Norseman Calls for Double Gold Medalist Alistair Brownlee

Slowtwitch.com: Alistair Brownlee — third at Patagonman last year, with supposedly not too much training. The word is you’ve been training up a storm for this one, right?

Alistair Brownlee: Supposedly. Who’s your inside source? I think training’s all relative, isn’t it? Relative to what I used to do, I’m doing a lot less training. But I guess, 10 to 15 hours a week, probably on average, so I get a bit of exercise in. I don’t train, though — I exercise. I do like zero sessions, zero intensity and almost zero swimming. It’s going to be a challenge, but getting through these long, tough events is always a challenge, so there’s nothing new there.

So what is it that has drawn you to Norseman?

Norseman has been one of the bucket list races I’ve wanted to do for a long time, actually. I don’t know when I first knew about it, but it was a long time ago. As I keep saying, I had a career trying to race as a professional, all over the world, to the best of my ability and ultimately win races. But there was a bunch of things I wanted to do that I didn’t get the chance to, because I was focused on winning the next race. Norseman was pretty near the top of that list of things to do. So it’s amazing to be here.

So many people, after a career like yours, would just say, “Okay, that’s it, I’m done.” But you appear to just love being active. Is that what keeps you going with this stuff?

Yeah, I do love being active. I think, first and foremost, I’m just a sports person — someone who enjoys being outside, enjoys sports, enjoys competition and the community involved in these events. And, yeah, almost a by-product of that was being a professional athlete, so I kind of feel like I’m doing what I’m meant to be doing now. I think it’s interesting — about half the people I talk to say, “You had this career, why the hell are you still going?” And half are like, “It’s so cool that you can still go out and enjoy being part of the sport, and do these things you didn’t get the chance to do.” I’m definitely in that latter half, and it’s great.

How long do you see yourself swimming and biking and running?

That’s a good question. I feel like I’ve done a lot over the last 12 months. I’ve got a few more challenges coming up for the rest of this year, and then I think I might slow down a little for a while — but who knows, I say that all the time and then carry on. One of the real joys of the last year has been experiencing some other triathlons. I’ve done some local ones as well. But doing ski mountaineering races, trail races, gravel racing and everything else. Actually, I’ve got an XTERRA coming up, so I’ve got at least one more triathlon this year.

What will it mean to get to the top of Gaustatoppen on Saturday for you?

It will just mean that I’m happy to finish, to be honest. As I said, this is a bucket list race, and it will be great to finish. But I think finishing these challenges is always a bit special, and it feels good — the satisfaction of crossing the finish line is one of the big reasons I do it.

You are a two-time Olympic gold medalist and there are so many other achievements. What keeps driving you to come to a race you might not necessarily win? I ask, because, for so many years, it seemed like it was all about winning.

Well, yeah, I guess racing now, for me, isn’t about winning at all — well, I say that now, standing here in my normal clothes. Obviously, as soon as the race starts, I still try my hardest and do as well as I can. But, I’m not training to win, really — I’m not preparing to win. I’m just here to enjoy doing it and participating in events I’ve wanted to do for a long time.

Norseman — what is it that appeals to you?

If you categorize the things I’m trying to do at the moment — things that take me to new places, things that are physically and mentally challenging, things that are extreme and off-road, a bit of an adventure — if you classify all of those, in triathlon, Norseman is the original, the one to do in that sense. I know there are a few more XTRIs around the world these days, and maybe there’ll be even more in another year, but Norseman is the original, and definitely the one I heard about first. So that’s why I’m here.

And does this lifestyle — does that help with other things you’re doing? Things like the foundation – does being active, in a way, legitimize that work?

I think, more than anything, it’s a very personal thing — I do it because I want to do it, and I still want exercise and sport to be a big part of my life. As I said, one of the reasons I retired when I did was because I wanted to be able to do a bunch of other stuff, and not be so knackered that when I retired I couldn’t do anything else. So, I feel very lucky that I’ve got the chance to do that. Life for me is about balance — I’m really lucky to be building a career in completely new professions, effectively, and still have time to do just about enough exercise to come and do these events.

Time management, I think, has always been something you’ve excelled at — I couldn’t believe you wrote a book while you were competing. How important is that for you now, to try and fit everything in? Because you’ve got a lot going on.

Yeah, time management is very important. I’m always amazed and inspired by some of the stories I hear of people doing triathlon who have a full-time job and a family — getting up early in the morning and doing things late at night. That is genuinely incredible. For me, it’s a combination of time management, trying to be as good as I can be in my other domains, and also trying to think of it more from a long-term health point of view. I spent a long time — 15 years — trying to maximize my body for performance, and now I think: wait a minute, just back off the accelerator a bit, just try to do enough exercise to stay generally healthy. It’s easy to say that, but difficult to do when you get carried away racing someone in a training session.

Speaking of that, how hard will it be for you to take that step back? Or do you just accept that you’re going to race these guys once you get out there?

Oh yeah, it’s impossible — I’ve given up. I can stand here and easily say I’m not that worried, that I’m just going to enjoy having a good race, and then as soon as the race starts, I’ll be going for it. The one thing is, though, I really do need to be a bit careful, because I don’t have the kind of endurance fitness I used to have, and if you go over the line, you’re just not coming back. So, I do have to be a bit more sensible — eat as well as I can, pace well. But, of course, I don’t think anyone’s going to get to that finish line and not be absolutely spent. So I think I’m in the same boat as everyone else.

You and Jonny have always been quite competitive as brothers. He seems like he’s focusing on the short stuff, and you’ve gone long — was that an agreement, so you wouldn’t keep pounding away at each other into your 40s and 50s?

No, not at all — I would love to race Jonny at these events. I hope he sees sense and comes to do them. We had one race this year, at a local sprint-distance triathlon, and he beat me. But he’s still training full-time, so… there you go.

Hey, thank you so much. Good luck on Saturday.

Alistair Brownlee’s BMC Speed Machine 01

Brownlee is after all the aero benefits he can get, riding an Zipp 858 up front and a Zipp Disc in the rear.

The cockpit includes a Wattshop Delta Anemoi Extensions, a BTA waterbottle cage and a Wahoo computer.

SRAM Red Components are coupled with 170 mm cranks and Speedplay Aero Pedals.

A Fizik Saddle with another water bottle cage rounds things out.

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