Jason N wrote:
bsmak24 wrote:
I remember reading about that group that did the triple deca ironman (30 ironman races in 30 days), I believe in Italy, a couple of years back. They were all held on the same course, but even then most were working on 3-4 hours sleep. Logistically, just seems very improbable.
Yeah...I can't imagine what it will be like for his support crew. In Italy, it was a very small course with a shit ton of loops. So support crew and race staff could basically sit in a lawn chair all day as racers would pass by every 10 minutes on their bike or run loops. It looks like this endeavor is going to be mostly point to point courses...so his support crew will need to follow him, or leap frog him in order to provide him with aid and make sure he's doing okay. Then when that day's IM is done...they need to drive to the next site. Also factor in that they can't store 50 days worth of supplies for the entire crew in one RV. They will constantly need to make stops for fuel, food, supplies, do laundry (do RVs have built in washer/dryers these days?), etc. I'm guessing the RV will also need maintenance...such as refilling water supplies, emptying the septic tank, etc.
It seems like a huge task not including the actual IMs that need to be done.
First - I wish him well and would be awesome and amazing if he can pull it off....or even a part of it off. There's no downside for him in my opinion.
And I agree - this will be a huge toll on support crew. From just one day's experience (Norseman last year)... I saw how exhausting it can be for a support crew to follow an IM racer, handing food, drink, driving ahead, waiting, etc etc. Even if they want to try to make it easier...follow him... that would be super taxing because the cowboy will be going slow, RV could be blocking traffic, etc. And yeah, that's a lot of miles begging gremlins to come out and mess with things on the RV, etc.
From one day of little rest, full day supporting, my support crew all crashed in exhaustion like I did. I would have to think they will need to cycle people in and out to keep it all fresh and alert.