Four years ago to the day I competed in the toughest most grueling Ironman Distance Triathlon in the world 🌎, the Norseman Extreme Triathlon. Many people ask me simply why I would want to do this race and it came down to a dare of the ultimate endurance challenge. At the time I didn’t even know about it. My friend said ‘You think you’re tough, try this Norseman race.’” What makes the race so unique is its intimidating combination of extreme weather and terrain—but also the originality in which the race is set in the middle of Norway 🇳🇴 about 3 hours outside Oslo. At 5AM they take you out on a ferry and you jump off in the middle of a fjord. It’s in the middle of the glacier, so it’s around 40 degrees 🥶 It’s cold. Once in the water there are no buoys on the course, so they drop you in the middle of the fjord and they start the race with the only marker on the swim course being a massive bonfire on the beach about 2.4 miles away from shore. After roughly an hour and 20 minutes in the freezing 🥶 water I transitioned into 45 degree winds and rains for his 112-mile bike ride up and down five massive peaks that totaled 17,000 vertical feet of climbing with mountain grades of accent being 10-15%. I had never seen anything like it and it was totally insane. Once on the bike you’re hot and cold; it’s very extreme. Every time you go up, you’re getting hot, you’re working really hard. And then you come down, and you get cold. With my volunteer support crew involving my father, Nito Simonsen, and Hans Rasmussen driving by his side, providing food, water and changes of clothes, Jack completed the 112-mile bike ride and began his transition into the full marathon ahead of him. Being 6’3 and nearly 220lbs I suffered from exhaustion on the bike on the climbs and was frozen in transition when it came down to change for the full marathon. I finished the race in place 176 out of 250 and was awarded the ‘white’ shirt and about 40min just out of being allowed up the rest of the mountain for the coveted ‘black’ finisher shirt. This would prove to be the single hardest day of endurance training in my entire life and I’m proud to be a Norseman #nxtri finisher. (at Zalaris Norseman Xtreme Triathlon) https://www.instagram.com/p/CSaSngGpkNH/?utm_medium=tumblr