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Nadya`s expedition to Norseman
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Helen Webster:
Hey, welcome Nadya to Norseman Media Studio, our window on Norseman. We are so privileged and pleased to have you here. Nadya, you are an athlete representing Ukraine this year, and we know that Ukraine has been in the global headlines. We’ve been thinking of people in Ukraine. So, we are pleased and honoured to have you with us. Tell us a little about what your journey has been like to reach us here this year.
Nadya:
Hi. Thank you for this opportunity to be here. It was a long way for me. As I told you before, it took three years before the war; of course, when I won a slot, I was not a triathlete, and Norseman changed my life. Okay, I changed my life for the race. However, COVID happened in 2020 and 2021. So I was ready for 2022, but on February 24, my birthday, the war just started, and when the war started, I was in Siberia. I prepared for the Extreme Marathon in Baikal. After this, I left Russia and joined my friend who lived in Germany. And I lived with them for one and a half months. But I can’t stay in Europe when my country is in a terrible situation. I want to help my country, my father, my sister, and my boyfriend, who are in Ukraine.
And you can’t leave. You can go and drink a coffee and have cheesecake, but inside of me, you can’t do it because I know my boyfriend can’t even eat bread. After all, he helped old people. And I lived an everyday life in Germany. I can’t live like this. I left Germany and went back to Ukraine, and I lost my job because of the war, too. But my friend told me, “You should stay here and find a job in Berlin.” I told her, “I can’t because I need to pay taxes.” If you pay taxes in Ukraine, you help your country. And even if you live in Ukraine and spend your money going to cafes and other places, you help a business and many people. So that’s why I decided to go back and support my country.
Helen:
That is such a lot already to take in from your story. So, you qualified for Norseman before the pandemic. The pandemic hit. You were training in Siberia for a race, and the war started in Ukraine. You were in Germany and returned to Ukraine to support your country, yet you’ve made it here to Norseman. That is such a huge story already. Well done. I’m so pleased to see you here. Let’s go back. So, what made you decide to try and qualify for Norman? You said you weren’t a triathlete before.
Nadya:
Yeah, I was not a triathlete, but I don’t know; five years ago, I saw one of the most beautiful videos from 2016, this video for 10 minutes. And it was so beautiful and many people, at least they, cried in the end. And I cried, too. And what happened here? Why are they crying? I decided if I was going to do a triathlon, it would be Norseman.
Helen:
Wow.
Nadya:
Yeah. But after this, five years ago, I decided, “Okay, I’m so young, I’m not ready for this. I know you should put a lot of power, energy, and money into this, and I’m not ready.” My friend and I have a sports environment of triathletes, and in 2019, they told me, “Nadya, we want to go to Norseman. How do you feel about this?” “Okay, why not?” It’s so hard to get a slot. I may have three years of not getting a slot in the ballot. But no, I won for the first time. And so, believe me, in Ukraine, it was such kind of news and hate from some triathletes. They wrote to me, “Nadya runs marathons. It’s okay. It’s not as complicated as triathlon. It’s Norseman; it’s not for you, Nadya.”
Helen:
Wow.
Nadya:
Yeah, they told me this.
Helen:
Have a journey to prove them wrong. It is for you. It’s incredible, isn’t it? It’s so powerful. And we love being at the finish of Norseman on Mount Gaustatoppen and seeing the athletes and the raw emotion you experience at the end of that race. And it’s fantastic that you saw that and just saw something in yourself that this was the race for you.
Nadya:
And even after this, my friend told me they named me Nadya Saus. And because I was in Siberia three times for the Siberia Extreme Triathlon; this was my first full-distance extreme triathlon. I ran a half-marathon and a marathon in Siberia. But I’m finished with this after the war.
Helen:
Tell us a little bit about your training in Ukraine. How easy has it been to get the training done to find the suitable kit for this race?
Nadya:
When the war started, as you know, I was in Russia. I didn’t have clothes for triathlon training, just for winter running. And of course, without cycling, without a bike or any swimming stuff. So, for two months, I did nothing. I ran sometimes, three times a week. And so I left all my training. But when I got back to Ukraine, my boyfriend, an ex-pro cyclist, helped me with this. And for this, we left Kyiv and went to, we have mountain, but not so high as in Norseman. They’re just small hills, but it’s better for my training. So we chose this area for my training and for running too. It’s better for trail runners because in Kyiv, it’s primarily flat roads.
So, I have a triathlon trainer, and I tried to find a swimming pool. And it’s complicated because, in this region where I live now, it’s small towns, unlike Kyiv. But I found a great swimming coach. But they closed the swimming pool because of the war. They have problems. And I thought, “Oh my, again, something closed.” Then I will find another pool. I found another swimming pool 40 kilometres away.
Helen:
Wow.
Nadya:
Yeah. Four times in a week. But I found a closer swimming pool. And they close him too.
Helen:
No. Well, yeah. So access to facilities has been really challenging for you.
Nadya:
Yeah. But I ran and cycled a lot. I was stretching in the gym. It’s been helping me with this whole stuff. And I’m a new one in triathlon; I saw these guys, they’re so athletic. I mean in a body. I even lost seven kilograms for this competition. So now I can run more efficiently, but for swimming, it’s colder.
Helen:
This is it.
Nadya:
I lost fat.
Helen:
I saw you at the social swim yesterday morning. You were swimming. How did you find the water here in Eidfjord and Norway?
Nadya:
It was not so cold. I mean, the fjord is cold. But the feeling was not so cold. But after the swim, it was like-
Helen:
Shivering?
Nadya:
Yeah, for one hour. “Oh my God, what happened to me? Come back my extra weight.”
Helen:
It’s a balance, isn’t it? Between having the lightness for the bike and run, but enough.
Nadya:
Yeah. And this is hard, especially when a new one. When I was a runner, my weight was 52 kilograms. It’s okay for marathon runners. But when I started doing triathlons, I gained an extra 10 kilograms. I eat a lot. Even at night, I woke up, and my sister saw one time when I went to the kitchen and ate cold spaghetti in the middle of the night. She said, “Oh my god, you’re a monster.” And I want to lose weight ’cause it’s so hard to run for me with this extra. But for Norseman, I do it.
Helen:
And how has the journey to get here for Norseman been, to actually leave Ukraine and come here to Norway and get everything in place? Because you mentioned it also took a lot of work for you to get someone to come and support you at the race.
Nadya:
Yeah, I’m a woman, and it’s pretty easy to leave Ukraine. You need to drive a car out of Ukraine. And it’s a big country, so you must cover many miles in Ukraine alone. And we have a problem with the men. They can’t leave the country because they should be ready to join the army and fight for Ukraine.
But one in my support team lives in Spain; he’s my boyfriend’s friend. They were in Spain when the war started, so that’s why they went back to Ukraine. And we asked him. He’s a trail runner and told me, “Okay, but I have some problems with documents because Ukrainian people can’t travel in Europe because of visas.” We don’t have a visa, but we have 90 days per year, and you need to apply and register in Spain in his situation. And he did it. His passport was expired, and he couldn’t get a new one. And because of this, he had problems. So, for him, it was like five flights getting here.
Helen:
Wow. Five flights to get him to support you. That’s a good supporter right there.
Nadya:
And 21 hours of travelling.
Helen:
Wow. Gosh. Do you think he’ll have the energy to run a mountain?
Nadya:
I don’t know. We told him, “You need to eat. You need to sleep any time.” We’ll bring him, we’ll go to meet him in Bergen at the airport, and we will get him to eat because I don’t want to support him because I’m-
Helen:
No, he`s to support you.
Nadya:
Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know of some situations in Siberia when support was less robust than the athlete. It was not good. Even my support in Siberia in the first 20 kilometres, he spoke a lot: “Nadya, blah, blah, blah.” I said, “Tasha, no, no, I can’t. I’m not good.” But after 20 kilometres, when I started to run, he was behind me and did not speak much.
Helen:
Oh, yeah. You need someone who can lift your spirits when it gets tough. So which parts of the race are you most looking forward to? I know this race captured your heart, so what are you looking forward to seeing?
Roars from Mt. Gausta
Due to the extreme weather conditions, they couldn’t make it to Mount Gausta this year for the traditional mountain top ‘black t-shirt’ finish. Roars of thunder and lightning rumbling around the valley from the early afternoon were Mother Nature’s way of telling the participants who were in charge.
The weather is always a talking point at Norseman, and with an unsettled forecast, most competitors had one eye on the clouds as race morning dawned cool and breezy. Another threat was on the horizon for 2021 and 2022 champion and course record holder Jon Breivold: Ironman athlete Sebastian Kienle.
Kienle was first out of the water in the Hardanger fjord, but Jon Breivold overtook him on the bike after 120 km, where he stuck to his wheel and proved challenging for the course record holder to shake. Shake him, he did, though, taking a definitive lead by the end of the 180 km bike and leading the modified run course from beginning to end. As the current Norseman and XTRI World Champion, Jon felt the pressure leading up to the event. During the press conference before the race in Eidfjord, Sebastian Kienle received a question about Jon’s accomplishments and performances, to which he responded with humour: “Jon who..?”
“Norseman challenged me this year with Kienle on the start line, but I’m still the King of Norseman and Zombie Hill,” concluded Jon ‘Who’ Breivold. “I’m up for meeting anyone in this course.”
On his second place finish, Kienle said: “Today was tough. Of course, it would have been cool to have another hour or two in the mountains, but for about 20 seconds, I was quite relieved to turn around, to be honest!” he laughed. “I had a powerful bike today and am pleased with the performance and experience. This was my professional career’s last long-distance race in Europe, and I’m so happy that I chose to race Norseman. I’ve been watching the videos from Norseman, and I understand why the race is on many triathletes’ bucket lists.
“I’m officially a Norseman ambassador after this experience in Norway. The people, the Norseman crew, my support team, Team BOB, and the other supportive athletes were amazing,” he said. “This was my first race with support, and it was great. In retrospect, I should have done races like Norseman earlier in my career, so my advice to up-and-coming pros is to try races like Norseman and experience something completely different in a very positive way.”
Norwegian Allan Hovda was third in the men’s race, having previously completed Norseman 11 times and achieving nine black t-shirt mountain finishes and the overall win three times. After some health problems this year, he was overjoyed to finish on the podium, crossing the line with whoops of joy.
The women’s race was a close competition between several athletes. Still, after sitting a few spots back for the bike, British athlete Flora Colledge made a decisive move on the run and worked hard to overtake several competitors to take the lead by Zombie Hill.
Finally crossing the line in first place after previously placing second twice at Norseman – and competing five times – her delight was obvious to see as she raised her arms in victory.
“It still hasn’t sunk in yet,” she said at the finish. “Ever since I first saw a photo of Norseman I remember saying ‘That’s the race I want to win!”
Her coach Arild Tveiten, head coach of the Norwegian Triathlon team and now training Kristian Blummenfelt and Gustav Iden, was at the finish to congratulate her.
Emilie Klev Bergheim from Norway was second in the women’s race. She lost Flora while they climbed Zombie Hill but continued to finish strong. Another Norwegian, Kaja Bergwitz-Larsen became third. The three women battled each other during the whole day.
Of the 266 starters, 250 beat the harsh conditions and made it to the finish line. The organisers pulled the white finishers out of the race before 42,2 km of running due to thunder and lightning in the finish area.
First to the finish was:
Women
1 Flora Colledge (GBR)
2 Emilie Klev Bergheim (NOR)
3 Kaja Bergwitz-Larsen (NOR)
Men
1 Jon Sæverås Breivold (NOR)
2 Sebastian Kienle (GER)
3 Allan Hovda (NOR)
…Ready for it?
We phone-called some of the athletes back in October 2022, and since then, they have trained and prepared for the race on August 5th. So, who`s taking the leap of faith? The answer can be found on RaceId.
The race that makes triathletes cry
Formosa Xtreme Triathlon is also part of the X-Point system. Finishing the race will give you 150 X-Points. Read more about X-points and join the tribe here.
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Helen Webster:
So we have two really special guests now in our Norseman Media Room. So welcome. We’ve got Roann and Jovi, and you guys of the organizers of the Formosa Xtreme Triathlon, which is our Taiwanese XTRI tour race, so welcome.
Jovi:
Hi.
Roann:
Hi everyone. We are from Taiwan.
Helen:
It’s so good to see both of you here. And I think you couldn’t probably get a race more different to Norseman than Formosa. So can you just tell me about the course? So describe what the swim’s like, and then what the bike and run courses are like.
Roann:
You mean Formosa Xtreme Triathlon?
Helen:
Yeah. Yeah.
Roann:
I think the most difficult part is from zero elevation to around 4,000, because we start from a lake beside the sea, and then we just go, keep going up to the top of the mountain. And the weather is like from…
Jovi:
…28 Celsius degress?
Roann:
28 degrees at sea level, and the finish line is like zero.
Helen:
Wow!
Roann:
So athletes has to prepare many things for the race. And yeah, it’s really difficult. And the total elevation is around 7,000 meters.
Helen:
That`s a lot of climbing.
Roann:
Yes, a lot of climbing. It’s like just keep going up. There’s no flat rolls, it’s just like keep going up. Yes. And the view is really, really beautiful.
Helen:
And how is the water? Because people here, they are obsessed with the water temperature. What’s the swimming like in Taiwan?
Roann:
Compared to Norseman, I think our swim part is really easy.
Helen:
That doesn’t surprise me.
Roann:
Yeah. The temperature is around 20 Celsius.
Jovi:
Yeah. 24 Celsius maybe.
Roann:
20 – 24. Yes. It’s super warm compared to Norseman. But we have flow. It`s not really flat lake.
Helen:
So there’s some movement in the water to contend with?
Roann:
Yes.
Helen:
And then lots of climbing. So you must see some pretty tired athletes at that finish line.
Roann:
Yes. Pretty tired. And I think all the finishes were crying at the finish line.
Jovi:
Yeah. Everyone crying.
Jovi:
There are really top athletes in Taiwan, but we never seen them cry at the finish line. But when they come to Formosa Xtreme Triathlon, it’s like their first time doing triathlon. They all cry like a little boy.
Helen:
Oh, you should put that on T-shirts like, “Formosa, the race that makes triathletes cry.”
Jovi:
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, that’s good! So good, right?
Roann:
Slogan. You can see that next year on the T-shirt.
Helen:
Oh, I love it. I love it. And so what is triathlon like in Taiwan? Are the Taiwanese very into triathlon?
Roann:
Yes. I think it’s really, really special because not everyone know Taiwan. Not everyone know Taiwan is a country. It’s really small country, but we have a lot of triathletes, and people really love it. And for another race in Taiwan, we have around 7,000 athletes.
Helen:
Wow.
Roann:
Yes. During the week, it’s like a triathlon festival, and people join this sport, and they come with their friends and family. That is why we want to spread triathlons. Yeah.
Helen:
Yeah. And you were telling me just off camera before that people across the country, they really follow the Xtri race, your race in Taiwan, And then they really want to see how people are doing, so the triathletes become celebrities in a way.
Roann:
Yes. That is really special for us because all the finishers in Formosa Xtreme triathlon, they will become a hero. They have many fans, and they open fan pages, and also they have pictures, and right now, they are heroes, and people already follow their things. This time we have like 20 Taiwanese people coming to Norseman to support their athletes.
Helen:
Wow. So this is your first time in Norway?
Roann and Jovi:
Yes.
Helen:
So welcome to Eidfjord. Are you enjoying it, being here?
Roann:
Yeah, sure. Of course. It’s really, really, really beautiful.
Helen:
And how many athletes do you have actually competing on Saturday?
Jovi:
Four athletes.
Helen:
Okay. And have they prepared, do you think? What do you think the challenges will be?
Roann:
Oh, they are well-prepared. They have prepared for a year, I think.
Roann:
Yes. They are really excited for this, and for them, it’s a dream. A dream they have to do, and so I think they are all prepared for it.
Helen:
They’re ready to go.
Roann:
Yes.
Helen:
And will people back home be watching them?
Roann:
Oh, they are well-prepared. They have prepared for a year, I think.
Roann:
Yes. A lot of people watching them. And we have Taiwanese athletes, they tell their friends to supporting Taiwan on Norseman fanpage. So you can see there is a post, and there are many comments say, “Go Team Taiwan. Go Team Taiwan.”
Helen:
I love that. That is brilliant. Great. So if people want to support your athletes, then check out, “Go Team Taiwan.” And if you fancy racing out in Taiwan, then Formosa Xtreme Triathlon is the place to do it. Fantastic. We wish you all the best with your future races, and thank you ever so much for coming out here to Eidfjord to see us, and it was lovely to talk to you both. Thank you.
Roann:
Thank you so much. Hope we can see you in Taiwan one day.
Jovi:
Yeah, maybe one day.
Helen:
Oh, I’d love to.
You are not ready III
Third episode in our You are not ready series focus on the Norseman run leg and how you and your support can prepare for Mt. Gausta. If you missed the two previous episodes about cold water swimming and bike leg, watch them here.
Scroll down for the episode notes.
Fredrik Mandt:
Hey, guys. Welcome to the third episode of Norseman, “You Are Not Ready” series. Other races might hold your hand. Not us. So if you can’t get it together in time for the event, just skip it. Let’s focus on the run leg now.
Jørgen Melau:
Yes.
Fredrik:
But I want to skip the first 37.5 kilometers of the run.
What happens at 37.5 kilometers of the Norseman run?
Jørgen:
We have a checkpoint there. So, first of all, we check that all athletes at the checkpoint is fit, like medical fit to enter the mountain. Before we even open the mountain, we check the weather and the environmental conditions on the mountain to see if it’s safe to send the athletes up the mountain, because we have had some years that we have closed the mountains due to heavy snowfall, for instance, and it can also be due to darkness and lightning and thunder that we have had on the crew races. But at the checkpoint on 37.5, the most important thing next to the medical checkup is that we check their gear that they have in their backpacks. Both the athletes and the support need to have a backpack with the mandatory equipment.
Fredrik:
Let’s have a look at the backpack and what is the mandatory equipment that each athlete, and also each support, needs to bring in their backpacks, because both athlete, and at least one support, need to bring backpack.
Jørgen:
And before we start that, there is a lot of questions why the support needs to have that backpack. And that is because they are exposed to the same environmental factors and the stressors of the mountain. And the medical crew, normally, they have as much incident with the support as we have with the athletes, so that’s why they need this backpack. You need to have a backpack, and we don’t care what type it is, but most of the athletes use like a basic run backpack, but you can pick any one you like. But we would recommend some type of waterproof, or at least some water resistant, backpack. Then you should have warm clothes. And here it is. There are many types of warm clothes, of course, but this is a warm shirt that we recommend. Warm clothes. Gloves to keep your hands warm. A cap or a…
Fredrik:
Hat.
Jørgen:
Yeah, hat. Jacket. That needs to be windproof and waterproof.
Fredrik:
The important thing is that the jacket is waterproof and with taped seams.
Jørgen:
Yeah. Pants, windproof pants. We want you to have some extra food. And also, again, different types. We don’t care what you bring. And it’s also very important that you have a water bottle, headlamp, or a flashlight.
Fredrik:
Yeah.
Jørgen:
I think it’s most useful to have a headlamp, but we also allow a flashlight. And the reason is that the mountain can get dark very rapidly, but also, all the athletes, it’s normally transported down by the elevator inside the mountain, but that can have a malfunction. It has that several times. And then you have to walk down the mountains in the darkness, and then you really need a headlamp.
Fredrik:
And then you also need to secure that the batteries are fully charged.
Jørgen:
It has to be fully charged when you start to race. Yeah, exactly. And you also need some first aid equipment. And again, you can choose nearly anything you want, but we want you to have at least a pressure bandage of any kind, and also a windshield for using for hypothermia.
Fredrik:
This is like an emergency blanket?
Jørgen:
Emergency blanket. Exactly.
Fredrik:
Yep. You also need to bring either credit card.
Jørgen:
Yup.
Fredrik:
Or cash.
Jørgen:
Yup. Yeah.
Fredrik:
And why is that?
Jørgen:
Because the waffles on the mountain hut is very good, so you’ll be very sad if you can’t buy the waffles on the mountain top. No. You need them for emergency, obviously.
Fredrik:
Then we have one backpack for the athlete and one backpack for the support. And I just want to ask Hans-Petter here, you have firsthand experience. Do you have any advices for the athletes support, other things to bring, than the mandatory equipment?
Hans-Petter:
It’s no problem to stay warm up the hill, and when you climb through the rocks, and you’re really focused, but as soon as you get up there, and it’s a cold wind, and your body, that’s mainly burning fat there, has no real energy to give you heat. It’s just fantastic to have a warm jacket like this also in the bag, and to have to put on when you get up there. So that would be my recommendation, in addition to the required stuff, put some real warm jacket in there.
Jørgen:
Excellent.
Fredrik:
I’m freezing a little bit. Can I borrow that one?
Hans-Petter:
Yes, sure.