Marcin Legeżyński Endurance Competitions

Have you ever heard about the endurance runningendurance runningendurance running hypothesis? It states that the evolution of certain human characteristics can be explained as adaptations to long‑distance runninglong‑distance runninglong‑distance running. The hypothesis suggests that endurance running played an important role for early hominins in obtaining food. Contemporary endurance competitions are based on the notion that running and other prolonged physical activitiesprolonged physical activities [prolonged physical activity]prolonged physical activities play an important role in our lives. An example of such a sport activity is triathlontriathlontriathlon – an endurance multisport race consisting of swimming, cycling, and running over various distances. Triathletestriathletes [triathlete]Triathletes compete for the fastest overall completion timeoverall completion timeoverall completion time, racing each segment sequentiallysequentiallysequentially with the time transitioning between the disciplines included. Consider the following two major endurance competitions.

Ultraman

Ultraman is a three‑day, 515 km multisport race held annually on the Big Island of Hawaii which is now called the Ultraman World Championship. Each race is divided into three stages over three days: the first is a 10 km ocean swim from Kailua Bay to Keauhou Bay, followed by a 145 km cross‑country bike ridecross‑country bike ridecross‑country bike ride, with vertical climbsvertical climbs [vertical climb]vertical climbs that total 6,000 feet. Stage two is a 276 km bike ride from Volcanoes National Park to Kohala Village Inn in Hawi, with total vertical climbs of 4,000 feet. Stage three is a 84 km double‑marathon, which starts at Hawi and finishes on the beach at the Old Kona Airport State Recreation Area. Each stage must be completed within 12 hours or less. The swim part of stage one must be completed in 5.5 hours or less. Competitors who do not reach the finish linesreach the finish lines [reach the finish line]reach the finish lines within the time limits are disqualified, but encouraged to continue racing each day as participants. Ultraman attracts athletes who seek to explore the extremeseek to explore the extremeseek to explore the extreme in physical and mental abilitiesphysical and mental abilities [physical and mental ability]physical and mental abilities. The race is limited to 40 athletes on an invitation‑only basisinvitation‑only basisinvitation‑only basis and attracts participants from around the world. Racers must have reached their 20th birthday prior to the start of stage one and be accompanied by an individual support teamindividual support teamindividual support team of at least two people over the entire course. “Ultraman” is also a branding for other events affiliated withaffiliated withaffiliated with the Hawaii original, taking place in Canada, the United Kingdom, as well as Florida and Arizona, U.S.A.

Ironman

An Ironman Triathlon is one of a series of long‑distance triathlonlong‑distance triathlonlong‑distance triathlon races organised by the World Triathlon Corporation WTC, consisting of a 3.86 km swim, a 80.25 km bicycle ride, and a marathon 42.20 km run. The parts of the competition are raced in this particular order and make it what’s thought to be one of the most difficult one‑day sporting events in the world. Most Ironman events have a time limit of 16 or 17 hours to complete the race depending on the course. The first race typically starts at 7:00 a.m. and all three races are subject to a cut‑off time of 16‑17 hours from when the athlete began their swim. Many races will have cut‑off timescut‑off times [cut‑off time]cut‑off times, which are designated times within which an athlete should cover a specific part of the race. Any participant who completes the triathlon within these time constraintstime constraints [time constraint]time constraints is designated an Ironman. The name „Ironman Triathlon” is also associated with the original Ironman triathlon which is now the Ironman World Championship. Held in Kailua‑Kona, The Ironman World Championship has become known for its gruelling lengthgruelling lengthgruelling length and harsh race conditionsharsh race conditions [harsh race condition]harsh race conditions. Other similar races exist that are of the same distance as an Ironman triathlon, but are not licensed by the World Triathlon Corporation. The event series is owned by The Ironman Group, which pays royaltiespay royalties [pay royalty]pays royalties to Marvel Entertainment for use of the Ironman brand known from popular comic book, cartoon, and cinematographic productions.

1 Źródło: Marcin Legeżyński, licencja: CC BY-SA 3.0.