In order to complete an Iron Man triathlon - a 3.8km swim, a 180km cycle and a standard marathon of 42.2km - an athlete needs to be supremely fit.
To do 10 of these events consecutively, or a Deca comprising a 38km swim, a 1 800km cycle and a run of 422km, an athlete certainly requires an optimum fitness level, but it also helps if that individual is stark-raving bonkers!
That is the arduous task facing three athletes from the Xtreme South African team – Cameron Kiloh, Stephen Malherbe and Blayne Ponte – for the first Deca to be held on the African continent from 6pm on March 9 to 6pm on March 23, 2025. The event is recognised by the International Ultra Triathlon Association.
This trio will compete against 10 other athletes representing countries like America, Brazil, Canada, Germany and the United Kingdom at the Gariep Dam Forever Resort in the Free State province of South Africa.
14 DAYS TO COMPLETE
The athletes are given 14 days in which to complete the event, beginning with the 38km swim by doing laps of a 25-metre pool. This leg of the Deca has to be completed in under 28 hours.
“You won’t necessarily win the event in the pool...” said Kiloh this week in a welcome break from a training schedule to send shivers down the strongest of spines, “but you can certainly lose it here.”
This is followed by the 1 800km cycle on an out-and-back circuit.
“Everything is pretty central to enable seconders to remain relatively close to their athletes,” explained Kiloh. “The run is also on an out-and-back course.
“You have to remember that competitors will need to be fed and, more importantly, well hydrated, so it makes perfect sense to have all three legs in a common area. Also, if an athlete cramps or picks up an injury, it is important that help is close at hand.”
This event is obviously about physical fitness, but it is as much about staying mentally in the moment.
“After the swim and the cycle, we still have 422km of running ahead of us,” said Kiloh. “The mental anguish is bad enough in a standard Iron Man, where you go through many wobblies, so you can imagine how mentally taxing it is in an event like this, particularly once you get to the running leg where you want to aim to complete two standard marathons (or 84.4km) in a day.
AIMING FOR THE PODIUM
“We (the South African team) are unsure about our opposition, but we are aiming at getting at least one athlete home in around nine-and-a-half to 10 days to give us a chance of a podium or, who knows, maybe even a win.”
The world record of an incredible 182 hours, 43 minutes and 43 seconds (or just more than seven-and-a-half days) was set by Belgium’s Kenneth Vanthuyne in Buchs in Switzerland in 2022.
With none of the South African team being fulltime athletes, they have had to fit their training in around their normal day-to-day activities.
“It’s been hectic. Last month we had double sessions – two hours in the morning and another 2 hours in the evening – and we tried to do at least one 10-hour session every weekend,” said Kiloh.
“Unlike many other athletes who taper their training as they get close to an event, we are going full steam right up to the start. The last thing you want going into an event like this is for your body to go into recovery mode.
“The guys are super excited at the opportunity to represent the country in an international event. Sure, there are moments when you wonder if you aren’t crazy. There is a very real danger of dehydration and hallucinations in an event like this and if you are going for a decent finish, sleep deprivation becomes a real issue.”
“We welcome any support we can get,” said Kiloh, “be it sponsorship, to support during the event, to financial help. If there is anyone who would like to team up with us in one form or another, give us a shout and we’ll see what we can do.”