During the swimming portion of Saturday’s Alaskaman Extreme Triathlon, Douglas resident Jim Ustasiewski thought the 57-degree water of Resurrection Bay near Seward was cold. Then it got a little colder.
“As we got closer to Seward, we met the glacial melt waters that were just coursing into the bay there,” Ustasiewski said, “and it got much noticeably colder. It was really challenging to us who were not as good as swimming, like me.”
The 54-year-old Ustasiewski was trying to swim faster to warm up, but it was hard to move quickly in the glacial waters. Then the tide turned, adding another degree of difficulty. Ustasiewski felt like he was swimming uphill for the last part of the swim, straight into the tidal current.
Ustasiewski didn’t realize how cold he’d gotten until he got out of the water, and his wife and a friend almost had to carry him to his bike for the second leg of the triathlon. It got a little bit easier from then on, and Ustasiewski ended up finishing the 140-mile extreme triathlon in 15 hours and 18 minutes, good enough to finish in 45th place.
After feeling like he was one of the last people to finish the swimming portion of the race, Ustasiewski made up time on the biking portion before finishing the marathon, which included a run up, down and back up Mt. Alyeska.
“It was just a euphoric feeling at the top to have gone through it and kind of enjoyed it at times, too,” Ustasiewski said, laughing. “It wasn’t all suffering. It was definitely extreme but in some ways the joy at the finish line was extreme, too.”
A steep test
Ustasiewski was one of two locals to experience that excitement at the finish line, as Juneau resident John Bursell ended up finishing 19th. Former Juneau resident (and current Petersburg resident) Tommy Thompson finished 50th, just nine minutes behind Ustasiewski. Bursell, who’s run in 17 Ironman competitions, said this was the toughest race he’s been in.
This was the first extreme triathlon in the United States, Race Director Aaron Palaian said, and nearly 200 people began the race. Of those, 151 finished. Aptly-named Andrew Fast from Salt Lake City finished first, crossing the finish line after 11 hours and 18 minutes. The top-finishing Alaskan was Daniel Folmar of Anchorage, who finished third.
Bursell said he was all the way up to fifth place at one point during the running portion, but the final seven miles slowed him down considerably. Those seven miles featured an elevation gain of 4,750 feet, finishing at the Alyeska Resort. Bursell, 53, said it was more of a hike at that point than it was a run.
Even after training on the steepest trails in Juneau, Bursell said Alyeska was a major challenge.
“I was trying to relate the steepness of the initial climb to something we typically go up in Juneau,” Bursell said, “and I couldn’t think of anything. It was that steep. Maybe some of the steeper sections of Mt. Jumbo, where you use your hands and feet to get up.”
During the final stretch, runners were required to have at least one “support crew member” who ran along with them and made sure they stayed hydrated and safe. Both Bursell and Ustasiewski had two people there for support, cheering and providing snacks along the way. Ustasiewski had his wife Mary Irvine and Dan Robinson for support while Bursell had his wife Jamie Bursell and friend Darren Booton alongside him.
Both Bursell and Ustasiewski were able to take in the views of the mountains and the Chugach National Forest a little bit on the way. Bursell stopped and took a selfie on Mt. Alyeska with Booton, while Ustasiewski stopped frequently on the final stretch as well.
Ustasiewski said he originally underestimated how difficult the final stretch would be. He was hoping it would be a somewhat leisurely hike where he could walk and take in the scenery, but midway through the climb he began to feel lightheaded and even a little nauseous. It was not as easy as he had hoped.
“I shouldn’t have been expecting that anyway,” Ustasiewski said, chuckling. “It was just a beautiful challenge to be in that national forest and enjoy all the scenery.”
Next year?
Bursell said the first thing he did after finishing the race was “hobble into the hotel room and lay down,” looking to warm up after a day of frigid water and cold mountain air. He and a few others including Ustasiewski got together later that night and shared Caol Ila 12-year-old Scotch whisky in celebration.
Alaskaman organizers are already planning to run the event again next year, with registration scheduled to open in early fall. Bursell said he and other Juneau-area runners have talked for years about organizing their own extreme triathlon that would run called “Klondike Man” that would have participants swim near Skagway, ride to Whitehorse and then run a marathon.
“We’ve been discussing it for a number of years,” Bursell said, “but (Alaskaman) beat us to it.”
Both Bursell and Ustasiewski were still recovering and didn’t want to think much about whether or not they’d do it again next year.
The morning after the race, the finishers all gathered at the hotel for the medal ceremony. Jamie Bursell said many of the participants, from all over the world, said Alaskaman was the toughest race they’d done. One of the race organizers asked the room full of tired and sore participants if they were going to come back and do the grueling race again next year.
“One guy raised his hand,” John Bursell recalled. “And then his wife put his hand down and said, ‘No you’re not.’”
• Contact reporter Alex McCarthy at alex.mccarthy@juneauempire.com.
Douglas resident Jim Ustasiewski grabs a banana from his wife Mary Irvine during the biking portion of the Alaskaman Extreme Triathlon on Saturday, July 15. Ustasiewski made up time on the biking portion after moving slowly through the swimming portion. (Photo courtesy of Jim Ustasiewski)
