Here's my version:

1. Three week stage race (Tour, Giro, Vuelta).
2. Sub 8 hour Ironman.
3. Sub 2:10 marathon.
4. Non-stop, unsupported Atlantic swim (3,000 miles, Guy Delage)
5. Around Alone Sailboat Race.
6. Raid Gauloises.
7. Climbing any 8000 meter peak (K2, Everest, Lhotse)
8. Eco Challenge.
9. Marathon Des Sables.
10. Hour record attempt.

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Tom Demerly
The Tri Shop.com

i also wanted to imclude an attempt on an 8000+ meter peak, but something had to give.

tommy

1 2.05 marathon

2 The hour record

3 A Tour

4 Climbing k2, Everest etc

5 Climbing anything that is 5.14 c/d or 15a

6 4 minute mile

7 13 5k 27 10k

8 Swimming the Margaret River, pick an alternative

9 Marathon de Sables

10 Embrun Man

The last 2 are somewhat clutching at staws..........I stand by the first 8 though

The Margaret River in SW Australia?

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"Language most shows a man: Speak, that I may see thee. It springs out of the most retired and inmost parts of us, and is the image of the parents of it, the mind. No glass so mirrors a man's form or likeness so true as his speech." - Ben Jonson, Timber, or Discoveries made upon Men and Matter.

I prefer events or achievements rather than “time-records”:

1. Climbing all the 8000+ peaks
2. Unsupported solo Antarctica crossing
3. Non-stop, unsupported Atlantic swim
4. Eco-challenge
5. Raid Gauloise
6. Idita Impossible
7. Non-stop ballon flight aroud the world
8. Badwater Ultramarathon
9. Marathone des Sables
10. Sailing around the world, nonstop, via the Southern Ocean

I would add this to the list
http://www.ws100.com/
The Western States Endurance Run
100 Miles - One Day
Squaw Valley to Auburn, California
30th Running: June 28 - 29, 2003

The Western States Endurance Run is one of the oldest ultra trail events in the world and certainly one of the most challenging.

The Run is conducted along the Western States Trail starting at Squaw Valley, California, and ending in Auburn, California. The trail ascends from the Squaw Valley floor (elevation 6,200 feet) to Emigrant Pass (elevation 8,750 feet), a climb of 2,550 vertical feet in the first 4½ miles. From the pass, following the original trails used by the gold and silver miners of the 1850’s, runners travel west, climbing another 15,540 feet and descending 22,970 feet before reaching Auburn. Most of the trail passes through remote and rugged territory, accessible only to hikers, horses and helicopters.

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"on your Left"

Here's one to add to the mix...the Fila Tibet TopMarathon. In 1995, The "World's Highest Marathon" was run in Nepal/Tibet at Tugla Lu Pass, at a relatively constant altitude of 17,060'! It's not always that tough, the course location changes, and in 1993, 1994, 1996 and 1998, the course elevation was "only" 14,350'. In 1998, Matt Carpenter set the course record in 2:52:57.

Another tough one is The Wasatch Front 100 Mile Endurance Run held in Utah the first weekend after Labor Day each year. The run stretches from Layton, Utah to The Homestead in Midway, Utah and covers some of the most beautiful scenery the Wasatch Mountains have to offer. There is a cumulative elevation gain of approximately 26,882 feet, as well as a cumulative loss of approximately 26,131 feet throughout the course.

and what about Race Across America ? 5000km in less than 9 days ? from west to east coast. (three time winner Wolfgang Fasching slept less than 10 hours during the race.) http://www.raceacrossamerica.org/

I agree with Eric and Lloyd that there should be a tough 100 mile mountain run in the list. I think Leadville 100 might be toughest? I'd love to try Western States.

Badwater Ultramarathon is a 135-mile midsummer race from the bottom of Death Valley (North America's lowest point, 282 feet below sea level, and also its hottest) to the top of Mount Whitney (at 14,495 feet, the highest point in the Lower 48). It’s 19,000 feet of cumulative elevation gain, with temperatures around 128-degree.



The MARATHON DES SABLES is a foot race, with several heats, free style, and with food self sufficiency over a distance of about 230 Km. Each participant must carry his/her own backpack containing food, sleeping gear and other material.



And Idita Impossible is a 1800 Km race trough Alaska, during winter.



Is that enough for you? :-)))

Swimming the English Channel- 23+ miles (but expect to go 30-40 because of tides), 60 degree water if you're lucky, no wetsuit if you want your swim to be certified

[reply]It's not always that tough, the course location changes, and in 1993, 1994, 1996 and 1998, the course elevation was "only" 14,350'. In 1998, Matt Carpenter set the course record in 2:52:57. [/reply]

Of course, it is easy to go fast when there is no air to provide wind resistance :-)

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Frank,
An original Ironman and the Inventor of PowerCranks

Like TD, I would definitely include the Around Alone race. Spending several weeks alone on a sailboat, manhandling lines, in freezing weather, facing 50-foot breaking waves, a thousand miles from any assistance, with no one else on watch is not my idea of fun.

Still, I think it beats the 17,000 ft marathon mentioned above. A bullet would be a cheaper way to kill myself.

A slightly different take on the thread: here are my favorite performances in each of the three disciplines that make up our sport:

1. Ultra-runner extraordinaire Yiannis Kourous blitzing the 1989 1000K Sydney to Melbourne road race in 5 days, 2 hours, 27 minutes. NOTE: Kourous still holds the world records for 200k, 500k, 500 miles, 1000k, and 24-hour runs. The last was set in 1997 at the age of 41, when he went 188 miles, 1038 yards, an average pace of just over 7:30/mile.

2. Cycling legend Pete Penseyres winning the 1986 RAAM (when it was a much tougher course than those of recent years) at an average speed of 15.4 mph. No one has come within 0.5 mph of that time in the intervening years.

3. Two choices: The woman who recently swam for 27 minutes in the Antacrtic Ocean in nothing but a bathing suit and a regular swim cap. Or a 20-year-old Sheila Taormina setting a world record in the 10,000 meter butterfly (long course) - at 2:34 and a few odds seconds, if I remember correctly. That would mean she held a pace of 1:32/100 meters for the entire distance.

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Lew

Endurance sports leans heavy on the mental side, and so many of these listed events are a string of individual races or have many babysitters along the course.

I'll admit my bias, but I don't see much here that beats the Iditasport Impossible race. In Iditasport, you don't race 6 hours a day, get a massage every night, eat fresh food, get handouts during the race, have spectators or medical support. It's just you versus nature and yourself. You ride/bike/ski until you're exhausted or hypothermic or delirious, bivy a few hours in the snow, and repeat. With bad weather, the 2001 race took 26 days for the bikers and walkers. They made decisions to risk their life, continue on a poorly marked trail, and with little food. They're been two stories of racers being stalked by wolves.

And one more story from the 2001 race...

A friend of mine was riding up the frozen river at 1am with a female racer. The wind was gusting and they had their heads down suffering. He looked up and saw nothing but black. They were riding into open water. He yelled but she couldn't hear with the wind and clothing. He carefully picked up his pace and knocked her off the bike before the ice's edge. They were over 80 miles from the nearest town (of a couple hundred) and temperatures were in the 10F range.

The happy ending is they got married a year later.

What about Ultraman?

I tried to place an emphasis on sports, not events, and on performances in them, not just achievements. That explains the time goals of most of the list.

How about the solo category in the 24 hours of adrenaline mtb series?



You only have to go farther than the guy in second place, but guys like John Stamstead made a big dent in what mtb endurance racing evolved into.



Paul

I haven't done Leadville, but some friends who have say it is indeed a tough one. However, a straw poll I conducted today of some Ultramarathon geek friends concluded that the Hardrock 100 was the toughest. One of those polled has 8 Western States finishes, 4 Leadville's and 4 Wasatch's, and two Hardrocks. He said it was his toughest.

I found this on the website for this year's race:

"The 2003 Hardrock course will be run counter-clockwise - a big loop through the San Juan Mountains of beautiful southwest Colorado: Silverton - Ophir - Telluride - Ouray - Sherman (Lake City) - Silverton, 101.7 miles, 33,000' total elevation gain, 11,186' average elevation, low point 7,680' at Ouray, high point 14,048' at Handies Peak."

That would be the one, JVW's sister swim it I believe.

I think the late great Goran Kropp's bike ride to and subsequent solo ascent of Everest has to make this list. Simply extraterrestrial. RIP, He'll be missed.

MH

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Tech writer/support on this here site. FIST school instructor and certified bike fitter. Formerly at Diamondback Bikes, LeMond Fitness, FSA, TiCycles, etc.
Coaching and bike fit - http://source-e.net/ Cyclocross blog - https://crosssports.net/ BJJ instruction - https://ballardbjj.com/

Okay boys and girls,

If this article is not some kind of freaked out April Fool's joke done a month early, this is the hands down winner: check out the March issue of Trail Runner magazine - there is an article on the marathon running monks of Mt Hiei (sp?) in Japan that will BLOW YOUR MIND. You have to read it to believe-it-or-not; and there is just too much weird detail for me to be able to summarize adequately. I'll leave you with this tidbit though - one part of this seven year ordeal involves 100 consecutive days of trekking 52 miles on each day!

Best,

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TonyG

What is Enoch Root?

Wow. Not much else to say. Some of the stuff you've done (and your buddies) is pretty darn cool. Amazing.

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Tom Demerly
The Tri Shop.com

My Red Neck Hillbilly Illinois List (once again)



10. Bowling (really damn hard after a few beers)

9 . Horse Shoes (if it is not the smoke in your eyes from the Marlboro in your mouth, it is the booze in your veins that make this one tough)

8. Drag Racing - 1/4 mile (that launch is tough, and if the tires are not hot enough you will not get traction)

7. Softball League - (all the beers of Bowling, and the fresh air just makes ya sleepy)

6. Little League - (Never jumped up and ran around yelling as much as at the Lil' league games. Plus the occasional fist fight is a real challange on the body)

5. Midnight Bowling - (damn, its late, everyone drunk and them glow in the dark pins are spooky..."why in the hell did I buy such a dark bowling ball?")

4. Pinball - at the bowling alley ( "Wasted another god damn 50 cents...there are magnets in them machines to make the game shorter you know...I need a beer, and I still cant find that damn black bowling bar I bought")

3. Baseball - (them suckers can really throw a fast ball...and all the stairs at the stadium are a PITA to have to go up and down to get to the beer stand)

2. Football - (I loose my voice every game for all the yelling at the TV I need to do, not to mention that the bar is so smoky that the air has the viscosity of a synthetic oil at a NASCAR race. Bonus about Football is that most of the football fans is the fact that many of them do not even OWN a football of any sort to at least go play catch with...we really prefer to smoke, drink, get fat and yell at the TV.)

1. NASCAR - (just plain Dangerous! I was thinking that the number "8" should be retired from all use in the arabic numerals for usage in the United States...Hey, Mr Wallace...turn left...dude...go left...turn left man...dude....go left.....shit, left turn....another left......left...left....left.........I need another beer....who has my smokes....and watch for the Jeff Gordon fans....he is gay you know.)



("Wholly shit!!! Look out side, some freaky ass shaven leg homosexual riding some crazy lookin bike...in the damn rain...that guy is stoopid...shaved leg fairy....nice spandex dude....")

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What if the Hokey Pokey is what it is all about?