What's a deca-Ironman? It's a triathlon. Swim + bike + run. But a deca-Ironman is a long one. A very very very long one. It's the euivalent of swimming accross the Channel () followed by more than 1000 miles on a bike (), and then 10 marathons, that is more than 0,5 million steps ().
Imagine...
...after a good day swimming (760 laps in a 50m olympic pool), you start cycling. 980 laps on a ring which is barely over one mile. Every 5 minutes you start again, yet another lap. Once this is over, there are still 223 laps to run, on the same track, in the other way.
A few figures :
- Swim : 38 km
- Bike : 1 800 km
- Run : 422 km
- World record : 8 days
- Time limit : 14 days
The classical Hawaï Ironman, is 3,8km, then 180km and finally 42km. Monterrey is just 10 times longer. The « deca » in Monterrey, Mexico, in November is the longuest regular race officially recorded in the calendar of ultra-triathlon races. In 2010, there will even be a "double deca". Same place, same date.
(*) well, not quite. The Channel, the real one, is harder, with cold, waves, tankers, salt, oil and jellyfish. I checked that out.
(**) with the noticeable difference that in races such as the « Tour de France », racers can rest in a comfortable Hotel every night. Not here. In a « deca », the clock is always running, if you sleep, you loose time.
(***) « half » a million. Looks like this is an event for « half » athletes ;)