Ultra520K triathlon now going strong into 18th year

Sometimes, the spectre of losing something can inspire the support needed to keep an event going.

Such was the case with the Ultra520K triathlon, the challenging three-day competition that will be held for an 18th year this long weekend in the South Okanagan region and Similkameen Valley.

The event started in 1993 when it was just one of two “Ultraman” races in the world and ran until 1995.

As it struggled to establish a mainstream foothold, the race resumed again for just one year in 1999, was halted for six years, before starting again in 2005 and being held every year since.

A couple of years ago, founder and race director Steve Brown announced he was going to run the event for just two more years to allow those athletes who wanted to give it a shot to do so before it was gone — quite possibly for good.

But the plan has changed dramatically since then.

This would have been the last Ultra520K (formerly Ultraman Canada), but the race looks like it will continue annually for the foreseeable future.

There are 32 athletes competing this year, 39 are already signed up for the 2019 event and another 24 for 2020 (due to the nature of the race, organizers can’t accommodate more than 40 in a single year).

Ultra520K — which features a 10-kilometre swim, 425.6 kms of biking over two stages and a daunting 84.4-km double-marathon run to finish — isn’t going anywhere, anytime soon.

“It’s growing in popularity in leaps and bounds, not just here but world-wide,” said Brown. “Australia, Florida, Brazil, Mexico, Spain, Israel and of course the World Championships (in Hawaii) . . . they’re all seeing growth. People want the challenge beyond the Iron distance and they enjoy an adventure-type race held over two or three days.”

There are 20 men and 12 women in this year’s event (a couple had to bow out due to injury) with nine different countries being represented.

Course record holder Dave Matheson (21 hours, 47 minutes and 47 seconds in 2013) and first-timer Tony Buckingham are the local hopefuls.

The United States (10), Costa Rica (3), Australia and Guatemala (2 each) and Spain, the United Kingdom, Mexico and France (1 each) are also represented.

Ultra520K presents many challenges than a one-day, shorter distance event does. That seems to be part of the growing appeal.

“You’ve got to manage your pace, you’ve to manage pain, you, along with your crew have to be diligent with nutrition and hydration,” said Brown. “I think the biggest key is managing your rest time and sleep between days. It’s critical.”

And, of course, weather is always a factor. Temperatures have soared into the mid- to upper-30s in recent weeks, but the welcome news for competitors, crews, organizers and volunteers alike is the mercury is forecast to drop into the high-20s for the long weekend.

“Dropping from 35 down to 27 is a huge difference,” said Brown. “Maybe we get a bit of rain to clear out a bit of the smoke, which would be nice.”

Brown said the race has dealt with worst years with forest fire smoke, but is hopeful it won’t be a factor this weekend.

“When we we’ve been over to the Similkameen, where a big part of the race is held, the air was much clearer than in the (South Okanagan),” said Brown. “Let’s hope that continues to be the case.”

While many races have struggled and scrambled to attract enough volunteers, Brown said even that component has come together quite nicely for Ultra520K.

“The last week or so we’ve got lots of calls from folks offering to help out,” said Brown. “The (athlete) crews are all set as well. It looks like we’re in pretty good shape.”

In other words, Ultra520K is good to go — in 2018 and well beyond.

David Crompton is a sports reporter at the Penticton Herald. Email: david.crompton@pentictonherald.ca.