Endurancelife X-Tri 24

The X Man Cometh

Ian Grace – Team Endurancelife / 27.07.2012

The 99 brave souls who entered the choppy waters at Eastbourne on Friday 13^th July had a 24 hr adventure ahead of them.

The Endurancelife X-Man extreme triathlon (XTRI24) consisted of a nearly a full distance Ironman, but for the first time it was going to be off road! Endurancelife miles are known to be slightly different to normal miles and the event comprised a 2.4mile sea swim along the Eastbourne coastline, a 100mile MTB ride along the South Downs Way (at night) from Eastbourne to Winchester and then a 28 mile mixed terrain run from Winchester to Salisbury along the Clarendon and Monarch way.

The logistics of point to point racing meant that it was necessary to arrive at the end point of the race around noon for the coach transport to the start of the race, some 130miles away. As the rain began we loaded up our bikes in the bike trailer and boarded the coach for the 3hr drive. It was going to be a long day!

On arrival at the Event base in Eastbourne, the Endurancelife team had a large marquee set and all was ready for registration, bike racking and race briefing. Gary outlined the nature of the race – Hard and Gruelling and the rules that participants were to be self-sufficient (apart from Water) throughout the race.

We were given a time limit of 24hrs to complete the challenge, and those that made it within the time limit, were to be awarded a finishers black hoodie. Similar to the Norseman, only those up to the challenge get the prize! Those outside the time limit would go away with the thrill and excitement of having completed a seriously hard challenge and a nice Enduranclife technical T shirt!

The wind that was creating nice 1.5m swells had not abated and as we all boarded the tourist trains to the start 2 miles down the coast line spectators and bemused tourists waved us off. As we waited for the start, the local Morris dancing troupe provided a couple of dances to keep us occupied. The swells had not abated and the decision was made to cut the swim a little short with the exit being just before Eastbourne pier.