ep-ic [ep-ik]-–adjective
1. noting or pertaining to a long poetic composition, usually centered upon a hero, in which a series of great achievements or events is narrated in elevated style.
2. heroic; majestic; impressively great.
So obviously I am not planning on picking up long poem composition, so the second definition is what this challenge is all about. With this definition in mind, I'd like to point out that the word "epic" is now considered one of the most overused words in the english language according to the urban dictionary. You cannot have an epic haircut. Ever! There is no such thing as an epic 5k. That group ride through local neighborhoods stopping at lights and sitting in traffic cannot be considered epic. And for christ sake, your Starbucks frap-a-whatever-the-hell or your Five Guy's burger and fries in no way, shape or form, can taste epic. This challenge however, most definitely has every right to be called "EpicMan".
The EpicMan Challenge is a triple Ironman distance triathlon in Hawaii on the island of Oahu. The course is a 7.2 mile swim, a 336 mile bike and a 78.6 mile run. This is a non-stop race starting on 12/29/11 and finishing on 12/31/11 with a 60 hour cut-off. Yes, 60 hours. The race is by invite only and after submitting a race resume to the race director, you sit by the computer and wait to see if you are one of the lucky (relatively speaking) 25 participants. I'm pretty sure I checked my email no less than 100 times a day after submitting my resume, even though I knew in the back of my mind, that my race resume just might not have enough on it. When I received the special invite and password to register, I was blown away and beyond thankful for the opportunity to participate in such an awesome adventure. For me, this is quite possibly the race of a lifetime, in an unbelievable location and will truly be an absolute epic adventure. Dani will be my crew chief and crew and I couldn't be more excited to have her there to share in the fun. She is by far the best and most positive person to have there helping me out and loves doing it.
Jason Lester is the master mind behind this and a few other amazing races including Epic 5, a 5 Ironman distance race in 5 days on 5 different islands in Hawaii. His story is truly inspiring and he goes above and beyond to promote and raise money for charity. To read his story and donate to his cause click here. I just downloaded his book and will give you a review soon but it seems very inspiring for all levels of athletes and non-athletes alike. Speaking of raising money for charity, Dani and I have decided to use the races and adventures we are doing (Ill let Dani tell you about hers) this year to raise money for a charity. We are still working out the details but stay tuned for the website, sponsorships and possibly some fund raising events soon.
The training has already begun and if you know me, you know that I take my training very serious. And with the magnitude of this event, it just got twice as serious. The first week alone totaled 29h 21m of training. So if you need to find me in the next six months, I will either be training, sleeping or working. I downloaded a pretty good app to help track my miles and hours and will post some numbers when I get bored during the taper in December. And if anyone has a long, well, any kind of workout to do, let me know as Im sure I will too and would love company. I am beyond excited for this journey from training to race day and race finish. I know most people would never be "out there" enough to take on something of this magnitude, but I hope to inspire people to get out there and take on something. "Every accomplishment starts with the decision to try."
