The Wilderman...a quest to claim the title "Badass"

On July 14th, I competed and successfully completed my 5th Wilderman race. I did the half distance or "longer than half iron distance." For those who do not know what The Wilderman is, it is a minimally supported off-road triathlon. However, I use the word "triathlon" as soft term since it is a race consisting of the 3 disciplines. It is a race that will test you physically and mentally and a course that will chew you up and spit you out if not prepared. It chews up and spits out the well prepared as well. Mix weather challenges such as strong winds and temps near 100 degrees on top of an already difficult course will give competitors to officially claim the title "badass". After all it is advertised as a race that progressively gets harder. Friday, during race registration, I was interviewed by the media as being 1 of 2 registered athletes to have competed in all Wilderman Triathlons. They wanted to know "why would I keep coming back for this grueling race." 1. I love the adventure of the race. I can be prepared and sort of have an idea of the what is going to throw at me. "Sort of" well you don't know unless you are a "wilderman" who lives and explores the Pembina Gorge area. The brush changes along with the water level. And like I mentioned earlier, the weather will add to the difficulty (who can control the weather, right?) 2. The Pembina Gorge is a little hidden gem in America. It allows for ampule opportunity for adventure and recreational activities. The gorge its self sits within a few miles from the Canadian border, in the middle of no where. The beauty of the area ranks up there with any national forests. 3. ENDRACING! An organization that is willing to create races that will challenge you mentally and physically and I mean REALLY challenge you! 4. The people. There is a special bond with all those who have participated in the event (which is a very small number of people), volunteers, race directors and supporters. WE KNOW, what this course will do to us! This year was an exceptionally hard year for me (who am I kidding, they have all been exceptionally hard!). This year, we racers were blessed winds nearing 30 mph and a heat index near 100 degrees. The creek beds were the driest and most overgrown I have seen them, making them nearly impossible to be navigated (a small handful of us were successful). After a long day of battling it out on the course, I crossed the finish line at dusk with the most beautiful sunset as a reward.