As the organizers of the 2016 Isklar Norseman Xtreme Triathlon gear up for enrollment into next year’s race, the video of this year’s Norseman 2015 continues to rack up large viewing numbers since it was posted in early September. Produced by Serge Maiquez at Domino Productions in Norway the 10 minute Norseman highlights video gives a taste of the iconic event.
For Isklar Norseman Xtreme Triathlon 2015, 2366 people from 63 nations entered the lottery. With places restricted into the event, only around 1 in 10 got lucky and got to participate at this year’s race. The organizers expect the lottery registration numbers to be relatively similar for 2016.
For safety reasons, Isklar Norseman Xtreme Triathlon is limited to 250 athletes. For the same reason, the number of athletes allowed to finish on top of the mountain is limited to 160. Those arriving later complete their iron-distance at the mountain plateau below the peak.
And all this for the prize of a t-shirt: black for those who finish on top of the mountain; and white for those who finish on the plateau below. As the organizing team points out, ‘all equally are fabulous’.
Enrollment for Norseman 2016 will open on Wednesday 28 October and will close on Sunday 1 November at 18:00 CET. This is not a first come first serve event. All who enroll at any time during the days that enrollment is open, have a ticket in the lottery. The participation fee is NOK 3000, and the organizers expect to finalize the lottery by 8 November.
Norseman journeys through some of Norway’s most spectacular scenery. The course runs point-to-point – or fjord to peak. It starts at sea level, with a 4m drop off a ferry into the Hardangerfjord. Then, athletes cross the starkly haunting Hardangervidda mountain plateau and finish at the rocky peak of Gaustatoppen, at 1,850m above sea level and 220km away.
Traversing its fjord to peak route, Norseman’s total ascent is 5,000m. The water is cold, clean, and comes lightly salted. The weather can be anything from brilliantly beautiful to blasting blizzard. Participating athletes may see porpoises, orcas or reindeer – or, more likely, baffled locals, who think the athletes are crazy, but will cheer them on anyway!
