The World Tri: 146 Miles Down, More Than 8,000 to Go

To many of us, the idea of completing an Ironman triathlon (you know, 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike ride, 26.2-mile run) seems a little extreme. For Charlie Wittmack, an attorney from Iowa, it's nothing but a warm-up.

Wittmack has embarked on The World Tri, an event of his own creation that will take him through 13 countries and close to 10,000 miles in 11 months (275-mile swim, 9,000-mile bike ride, 950-mile run). As a teen, Wittmack was in love with the idea of adventure and being the first to attempt something, and as he became more interested in triathlons, he began to wonder what the world's toughest triathlon would be.

He decided that swimming the English Channel, biking from there to Mount Everest and climbing Mount Everest would be just about as tough as it gets. He wasn't able to take on the challenge as a teenager, but he did graduate high school a year early and began his journey into the world of extreme endurance sports, beginning with a bike ride across America and moving into mountain climbing, which included scaling Mount Everest in 2003. After swimming the English Channel last summer, Witmack knew it was time to put his plan into action.

With his wife, Cate, and young son, James, in tow, Wittmack began The World Tri on June 29, and as of Tuesday, he had logged 146 miles of swimming, meaning he's past the halfway mark of the first leg. Despite his grueling schedule, he took a few moments to answer some of our questions.

That's Fit: Why do this? What prompted the decision to do it now?

Charlie Wittmack: The World Tri is a childhood dream that I've spent my life pursuing. While I've been planning it for a long time, I didn't seriously contemplate heading out until a little later in life. However, in 2008, my wife was diagnosed with cancer [which she beat], and we decided that we needed to start moving some of our dreams for the future into the present. We're doing this expedition as a family, and Cate and James (our 2-year-old son) are along on the adventure as well. I spend my days swimming while they tour Europe!

TF: Is there a part you're most excited about? Is there a part that you find particularly intimidating or expect to be most difficult?

CW: The swim is physiologically the most challenging. Physiologists estimate that swimming 2.5 miles is roughly equivalent to running a marathon. When you're swimming 10-15 miles per day, it really takes a toll on your body and your mind. You have to stay positive and try to stay in the moment. If you start to think about how far you have left to go, you'll fail.

The cycling leg also presents a number of extraordinarily challenging days. We'll cross the Taklimakan Desert in China, climb an 18,000-foot pass through the Himalayas and bicycle across the Tibetan Plateau. The longest day is 154 miles across a mountain pass that is 17,600 feet on a road that is covered in snow.

TF: What will you do at the end of each day to prepare your body for the next day's efforts?

CW: Rest, rehydrate and try to get to a good, relaxed mental state. I also do yoga.

TF: You've been preparing for this for the past 15 years, according to your website, but can you talk about the kind of physical training you employed in the months leading up to the beginning of the tri? How about the mental preparation?

CW: I trained full-time for six months prior to the expedition. The training lasted 5-6 hours a day during the week and 8-10 hours on Saturday and Sunday. I generally don't take rest days. Most of the training was focused around swimming, including the two long weekend swims, which were 8-10 hours along the Chicago skyline in Lake Michigan. My dietician believes that I burn between 8,000 and 10,000 calories per day.

In my training, I've found that there are three legs -- cardio, physical strength and mental. I always focus on improving the weakest leg. If my breathing is too heavy or heart rate too high, I'll spend a couple of weeks on cardio. If I'm mentally weak and struggling to finish long workouts, I'll schedule a couple workouts that are two or three times the longest distance to push myself mentally. If I'm feeling worn out, I may take some extra time for weights or kettlebells.

While the basic workouts revolved around swimming, I do use kettlebells and yoga a lot. Those were both new additions to my regime, and I really felt a positive impact from them.


Wittmack and his family, along with two journalists, will be documenting the adventure at The World Tri website, as well as on Twitter and Facebook. In addition to completing an endurance event unlike anything that's been done before, the Wittmacks will be leading an educational initiative throughout the expedition and a global health program in Nepal.

Check out others who are taking up extreme sports to make a difference, like Lisa Smith-Batchen, who is running 2,500 miles for AIDS orphans.