MOSINEE, Wis (WSAU) — Even the most serious endurance athletes consider doing just one Ironman-length triathlon the athletic feat of a lifetime. Each Ironman event requires the athlete to swim 2.4 miles in open water, bike 112 miles, and then run a full 26.2 mile marathon.
But starting on May 5th, Chad Esker from Mosinee says he’ll be setting out to complete the “EPIC5” Challenge. That’s five Ironman distance triathlons, on five consecutive days, spanning a total of 703 miles!
“We start on the island of Kaui, and we end in the island of Kona. Five days in a row, five different Hawaiian islands, and five different Ironmen,” Esker said.
His training is peaking right now at around 400 total miles per week, Esker says, and that he couldn’t be doing it without a lot of local support. “It’s been pretty intense. The training has actually been good, just because I’ve had people to do it with.”
“I have a group of people that I work out with every day, and they always make sure that there’s somebody with me, doing something,” Esker explained. “So, like even tonight I have a three hour run, and there’s probably three or four guys that are coming out just to run with me on those three hours. So, it’s been outstanding!”
All that training works up an appetite, Chad says, and he’s been busy preparing a hydration plan to deal with the Hawaiian heat. “Seems like I can’t ever get enough food. I’m constantly, constantly eating, and I drink a lot of electrolytes. I drink a ton of water. And right now we’re not battling the heat that I will be out in Hawaii, so it’s gonna be kind of tricky just to monitor that. And that’ll be kind of a change for me when I get out there.”
So why does he do it? “The accomplishment is awesome. To talk about it is great, but the experience of it, if people would experience it and just try it, I think more people would do it.” Esker also said the camaraderie among all the people involved has been a huge motivation for him.
A support crew from Wausau will be traveling with Esker to Hawaii for the race, and you’ll be able to track Chad’s progress in real time during the race here.
