
| Diablak Beskid | Active | Full,1/2 | Independent | 6200 |  Poland |
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| EagleXMan | Active | Full, 1/2 | Independent | 6300 |  Italy |
Gran Sasso e Monti; Campo Imperatore | 2021 | |
| Estonian Forest | Active | Full, 1/2 | Independent | 2600 |  Estonia |
180km Gravel/MTB bike (flat country!) | 2021 | |
| Evergreen | TBC | Full | Independent | 7850 | France |
Chamonix Skyline | 2015 | |
| Fodaxman XTRI® | Active | Full | XTRI World Tour | 4700 |  Brazil |
Serra do Rio do Rastro switchbacks | 2019 | |
| Formosa XTRI® | Active | Full | XTRI World Tour | 6840 |  Taiwan |
2019 | ||
| Greek Hero | Active | Full | XTRI World Tour Prospect | 5100 |  Greece |
2020 | ||
| Grimm Extreme | Active | Full | Independent | c4000 |  Germany |
Cross old Iron Curtain | 2020 | |
| Grizzlyman | Active | Full | Independent | 6300 |  Czech |
205km bike | 2019 | |
| HardaSuka Ultimate | Active | Full | Independent | 8000 | Poland |
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| HelveticMan | Active | Half | Independent | 4150 |  Switzerland |
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| HimalayanXtri® | First 2022 | Full | XTRI World Tour Prospect | 8900 |  Nepal |
Greatest ascents (tied with Triverest) | 2021 | |
| Hispaman XTRI® | Active | Full | XTRI World Tour | 5400 |  Spain |
Castle peninsular swim and Lost Road bike | 2018 | |
| ICON XTRI® | Active | Full | XTRI World Tour | 6200 | Italy |
High altitude swim (1.800 MSL). Stelvio Bike | 2017 | |
| Inferno | Active | 4 stage | Independent | 5500 | Switzerland |
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| Janosik XTRI® | Active | Full | XTRI World Tour | 5800 |  Slovakia |
Midnight swim, Rozstuec climb on run | 2016 | |
| Jurassicman | Active | Full | Indi | 3720 |  England |
2013 | ||
| Karakoram | First 2022 | Full | Independent | 2900 |  Pakistan |
7-8c (2km) swim at 2250m altitude | ||
| Kiwiman | Active | Full | Independent | 4200 |  New Zealand |
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| Knysna Xtreme | Active | Full | Extreme Triathlon Series | 3360 |  South Africa |
Longest extreme tri swim & run | ||
| Lofoten | Active | Full | Independent | 4100 | Norway |
Most northerly extreme tri. Svolvear Harbour swim. | ||
| Mercantourman | Active | Full | Independent | 7300 | France |
2020 | Same area as Cairoman, may be rename? | |
| Norseman XTRI® | Active | Full | XTRI World Tour | 5235 | Norway |
It's Norseman! Ferry jump. Zombie Hill. | 2003 | |
| Olympos-X | Active | Full & Half | Independent | 7050 | Greece |
2017 | ||
| Olympusman | Active | Half/Full | Independent | 2916 |  Cyprus |
Full distance test event 2020. | ||
| Oravaman | Active | Half | Independent | 4750 | Slovakia |
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| Patagonman XTRI® | Active | Full | XTRI World Tour | 3182 |  Chile |
Ferry jump. Finish Bell. | 2018 | |
| Pirene | Active | Full | Extreme Triathlon Series | 6500 | Spain |
Discover the Pyrenees | 2017 | |
| Starvation XTRI® | Active | Full | XTRI World Tour | 5260 | USA, Utah |
Iron Cowboys Race | 2021 | |
| StoneBrixiaMan | Active | Full | Extreme Triathlon Series | 7050 | Italy |
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| Swedeman XTRI® | Active | Full | XTRI World Tour | 4697 |  Sweden |
Swim finish at Waterfall. | 2018 | |
| Swissman XTRI® | Active | Full | XTRI World Tour | 5750 | Switzerland |
Run under a waterfall | 2013 | |
| Tatraman | Active | Half | Independent | 3245 | Norway |
Swim between 2 castles | ||
| ThorXtri | Active | Full | Independent | 2951 | Norway |
Toughest swim! Legendary bike hill. | ||
| TriathlonX Full X | Last 2022 | Full | Independent | 5137 | England |
"Toughest Xtreme" (220 article) | 2015 | |
| TriathlonX Extreme X | Active | Full | Independent | 7336 | England |
"Toughest Xtreme" (220 article) | 2015 | |
| Triverest | Active | Full+ | Independent | 8900 | Switzerland |
Greatest ascents (tied with Himalayan) | ||
| Wataha | Active | Full | Independent | 6200 | Poland |
Mountains of The Wolf | 2021 | |
| Wild Siberia XTRI® | Active | Full | XTRI World Tour | 3600 |  Russia |
2.5k 9c swim in 'Dead Lake' Cheybek-Kohl. | 2020 | |
| Wilderman | Active | Full,1/2 | Independent | 3570 | North Dakota, USA |
Lifejacket on bike & run. Creek crossing. | 2014 | Offroad bike. Gravel or MTB. |
| Winterman | Active | Full | Extreme Triathlon Series | 4700 | Czech Republic |
9 km downstream swim. | 2015 |
SOLO POINT FIVE Race catalogue[]
| Race | Status | Distance | Org | Ascents (mtrs) | Country | Extras / Mythical feature(s) | First Ran | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CELTMAN! XTRI SOLO POINT FIVE™ | Launches 2022 | Half | XTRI World Tour | 3769 | Scotland |
Cold jellyfish swim, Belach na ba | 2022 | |
| BLACKLAKE XTRI SOLO POINT FIVE™ | Launches 2022 | Half | XTRI World Tour | 3100 | Montenegro |
Blacklake and Small Lake | 2022 |
Historic Race catalogue[]
| Race | Status | Distance | Org | Ascents (mtrs) | Country | Extras / Mythical feature(s) | First Ran | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 007 Xtri | On Hold | Full | Independent | c8000 | Germany, Italy and Austria |
Cross three countries! | 2019 | Small test race. 2021 race unlikely. |
| Alaskaman | Ceased | Full | EEE/XTRI World Tour | 2400 | USA, Alaska |
Resurrection Bay, Bear bells, River Hhandtram, Aleyska Ridge | 2017 | Cancelled 2020. |
| Alohaman | Ceased | Full | EEE | TBC | USA, Hawaii |
2019 | Cancelled 2020. | |
| AlpineMan Xtreme | Ceased | Full | Independent | 4900 |  Slovenia |
2016 | One year only | |
| FjordXtreme | Ceased | Full | Independent | 3900 | Norway |
2016 | Held 2016 only. | |
| Iceland | Ceased | Full | Independent | 4179 |  Iceland |
Midnight swim, Volcanoes. | 2019 | |
| KarkonoszMan | Last 2021 | Half | Independent | 2900 | Poland |
2014 | ||
| Manx Xtreme Tri | Ceased | Full | XTRI World Tour Prospect | 3000 | England |
2019 | Test race only. | |
| Oppland (Oxtri) | Ceased | Full | Independent | 2700 | Norway |
2015 |
Other races:
- Ultra Triathlons, i.e. longer than Iron distance - Most are tarmac based. But can be considered extreme with ascents, offroad road and continuous (no overnight stop), e.g. Brutal 2x/3x/5x, Kiwiman 2x, HardaSuka 300
- Israman - Flat tarmac run.
- ThorBeach - Flat bike & run, despite offroad sand dune run.
- Embrunman - Tough bike, but flat run loops in town park.
- Triathlon North Africa - Heat and Desert, but flat and loops.
- Triathlon des Gorges/Pyrenees and Venouxman - Great races but run flat and/or loops
References[]
- ^ www.xtriworldtour.com
External links[]
- Triathlon competitions