Ironman professional triathlete Hilary Biscay is set to got long...very long...by taking on the ultimate triathlon...The Ultraman.
“I’ve been intrigued by the idea of Ultraman for some time and I was looking for a new challenge this year,” says the Tuscon, Arizona based Biscay. “I had the chance to check out the Ultraman course following a summer training camp in Kona and decided I didn’t want to wait any longer to have a crack at this race.”
Set over 3 days, Ultraman is a 320 mile Triathlon set on the Big Island of Hawaii. This longest of triathlons is certainly not for the faint hearted and includes:
Day 1 kicks off with a 6.2 mile (10km) ocean swim from Kailua Bay to Keauhou Bay before jumping on the bike for a 90 mile (145k) cross country ride with a staggering vertical climb of a total of 7,600 feet.
Day 2 is an additional 171.4 mile (276km) bike ride with a vertical climb of a grand total of 8,600 feet.
Day 3 Not one but instead a double Marathon of 52.4 miles (84.6 km) from Hawi to Kawaihae.
"I learned that I can get stronger every day throughout a smashfest like this," Biscay writes on her blog. "Now I will just keep building on our little extreme training camp back home in Tucson until we head over to the Big Island in four weeks. I am now more excited than ever.”
After 43 Iron distance finishes, which included a win at Wisconsin in 2008 after racing Louisville a week earlier, as well as a back to back races at Roth and Lake Placid, Biscay's pedigree stands her in good stead to take on the field of invited only former finishers. These Ultramen and Ultrawomen include Shanna Armstrong, Jason Lester, and of course ouw friend Rich Roll. The Ultraman racers hail from such countries as Australia, Canada, Germany and Japan. The Ultraman race is scheduled for November 26-28th.
Biscay just returned from Moab, Utah where she spent 3 days running the trails in Canyonlands National Park with fiance (and two time Ironman winner Maik Twelsiek).
Hilary writes on on her blog, "This little three-day run extravaganza was a perfect rehearsal for my first stage race: go to bed exhausted, wake up tired and sore and wondering how I will do it all over again, and run through it!"
* Our British Bureau chief, Danny Ward, filed the story.
Follow on twitter @everymantri or view latest videos on YouTube.
