You’ll Never Walk Alone! Why I admire my co-runner and MTI2 colleague Jorne Valstar…

Checked in today at SWISSMAN Xtreme Triathlon with my colleague Jorne Valstar . Swissman is an extreme point-to-point long-distance triathlon. It is the Swiss edition of the XTRI? World Tour AS . Distances are the same as IronMan but the bike and the run are on steep uphill courses in the Alps, a total of 5500 altitude meters, with extreme weather conditions ?? on mountain passes and running up a ski piste in the last 10k.I previously finished the Swedish one (Swedeman) and the Italian one (ICON Livigno). These races always remind me of how essential a team is.

While it is an individual time trial race, you cannot enter without a supporter/co-runner. In one of the pictures ??, you can see Jorne and me registering (you cannot even register alone!!). The supporter/co-runner is up for a grueling day that equals the one of the athletes.

This is how Jorne’s day will look on Saturday:

?? 1 am: Alarm and try to eat something.

?? 3 am: Pick up Stefan at his hotel and go to the race start.

?? 3.30 am: Ensure Stefan is on the boat to the start location in the middle of Lake Maggiore for a 5 am start.

?? 3.30 am-6 am: Prepare transition zone Swim to Bike. Do one last gear check.

?? 6.20 am-6.30 am: Help Stefan exit the water and get him on his bike in one piece. Check food and water intake.

?? 6.30 am-4 pm: Travel 180 km in a van and every 10-15 km make transition zone. Keep a log of food and fluid intake, ensuring optimal fueling. Track the performance and ensure on-time arrival at each checkpoint so we make all cut-off points.

?? 4 pm: Park the van at Transition Zone 2 from bike to run. Set up transition with a run bag for Stefan, but also dress up for the run himself. Put on his running shoes, and get ready the self-support run bags.

?? 4.10 pm: We start the run together. 42.195 km. The first 30km are relatively flat (to Swiss standards). Then we make the final medical checkpoint (we have to reach before 10 pm). And then we start the steep ascent to the finish line at Kleine Scheidegg, approximately 2000 meters above our starting point.

?? 9 pm-midnight: between 20 and 23 hours after we started our journey together, we hopefully cross the finish line together with our hands joined up in the air, claiming victory over Swissman.

Jorne is an all-star athlete and colleague.

• First, he is a better athlete than I am (surround yourself with people better than you!). He beat my personal records on the half marathon, on the marathon, and the half Iron Man.
• Second, he is always positive and always supportive.
• Third, he is a high achiever. Even in the practice swim ??♂? on Thursday, he tracked his time, tried to chase me, and beat me (of course he did!).

Thus, while being a little intimidated by what awaits us on Saturday (if you want to cheer us on, leave comments below …??), I know I will have the best co-runner and support with me of all time: Jorne Valstar ??

Moreover, Jorne is not alone, I will be joined by my awesome xtri coach Joris Buyl (Belgian champion long distance open water swimming), and I have been prepared by my awesome trainer Angelo Vandecasteele Dewa Sport . Also coming out of Venice Half Iron Man with an injury in April, I had a quick rebound thanks to the excellent work of Dr. Jens De Decker and Dr. Emmanuel Koole. Last but far from least the excellent physio work of Jonathan Kraaye of the Lab (the Antwerp-based revalidation center of top athletes such as Remco Evenepoel and Wout Van Aert).

In sum, you can never walk alone if you are ambitious. Other people are front and center to what you do and can achieve. And that does mean picking the best there are and preferably ones that are better than you.

If you would like to get a feeling of what Swissman is like, check out this video (the first few minutes will be enough ??)

#triathlon #team #teamwork #lifestyle #swissman #extremetriathlon