An Iron Will for Ironmana 2017: Endurance in Paradise, Not for the Faint-Hearted!

For competitors, there rarely seems to be a clear schedule of the events due to take place on any given day. The whole thing seems to operate on somewhat of a pot-luck basis, and usually after an early breakfast you will discover the kind of gauntlet to be thrown down before you on that particular day.

And the whole event itself takes place in one of the most extraordinarily beautiful locations in the world! This year it is held in Huahine, a small tropical paradise belonging to the French Polynesian islands and situated about 320km west of Tahiti.

While in previous years, Ironmana has been largely focused on endurance races, this year all we know is that it will be mostly concentrated on sprint races in SUP, swimming, OC1, surfski, sailing canoe and running. Most athletes who go out there are specialised in one discipline and they can get by in the rest, which makes things all the more interesting. We all have our individual strengths and weaknesses.

You can choose to only participate in the disciplines you’re used to and skilled at, but funnily enough, almost all participants take part in all the races, seeing it as a fun and convivial event that challenges you and lets you try your hand at everything. It’s a real thrill and, as a concept, it’s really big in Tahiti.

Stéphan Lambert, a great waterman in his own right, is the event’s principal organiser. He lives in Tahiti and organises over 30 events throughout French Polynesia annually. What I like most about his events is that he tries to come up with original courses and rules to make his races that little bit different and more exciting.

Though easy they are not! Unpredictable at times even! If he finds it a novel or exciting idea to incorporate a 1-hour paddle into the wind into a particular course, he’ll go ahead and do so. No holes barred. I met Stéphan for the first time a couple of years ago, when he assisted with my arrival onshore following my solo crossing from Tahiti to Bora Bora. Just to give you some insight into Stéphan’s adrenaline-driven character, he paddled with me for the last 4 hours of this endeavour around the reef at Bora Bora just “for fun”. That’s just the kind of guy he is.

So, with an unpredictable series of trials, all manner of different watersports disciplines, a stunning setting and an organiser with an eccentric approach to organising endurance events, it really promises to be an awesome week! Internet permitting, I myself will try to post daily short stories, photos and videos of proceedings in Huahine, so check out my Facebook page for updates!

Photo credits : Bart de Zwart / Kainalu XT (KXT)