This week on the show we celebrate our 220th episode with a two-fer. 2 fellas from Manitoba who moved out West and are now race directors at a couple of the most bad ass multisport events on the planet.
We have originally from Gimli, Brad Sowa.
Brad originally came into triathlon as a 30-something who was looking to rise to the challenge of a dare from his friends. He did an Ironman, then an Ultraman, and then something much more difficult – he took the reigns as race director of Ultraman Canada.
From Selkirk, we have Ryan Parton. Ryan thought he knew what mountain biking was until he crossed the Rockies, the Strait of Georgia, and ended up in Cumberland in the Comox Valley on Vancouver Island.
Although his first rides in the valley were humbling, he stuck at it long enough to be a local X-Terra hero, making the podium and going to world championships in both Penticton and Hawaii.
That said, he admits his first crack at race directing brought him to tears more than any switchback singletrack ever did.
Our conversations are as much about their paths to being race directors as they are about the races that we wanna tell you about.
Ultraman is that 3 day affair where athletes do a 10 K swim, and a 150 k bike on day 1, a 275 k bike on day 2, and a double marathon (84K) on day 3.
The Dodge City X – is your typical no-holds-barred off-road triathlon that features the requisite 1.5 k swim in a refreshing lake, a 20-something K capital G gnarly cycling route (which we know CAN be completed without a bike seat), and an honest 9 point something trail run.
Both events attract athletes seeking more than your Strava-Centric, Instagram-Influencer type of triathlete would. Ultraman’s guiding principle is Ohana. Dodge X guiding principle is DON’T BE A DICK . With a lead in like that how can you NOT push play.
Saturday tells you how much. Download the ap. Pocket the change.