S8E1 -- “The One and Only” Marius Butuc (Trans Sweden Triathlon’s Only Racer)

Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Larry Ryan (00:57):
He's done doubles, triples, quadruples, and even
decos.
He's participated in Ocean Manand the Trans-Sweden triathlon.
He first raced a 515 distancein Spain at Infinity Man in
2018, and he has completed thatrace three times.
We're lucky to catch him inbetween two events.
He just returned home fromSardinia, where he was in an

(01:20):
ultra biking event, and is aboutto leave again to Taiwan for a
continuous DECA event.
Joining me today from Cluz,Napolka, Romania, it is Marius
Butek.
Hello, Marius.

Marius Butuc (01:34):
Hello, Larry.
Thank you for the invitation.

Larry Ryan (01:38):
I I really like it when I get the opportunity to
speak to some Europeans, Marius,because we get to hear about so
many different events.
And you've certainly done anumber of those different
events, as I mentioned in theintro, and that wasn't even all
of them.
So I would like to speak to youabout as many of those as we
can get to.
But first of all, I just want alittle background about who you

(02:01):
are so we can be familiar withuh who you are, what you do, and
what life is like in inRomania.
So can you tell us a little bitabout your life outside of
racing?

I started in 2014 with um with uh with sport
actually, when I uh gave up onmy on my previous life.
I was close to I had close to100 kilos, and I was walking a
lot.
And uh I decided one day to toto run away from from from this

(02:37):
life or for something fromsomething more uh more
interesting.
And I started with uh withswimming.
Oh yeah.
Um yes, but uh this was uh ahell of an experience if I can
say so.
I learned how to swim bymyself.
So just only only looking at umthe other the other the other

(03:02):
swimmers close to my lane andjust just uh um imitating.
So this was this was my my mymy lessons uh were my lessons in
uh in swimming.
And after that, with uh thehelp uh of a friend, I I started
biking and I found out there isa sport in this world uh called

(03:24):
triathlon.
So uh this was the the theshort story um in um which took
place, let's say, in the firstsix months of uh 2014.
And uh yes, in uh June, if Iremember correctly, I
participated in my first uhOlympic triathlon here in

(03:45):
Romania.
And after that, the the journeybegins.

Larry Ryan (03:49):
And you were hooked, yeah.
You know, it's it's it's a it'sa common story of people who
who are you know maybe notleading the best lifestyle, and
and then they they findtriathlon somehow, and and it
just changes their life and theand their lifestyle completely.
What what's the rest of yourlife like in a day-to-day basis

(04:11):
over in Romania?
What do you do for work?
How do you pay for all of theseadventures that you do?
What's the family life like foryou?

I I don't want to declare how I pay for everything
because my wife will look atthis podcast.
Uh yes, um I have a family.
I have two two kids, which areuh already uh grown grown-up uh
adults.
Um I'm I'm uh I'm a shoeseller.

(04:43):
Uh I'm I I work for a companyfrom Germany.
And um yes, this uh this umthis job allows me to to or
offer me uh a lot of uh freetime, let's say between my uh
working seasons, because I workin in two major seasons in uh uh

(05:04):
this is the specific also ofthis business.
So between them, I have five tosix months per um per year,
which are more free than thanthe other.
So uh I have time for I hadtime for for uh for for training
in that period because I Istarted with with this business
in 2010.

(05:24):
So yes, this is what I do forliving.
This uh is where the moneycomes from for for for um uh
day-by-day uh uh life and alsofor sports.
Okay, I I had uh the um in timeI had some some uh sponsors uh
from time to time.

unknown (05:44):
Oh yeah.

For for which I'm very grateful.
Uh but this was not this wasnot uh uh a rule.
Yeah, this happened from timeto time, as I said.

Larry Ryan (05:55):
Yeah.
And and I understand that youwhen you were starting out and
and going to school and stuff,you you were actually studying
some things completelydifferent.
Um tell us about that.

Oh uh yes, uh everything was uh my my life was
was a big continuous change, ifI can say yes, I I I in my high
school I I studied um umcomputer science, or uh let's
say kind of um I don't know howto call this.

(06:31):
It's in in in Romanian it's ininformatics, yeah.
This is uh technology ofinformation, or uh it was
immediately after the theRomanian anti-communist
revolution.
Okay, so uh the our specialspecialties in the in the in in
uh in the high school were notvery clear defined.
So it was something new that weknew that uh that we we uh that

(06:56):
there are computers in thisworld, and we uh were supposed
to be the next uh generation forspecialists, but uh this uh
never happened, especially in mycase.
So I studied in um inuniversity, I I studied physics
and uh science.
Uh I decided at the end of theuh after my my graduation, I

(07:21):
decided that I want to changeeven that one, and I started uh
studying uh culturalanthropology.
So I made a master's degree inuh cultural anthropology, and
even I started a doctoral uhdegree which which I never
finished.
Uh after that um I was involvedin the in uh in a family

(07:42):
business.
We had a company which produceduh shoes.
No relation with anything in myuh with my my previous life or
my uh previous occupations.
So I studied even that one.
I studied management, I studieduh the economy, uh everything

(08:07):
necessary to lead and to managethe company, which became quite
big.
But uh okay, the situation inRomania with our economy is not
always the the greatest.
We are still still developing,we are still learning, we are

(08:28):
still trying to uh get over allthese uh the difficulties which
uh transitional uh economy hasby default.
So I became back bankrupt in uh2008-2007, something like that.

(08:49):
And I had to reconsider mywhole life in a way or another.
So uh the business uh should berenewed in a way or another.
Uh even my as I said, my my ownpersonal life, because the we
had already the kids, which theyhad their their own needs,

(09:13):
school and everything involvedin this.
So we we have been very, let'ssay, ingenious, and we found uh
um a franchise which we boughtfrom from Spain.
Uh this franchise uh wasspecialized in um events for

(09:35):
kids, but the the name was funscience.
In uh in Spanish is CienciaDivertida.
This is um uh like uhexperiments of physics and
chemistry.

Speaker 3 (09:49):
Okay.

Which you which you can you you can produce in
uh in front of uh of a of aclass, yeah like uh like after
school uh or uh even like eventsthat we produced in the malls,
right?
Like a marketing marketingsupport, yeah.
And we we had this thisbusiness like for um 10 years,

(10:12):
and during this period uh weokay.
I already in 2010 I startedalso with uh uh actual uh
business that I have with thewith the shoes from from
Germany.
But in parallel, we had thesetwo uh two two jobs, me and my
wife.
And we rebuilt everything welost in the in the bankruptcy.

(10:36):
So and the the main and the themost important thing that uh we
we gained in this period wasour freedom.
So we we we found uh time foruh for us or for which of each
one of us uh to to to dosomething for himself or

(10:58):
herself.

Speaker 3 (10:58):
Right.

Yeah, to so I I started with sport and with uh
reading, with uh everything uh Iloved in in my life, but I it
was impossible for me to doduring the.

Larry Ryan (11:10):
It kind of is uh a through line for you that you're
just self-taught in all thethings that you do and you seek
out some new challenges and youjust kind of dive in and and and
go for it.
I I think that's probably theidea of most people who do 515
or ultra events is that they'renot afraid to to take on

(11:32):
something big or something newand dive in, even if they don't
know if they're they'll succeed.
And it seems like from whatI've read about your life, that
your your whole life has kind ofgone along that kind of through
line.

My my whole life I I followed only one only one
goal.
Yeah, uh I I always wanted tobe uh the one and only.
But always with somethingextra, with a with a twist

(12:07):
there, which which makes thedifference.
So uh I was not afraid, ormaybe it's too much to to say
that I was not afraid.
I am afraid, in general, I wasafraid, but um I was a little
bit inconscient.
Yeah, but I always take thechallenges because these

(12:28):
challenges fascinate me, notbecause uh fascinates me, not
because uh uh I I uh make up uhlet's say a rational analysis
before that or priority event.
Uh I just imagine how cool itcan be to go to a uh 515.
So uh I I heard about it and Isaid okay, three days race,

(12:52):
that's it's something uhinteresting.
I want to do it.
And I never thought I all onlyone time I I I uh because you
mentioned Manu, I called Manuand I said, Can you suggest uh
uh let's say a key workout forfor this kind of event?

(13:14):
And he said, just run twice ina day, like 20 kilometers, and
will be enough.
So, yes, okay.
This was my lesson before myfirst 550 ultraman race.
So I and I I I followed thisadvice for one once or twice.
I ran, I have a double doublerunning day.

Speaker 3 (13:35):
Yeah.

Well, yeah, I I I only I I always choose uh this
this kind of races, which isvery interesting for me.

Larry Ryan (13:45):
And and for you, um growing up in that transition of
the communist era, I guess youyou kind of you took to book
because you didn't have all ofthe other uh entertainment
available.
You I think that's probablywhat brought you into the
self-learning kind of area.
You you've never even had acoach.

(14:06):
Like you said, you you taughtyourself to swim by watching the
people next to you.
You're you're asking advicealong the way and just learning
through trial and error.
It it must be both rewardingand sometimes frustrating to
work through how to do an ultraevent uh all on your own.

(14:27):
What can you give me any adviceon on people that are out there
self-coaching themselves as touh maybe what they should be
looking for?

Yeah, I I have a short answer, and it's uh of
course um maybe it's only mebeing being like that, but it
can be a good advice.
Yeah.
Um I always see uh always seethe um uh the half full of the
glass.
So I never despair and then uhI never see this uh this um

(15:02):
let's say failures like likelike failures.
Yeah, that there is alwayssomething to to to to gain
behind any any failure.
So if you if you don't learn uhfrom from from your failures,
how can you learn from uh youruh winnings?
How can you learn from no youcan't, uh definitely not.

(15:25):
So if you if you want to to togrow in a way or another, you
have to fail many times.
And to not not be afraid to dothat.
So uh it's it's happening.
And you you never you you neverfail uh totally.
Yeah, you you you never go uhlike uh your life doesn't depend

(15:46):
on on this sport.
In the end, we are amateurs,and this is this is something
that amateurs always or veryoften they they forget.
Uh we are amateurs, we are notJan Frodino, we are not forced
to perform.

unknown (16:01):
Right.

It's nice to perform, it's fantastic, uh, but
you don't have to.
Yeah, so you can you can failfreely and learn something from
that.

Larry Ryan (16:12):
Yeah, yeah, absolutely.

It's not for frustrating uh at all.
Okay, you can you can if youhave a DNF like uh was my case
now, and I have like four orfive DNFs in my entire, let's
say, career.

Speaker 3 (16:26):
Right.

Um yes, um it's not the nicest feeling you can
have.
Because always uh when when youwhen you stop and you quit,
after that you you are you areasking yourself, what if?
Maybe if I pushed a little bit,if I was not such a wimp, which

(16:51):
I okay.
There are always questions, soat least at in in your first uh
uh failures you will have thesequestions.
After that, uh you get used tothem.
And uh even even now, um coupleof months, one month ago, uh I

(17:14):
was in uh in Bad Radkinsburg forthe triple Iron Man, and again
I I stopped and I quit, and I amDNF in that race as well.
But uh this didn't stop me togo in the next day to the finish
line and to cheer up foreverybody there and encourage
them.
And I I I was there with uh twoof my very good ultra friends,

(17:39):
uh, which is uh um Fabio Spiterifrom Malta and uh Bogomir
Dolens from uh from Serbia fromuh Slovenia.
And all three of us, all three,we are uh uh Decca finishers,
but all three uh quit it in uhin this uh in this race in a

(18:00):
triple iron for various reasons,it doesn't matter.
And in in the end, how how howuh it's uh this story with uh
half full of glass, we presentourselves to the to the ceremony
and we entitled ourselves theuh DNF team.

(18:21):
And we we've been honored thereby the rest of everybody, which
okay, they they were finishersexcept us.
Yeah, we we have been like uhuh 200 iron's uh uh distances in
the in one picture and all uhall DNF.
So yeah, you can you can builda a nice a nice story even from

(18:47):
uh from uh from these, let'ssay, uh fail failures because
they are not failures.

Larry Ryan (18:54):
Yeah, yeah, no, not failures, definitely not.
Um well, you know, let's getinto some more of these races
with you then.
I know recently you just cameback from Sardinia where you
were doing an ultra biking eventwhere it was not a failure, and
and you learned something fromthat one.
Um, and you did a similar eventin 2022.

(19:15):
Um can you and and you saidthat in 2022 that this was one
of the hardest uh events thatyou'd ever done.
So can you tell us a little bitabout what this Ultra Biking
Sardinia is is?
What is the event and and howdid it go for you this time and
maybe and last time as well?

Yeah.
Um Ultra Biking Sardinia, in myopinion, is one of the the most
beautiful and hardcore races onthis planet.
So it was um everybody is uhtelling you if you if you tell
them that you intend to go inSardinia, oh that island it's uh
it's a beauty.
You definitely must see it.
If you participate in UltraBiking Sardinia, I can guarantee

(19:57):
you don't see the island.
So uh I I or at least I didn't.
Uh first time when I when I wasthere, uh the races was a
little bit shorter than uh thanthis year.
It was only 800 kilometers longonly and uh 40 only, yes.
Uh because I compare it withthis year, yeah.

(20:17):
Um and 14,000 uh meters uhelevation game.

Larry Ryan (20:22):
And that race also comes with uh a cutoff, is that
correct?

Yes, the cutoff it's uh it's uh it's killing the
the enthusiasm because it'sonly six it was only 60 hours
for uh for uh 2022.
And uh now in um this year uhthe race became ultra biking
extreme and now has 1,000kilometers and 19,000 uh uh

(20:51):
elevation uh meters elevationgain.
Yeah, but the cut-off uh timewas established for 90 hours.
Okay, so uh more uh a littlebit of uh Italian generosity in
this, but uh nevertheless, uhyeah, I I suffered uh uh
enormously in uh in the um inthe first edition.

(21:16):
Uh I finished the race afterthe cutoff, I was the first guy
under the line, but uh I washappy that I uh uh I didn't uh
give up because I was very closeto the the the the pain the the
pain was excruciating.
So it was somethingunbelievable.

(21:37):
I decided that Sardina has noteven one centimeter uh of flat
road.
So everything is up and down,up and down continuously, and uh
yes, because I knew that theroads are not, let's say,
perfect in uh in Sardinia.
I have chosen to go there withum with my gravel bike, which is

(22:00):
heavy by default because it'smade from steel.
And um with the bags, becausethis uh it's an unsupported
bikepacking race.
So you put everything on thebike and uh you it is not
allowed to have any any kind ofsupport from from outside.
So you have to to pedalcontinuously and to manage with

(22:22):
uh pain, with uh the food, withuh okay, sleep if you want, if
you need, uh yes, you you haveto to be your own uh your own
manager.

Larry Ryan (22:33):
So did you did you weigh your your bike at any
point with all the equipment andthe bike itself?
What were you hauling around?

I can because I I did a lot of uh bikepacking
trips, I can appreciate it.
I appreciate the way it lookedlike probably 28-29 kilos.
So this was this was uh but thethe organizer uh uh jumpy, when
he saw my bike, he said, if youfinish this race with this
bike, you are my hero.

(23:02):
And I said, Okay, but why?
Because I I know that we needthat and that and that.
And I said, Marious, this isnot a bike packing trip, it's a
bike packing race.
You have to race and you haveto be fast.
And I said, Okay, I will, Iwill try with this bike, but it
was impossible.
In the last day, I said I willkill myself here on the on a you

(23:22):
know on top of a mountain.
But I was lucky that I saw thethe most beautiful the sunrise
ever, and if I get energized ina way or another, I don't know
how, and somehow I finished it,but okay.
Yeah, I I I was not a finisher,but I was a terminator, let's
say.

Larry Ryan (23:40):
So so that first race, you you went over time,
but you did finish the thecourse, correct?
Yes, I did.
Yeah, yeah.
And and the the the organizermet you at the finish line with
a little present for for doingthat?

Yes, with like uh 20 beers.
He said he he was waiting forme for to to to have a beer with
me and said, Okay, I'm herefinally, okay, because I didn't
didn't die in this in this race,I will join you for the entire
pack of beers.
I don't care.

Larry Ryan (24:15):
So then you went back for the for the longer
version this year.
How did this year?

Of course, of course, of course.
I was invited in the in the inthe first line of of the of the
registration, and uh okay, Isaid yes, why not?
Of course.
But uh this was in March, anduh of course I I I I thought
that uh there is a lot of timeto train.
So uh we had like nine monthsor eight months to train, so uh

(24:46):
enough time to because okay,just something extra info.
Um always when when I go forthe first time in a race, I'm
always uh excited to go there.
Uh the novelty of of this racealways uh pushed me to over my

(25:07):
limits, let's say.
Yeah.
Um because if it's new andnobody did it before, uh I'm I'm
always very enthusiastic.
But this time I knew exactlywhere I'm going.
200 kilometers extra uh milesuh is not uh not it was not a
big deal, let's say,theoretically speaking.

(25:28):
Yeah, and um the entire yearvery very busy and very lazy,
both of them.
So um if I remember if I if Ium look back in in time, like in
like seven, eight years ago, uhduring my training for Iron Man
or for other races, I was Ialways found uh uh time for

(25:54):
training during the night,during the morning, very early.
I don't know.
But this time uh the job waswas uh it was covering my my my
time almost the entire day.

Larry Ryan (26:08):
Right.

So all the time traveling because I had I have
to travel a lot, uh driving.
And uh yeah, some most of thetimes in the been the in the
evenings or even in themornings, I I was not in the
mood for not not even forwalking, not not for running or
to to do something uhstructured.

Larry Ryan (26:30):
Crazy jobs just get in the way of of your training,
huh?

Yeah, yeah, this this this time, yes.
Yes, yeah.
I can say they they stopped mefor doing something more
important.
Yeah, but okay, I I I assumedit'd be I I I knew uh when even
when I arrived in in Sardina, Itold uh Jumpy that not enough

(26:55):
prepared, let's say, for uh forthis race.
I am mentally prepared becauseI know exactly what's uh what's
coming, and that's why I canappreciate that physically I'm
not uh I'm not prepared.
So yes, this was I'm I I don'twant to say that it was placebo,
and I suggest myself that Ican't.
But uh yeah, on the last climbin the first day before uh the

(27:20):
the first uh the first pointwhere we had to get in the in
that day.
Um I realized that I have noenergy left in the in the tank.
So I I couldn't eat anymore,the gels uh were not enough.
I don't know.
I I I felt the hunger totallydifferent.
Different.

(27:40):
Yeah, I I wanted to eatsomething, to stop somewhere to
eat, but uh this was um umbecause I I I was biking very
slow, I pedaling very slow.
Um uh I was running out from uhfrom the intermediary cutoffs.
So I decided to stop because itwas the let's say the uh had no

(28:04):
makes no sense anymore to to toto make no sense to to to
continue.
I announced them that uh guysuh I had to stop.
Okay, you are they asked me ifI'm okay, if I need something,
and I said no, I will find thehotel, I will stop, eat, and I
will see tomorrow morning what Ican do.

(28:26):
And from the next day, that'swhy I said that I always see the
the half full of the glass.

Speaker 3 (28:32):
Right.

I started traveling inside the island.
I made a different differentroute than the than the the race
itself.
Yeah, but I still I made like600 kilometers bikepacking until
the the the end of the thecutoff, so which we this was on
on Sunday evening.

(28:53):
So um I arrived on Sundayafternoon.
Everybody thought that I'm I'mI'm from the race, I'm one of
the participants.
So I but they they theyreceived me like like I was uh
uh one of the finishers.
Yes, it was very funny becauseeverybody was laughing, but
yeah, but Jumpy was happy, butthat um I I didn't stop and just

(29:16):
go to sleep and uh complainabout my fate.
Yeah, yeah.
But ask for a taxi to to bringme back uh to Algero, yeah.
The the the head carter.
So uh yeah, I I I was bikingaround in the mountains and
close to the sea and visited uhsome cities, and indeed now I
can confirm what I said in thewhen I when I started with it

(29:39):
with this uh answer that Sadinais very beautiful.
Yeah, finally I saw it.
Or a or a or a part of it.
Yeah.
So but no no no regrets forbeing there.

Larry Ryan (29:52):
Yeah.
No, that's that's that'sfabulous.
And and you finally got to seethe island, which uh which I
also have heard is is amazing.
So So I'm looking forward togetting there one day.

I do recommend the race in the islands.

Larry Ryan (30:08):
Now you've you've been a part of another like
ultra bikepacking race.
And and and this is one I whenI read about it, it was okay,
that's that's that's different.
Uh you did the trans-Swedentriathlon, which goes south to
north in Sweden, anotherunsupported bikepacking event.
But somehow you ended up beingthe only competitor in this

(30:31):
event.
Can can you tell us about thatone?

The story started uh started a little bit earlier
with um the idea of uh of WayneKurtz, which uh wanted to make
the Trans-Uh-America triathlon.
So um, yes, I was about to signup and to come to US.
Okay, for me it's quitedifficult to travel to US

(30:54):
because of the the visa policythat which still affects us.

Speaker 3 (30:58):
Oh yeah.

So um yeah, it's uh it's hard to to just inform
the the authorities I'm goingthere to to do a bikepacking
ultra-triathlon from uh uh eastto west of the United States.
Yeah, from Florida from Floridato California, this is what I'm
uh going to do in uh in yourcountry.

(31:20):
But okay, um then I found outuh from um from social media uh
yeah, I'm pretty sure that fromFacebook or from somewhere,
there is a guy in uh in um uhSweden which wants to do a
trans-Scandinavian triathlon.
And I said, okay, this soundsinteresting, but in the

(31:43):
meanwhile he split it in two andhe proposed to the to the uh
ultra community um two races.
First was trans-Swedentriathlon, which uh crossed uh
Sweden from south to north, andthe other one uh proposed was

(32:04):
the Trans-Norwegian, whichcrossed uh Norway from uh Nord
Cap to the southernmost point ofNorway, which I forgot the
name.
Um yeah, it was in 2022.
So I I I called the organizer,uh Christian uh Christiansen,

(32:27):
which is one of the most extremeathletes on on this planet, in
my opinion, because I I I uh getto know him, uh got to know
him, and uh he he told me a lotof stories about himself and
others told me about uh uh uhstories about him.
And yeah, the guy is it'sunbelievable.

(32:50):
What he can do, and this thiswhat I was impressed was was uh
his mind, which is uh which isvery strong in uh in these
challenges.
Doesn't matter which challengeis that.
Yeah, if he decided to go, hegoes to the end.
So he he dies or he finishes.

(33:10):
This is this is there there areno options in between.
We the others, the normalpeople, we have uh a scale of uh
of uh of um uh levels, the thethe different levels where we
can stop.
But he the this this is otherkind of uh other kind of uh
persons.

Speaker 3 (33:30):
Yeah.

Anyway, uh I uh informed him about my intentions
to participate in this race.
He gave me the information thathe thought that uh I may need.
Because the the the mostimportant uh information he gave
me was that it's an unsupportedrace.
So uh I can give you the startpoint and the finish line.

(33:57):
This is here, the other one isthere, and okay, between them
you have 2,000 kilometers, it'syour problem.
Do it, yeah.
Okay, but I thought that maybeI will not be alone and uh the
only one in this race, but umyes, this kind of races
requires, let's say, at leasttheoretically, from from the

(34:19):
atlas to offer to offer at leastthe chance that they will
survive.
Yeah, to to to offer anillusion.
Yeah, but if you don't offerthis illusion, uh you is not uh
allowed for you to to to startthe race.

Larry Ryan (34:33):
So So you were you were the only person who
actually thought that this waspossible to do.

Yes.
No, we we we we did we havebeen three or four.

Speaker 3 (34:45):
Okay.

He had three or four requests for registrations,
but uh he refused them becauseothers, okay.
One guy came with uh one IronMan, the other one with 100k
trail uh running race.
This is not enough.
Yeah, so um to to give you thenumbers, uh uh it was about 20

(35:10):
kilometers of swimming in the uhBaltics, so close to close to
Smygehook, which is thesouthernmost point of uh Sweden
and of uh Scandinavianpeninsula.

Larry Ryan (35:23):
And and does the water temperature actually get
warm there at some point?

Yes, like 15-16 degrees Celsius.

Speaker 3 (35:31):
Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Very, very, very warm.
Yeah.
Um yes, after that, um uh 2000kilometers of uh biking,
completely unsupported, and Icould uh choose the uh the road.

Larry Ryan (35:50):
Right.

I could choose the the the route to to follow the
yeah the the the route excuse meuh to to follow which route I
wanted, but he recommended to gothrough the middle of the
country because it's more wild,and as he said that uh uh it's
important for you as anultra-athlete and extreme

(36:12):
athlete to be close to thenature, not close to the cities,
and uh yeah, this is good andbad, so we can discuss about
that, but okay, it was uh it wasinteresting.
Yeah, and uh uh this uh thisroute leads to um Abysco.
Abisco Abysco is uh over thethe polar circle.

(36:36):
So um uh from Abysco, this is asmall village uh in north, in
the north.
Uh from Abysko uh in um uh inthere there is one national park
of Abysco, this is the name, orAbysco National Park, which is
uh 200 or something like thatkilometers long, right?

(37:01):
Uh along the the the Norwegianuh the Norwegian border somehow.
And it's uh in this uh nationalpark um there is um the highest
mountain, the highest peak ofthe of the Swedish mountains,
which is Kevnek.
So the run was through AbyskoNational Park up to the summit

(37:24):
of Kevnekai, which is 2100 andsomething.

Larry Ryan (37:28):
Oh wow.

So up it was up and down.

Larry Ryan (37:32):
So uh and what was the distance you were running?

Uh out and back, 160 kilometers, 100 miles.

Larry Ryan (37:38):
Yeah.

So uh I started alone and I I I uh did the
entire race alone.
With from time to time, I haduh some uh uh support phone
calls with uh with uh Christian,which uh his answers were all
the time it's an unsupportedrace.

(37:59):
Get yourself together andfinish it.
Yeah.
Somehow I I did.
Yeah.
It was it was uh umunbelievable uh and fantastic uh
experience.
Yeah, it was not it was notabout sports.

(38:20):
This was uh an adventure race,uh or not not even a race, it uh
just an adventure because I wasalone, so nobody else to race
with.

Larry Ryan (38:31):
And and and while you're doing that and and and
you're alone for all that time,uh how long did it take you to
finish?

12 days, 12 hours, and 17 minutes.
Okay, exactly.
Wow, precisely.
Precisely so five, yeah, five,five, five minutes too long not
not to have this 12, 12, 12.
Okay.

Larry Ryan (38:54):
Nobody was looking.
I would have just written itdown as 1212 12.

No, yeah, yes, no, but I I I I had to I had to um
the finish of this race wasquite strange because they lost
me from the radar.
I I had a GPS device, whichwere uh they did they follow the
the the GPS, but I lost the GPSsignal uh in into the bisco
national park.
So nobody, nobody knew that I'mcoming.

(39:20):
That I've uh I'm at the finishline, not even Christian, my
family, my friends, nobody.
So I I finished by alone, myme, myself, and I nobody was
there, nobody, really.
And when when I when I get intothe into the um into a zone

(39:41):
with the network coverage, Icould call him.
Yeah, and he was very surprisedthat I'm I'm coming because
he's he saw me stop in uh in acabin in the mountains, and he
thought that I just stoppedbecause I had a lot of time, the
cutoff was 14 days.
So uh he thought that I stoppedto sleep or to rest or yeah,

(40:03):
okay, I just just make a longerbreak, and that's why I I don't
move or the the the the bluepoint don't don't move on the on
the radar, yeah.
But I I wasn't on on the finishline.

Larry Ryan (40:14):
Oh wow.

So yeah.
That's why I when I called himand said, Where are you?
I'm here, where is the finishline?
Okay, uh, he checked the thethe watch and he saw the the
time and he calculated the thethe finish time.

Speaker 3 (40:27):
Okay.

That's why so I I I didn't communicate the the
finish uh finish time he hecalculated.

Larry Ryan (40:34):
Right.
Yeah.
Uh well you should have told meyou were uh uh hanging around
there for five minutes before weget to the this experience

(41:39):
being out there by yourself fortwelve days.
Um it also inspired you to takeon another challenge.
And that was to to write a bookbecause uh you had a little bit
of uh an experience in in doingthis event.
Can can you tell tell us aboutthe book and and why you felt
you needed to do that and andand what it's about?

The book was all also a dream like uh like uh
let's say the the unique racesthat I that I uh started with.
Or uh it was one of my dreamsto write a book in one day.
I never knew that this bookwill be a story of a triathlon,
and I never imagined that atriathlon can can generate such

(42:23):
stories.
But yeah, it was it it was alife experience.
As I said, it was not a race,so it's not a race report.
My my book, it's just a storyof uh of an adventure, which uh
okay.
Um the name of the book is uhokay in Romanian is solitar,

(42:43):
that means it's solitary,probably in uh in English, yeah,
and it's uh the so subtitle uhstory of a triathlon.

Larry Ryan (42:52):
Can can you show us that book?
Uh you you got it.
Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes.
I I have it here for all thepeople watching on YouTube.

Thank you.
This is the book.
It's it's only in Romanian forthe time being.
I I because uh the publishinghouse uh is the one which uh
decides whether or not it willbe translated, where and how in
which language and uh etc.
So now because I have somerequests from my friends from

(43:23):
abroad, and uh the lots of themare very familiar with English,
maybe I will convince thepublishing house to to make a
translation in uh in English andpublish it at least in uh in um
electronic version, yeah, onAmazon or I don't know, maybe
not as a paperback.

Larry Ryan (43:41):
Well, well, Marius, my my podcast has now been
downloaded in 142 differentcountries around the world.
It's mainly English-speakingcountries, to be honest, but you
know, we we've got a wideberth.
So uh people that arelistening, please uh write to
Marius and tell them that youwant uh solitary in in your

(44:02):
language and and definitely inEnglish, so we can reach a lot
of people.

Yeah, thank you very much.
I hope so.
Yes, it's it's one of one of mygoals here to to to have it in
uh in an international language,especially in English.

Larry Ryan (44:16):
So so tell us then what is what is the you say it's
a story about the race.
Tell us a little bit more aboutit.

Yes, um besides of the race itself, uh my
experience during during thisrace was uh a little bit uh uh
let's say uh unusual, but okay,I had uh I had time being alone
for for such a long period oftime.
Um I passed through umregression, let's say uh

(44:48):
regression is is is thepsychiatric term when because of
the of uh of uh the um extremesituation which puts your life
in danger or something similar,you can uh reconsider your
long-term term memory.

Speaker 3 (45:04):
Right.

What means in in my case, I I um rebuilt uh in my
in my mind the image of myfather, which passed away uh
like exactly 20 years before therace, so in 2002.
2001 in December, okay, likeapproximately 20 years uh before
this race.

Speaker 3 (45:25):
Right.

And uh because I was the in that moment, I was
the the last man standing, let'ssay, in uh in the family, the
the rest of them are were allwomen.
Um I was considered uhresponsible for everything in uh
uh administrative uh stuffaround the the death of my

(45:48):
father.
So I I had no time to to cry,no time to uh uh to to express
my my uh my pain in a way oranother, and like this to to
take it away from me in a way oranother.
I tried to close down in my inmy mind somehow this uh this

(46:09):
this pain.
But together with the pain, uhthe memories that I had with my
father disappeared also.
I didn't know exactly how andwhen until one of my kids uh uh
asked me uh how was my father,and I I didn't remember
something relevant to tell them.
So yeah, it was I I rememberthat I had a father, I remember

(46:32):
a uh uh um a photo that mymother has on uh on the library,
but black and white.
Yes, I remember but uh nothingto which can rebuild an image of
a person which was more thanthan than than a face, yeah, was
more than than just a photo.

(46:52):
It was a person which teach mea lot of stuff.
We had a lot of adventurestogether that I didn't remember.
Right during this race, becauseuh in these moments of
solitude, normally a normalpeople starting from the like

(47:14):
say after a period, okay, maybeone day you can manage thinking
about something or laughing oruh singing a song for yourself.
But after that, uh you are youare going deeper and deeper,
even whatever, that doesn'tmatter if you want it or not.
And I started having adialogue.

(47:34):
This dialogue was completelyimaginary in my in my head, yes.
And um the person that I talkedwith was my father.
So I imagine him uh answered tomy questions or having uh very
funny uh discussions about a lotof stuff.
And during the the the the run,the run leg of the of the

(47:55):
triathlon, the weather was sobad.
Uh everything went very, verybad in in those days with rain,
cold, snow.
Um then I in one moment I hadto to climb one one uh snow
wall, which reminds me, remindedme about one uh one particular

(48:22):
uh memory with my father when weclimbed up a similar um similar
wall.
I was a kid, I was uh like 10years old, and he helped me
because I was in danger to tofall in uh in uh uh from from
the mountain there in an abyss.
He helped me and he he hepulled me up with his belt from

(48:47):
the trouser.
So he he just took out the beltand dropped it, and he uh he
catched me and uh pulled me up.
And um that particular memoryuh started uh the the
everything.
It all memories from with myfather uh came uh one by one,

(49:09):
and I started discussing withhim about uh stories and what
happened in the past where I wasa kid and he was still alive,
and all these memories are inthe book.
I wrote uh an imaginary uh uhset of letters, so there are
eight or nine letters where Iput all my memories with my

(49:32):
father that I could remember inthat moment.
This is how how how the bookends, because through these
letters uh on a way on on aside, and uh the the story of
the adventure on the other side,you have actually two stories
about this triathlon.
Was one was outside and theother was was inside my head.

(49:56):
How how how I lived thisadventure during those 12 days.
So this is the this is thebook.
So the book is not uh a racereport, it's uh it's uh uh let's
say um kind of an analysis ofmy entire life through uh this
uh these memories that I coulduh recover.

(50:17):
And of course everythingstarted with the with the trans
student triathlon and uh thecondition that I that I lived uh
in those I lived there duringthose those days.
So yeah, this is the book.
So it's not it's not somethingvery very very sportive because

(50:39):
my my friends um most of them uhcoming from from this uh from
this area, yeah, from from fromthe sports, some of them at
least expected to have uh astory about uh a real triathlon.

Speaker 3 (50:54):
Yeah.

And uh they were very, very, but this was was a
big wonder for them.
This uh how I found this uhthis way to present the
triathlon.

Larry Ryan (51:05):
But okay, yeah, this is well, you know, that's it's
it's very interesting that youspeak about how you went into
this regression and and broughtback these feelings, you know.
Um a lot of people will willpay good money to go and take
some drugs to to get to thatstate um and be guided by their
trauma.

I have my drugs as well.

Larry Ryan (51:27):
Yeah.

It's a big uh doses of drugs.
Yeah, and a lot of endorphinesand uh the adrenaline dam.
So yeah, it it helps.

Larry Ryan (51:41):
Yeah, and you were able to get there through your
sport.
So that's that's a nice thing.
Yeah.
When we were talking earlierabout all the different events
that you've done, and andtalking about how it I like
having Europeans on because weget to hear about some different
races.
Obviously, you've done a numberof Iron Man races and a number
of challenge races over inEurope.

(52:02):
Can can you tell us uh what arethe different events that
you've done and and maybe one ortwo of your favorites and and
and why?

I started in um 2016 uh with the uh uh
participation in uh the Iron Manevents.
I started with uh EuropeanChampionship uh in Frankfurt in
Germany.
Okay, this uh this is a verypopular race, uh, but it's not
something very spectacular.
It's nice to to run uh um onthe river and uh to okay to have

(52:39):
uh the two loops of 90kilometers uh around Frankfurt
but on the on a hilly, hilly uhroad, but it's not very
spectacular.
But then I went to Lanzarote.
Yeah, Lanzarote is one of thethe toughest uh races in uh in
the circuit.
Um it's it is recommended andmaybe highly recommended if you

(53:06):
want to see to to to have thetaste of an extreme race on uh
in a in a regular championship,let's say, like if you if we can
uh name uh Iron Man like this.
So it's not an extreme race,but can be very easy, right?
So um, yeah, swimming inAtlantic, it's uh it's very nice
uh and uh interesting as a as aas a feeling.

(53:28):
Um then okay, the start.
I don't know if they change itin the meanwhile, but uh then
when I was there in 2016, uh itwas still must start.
That's that's that's anexperience washing machine.
It's uh yeah, yeah, it's a it'sit's the is the name.

(53:49):
So uh yeah, and after that thebike, which is the the most
spectacular in Lanzarote becauseof the uh not of the elevation,
which is also important, butbecause of the wind.
The wind it's uh it's somethingunbelievable.
So like 60 you can have 60, 80kilometers per hour wind in on a

(54:10):
in a regular day, so it's notsomething extraordinary for
them, it's something normal, buton the bike, you have to be
very careful.

Speaker 3 (54:17):
Absolutely.

Okay, um, this was this was interesting.
Uh very nice race.
Uh it's an old race inAmsterdam, in Almer, actually.
It's a it's a small city closeto Amsterdam, which is one of
the oldest races in Europe,which is nice for the atmosphere
that you have around this race.

(54:38):
So this is in is uh challengefamily uh race.
Uh also one one very, verynice.
Okay, I did the niece beforebeing uh the the world
championship from time to time.
So I did the Iron Man Nice,which is indeed uh the I guess

(55:01):
this this race deserves toremain from time to time
European uh uh worldchampionship, but okay, probably
won't be the case anymore.
Uh but it's a it's a toughrace, it's uh it's spectacular,
it's uh unbelievable.
Uh I did Mallorca, the Iron ManMallorca, but uh the full Iron

(55:25):
Man in Mallorca, it's only uhonce at like four or five years.
So normally it's a half IronMan there, and from time to time
they are doing the the full.
So I was lucky that I I uh Iwas there in one of these years,
um 2018 or 19, something likethat.
Um I was in I was in Israel,for instance.

(55:47):
I I did the Isra Man.
Also an extreme race uh in thetrue meaning of of this word.
It's unbelievable.

Speaker 3 (55:59):
Yeah.

So uh but at the start you have like four degrees
in the air and 25 degrees inthe water.
So you you don't know why whywhat what hurts you the most the
most.
It's yeah, the wind, it's uhit's uh it's awful.
Uh but the the mountains whichare like desert mountains with

(56:21):
uh the only rocks and no no nogreen.
Uh it's uh it's very tough.
I did uh the Swiss man, whichis in uh in uh in Swiss, uh an
extreme race.
Extreme Tritron, yeah, like uhuh Iron Man length, but okay, uh

(56:43):
extreme which uh big big yeah,big elevation.
I did one race, one particularrace which was uh had only one
only one edition, if I remembercorrectly, was Challenge Madrid.
Those guys wanted to toorganize something
extraordinary, which it was,because it was a surprise for

(57:07):
everybody what happened there.
They have chosen as a as a bikeleg a part of a Vuelta uh uh
race, which in first 90kilometers we had like uh 3,000
elevation uh gain and almostkill us all.
So yeah, that's why that's whyprobably they they they stopped

(57:31):
organizing.
We and for for the firstedition, we have been there like
300 atlets.

Speaker 3 (57:36):
Okay.

Uh we we ran through the through the center
of of Madrid, which was verynice in some parks, and yeah,
this was cool, but okay, butthis was not a running uh
running leg, it was a walking.
Oh that man walking leg.
It was it was somethingunbelievable.

(57:58):
Yeah, but almost everybody wasso exhausted that it was
impossible to run, yeah, for themost of us.

Larry Ryan (58:08):
Yeah.
Can we move on to the 515 eventthat you're familiar with?
Because that's not one that alot of people on on this side of
the ocean are gonna be asfamiliar with.
I know my European listenersare gonna are gonna know it for
sure.
And we did speak to the racedirector back in October of

(58:31):
2023, season five, episode four,Manu Garcia.
Uh he does the Infinitri 515race, and that's the one that
you've done three times out ofSpain.
So can you tell us a little bitabout that race and and why you
like to go back?

First of all, in 2018, I had a dream to
participate in an Ultraman, andI was, as I said, in in case of
uh of trans uh Trans Americatriathlon, I wanted to get a
visa and to go to Florida, if Iremember correctly.
It was an Ultraman in Florida,yeah?
Or in Arizona.
I I there is, yeah.

(59:08):
And uh suddenly I found outabout this Infinitry race, which
was uh it was first edition, ifI remember correctly, in 2018.

unknown (59:21):
Okay.

Uh after that, uh I found out that there are some
other races on Ultramandistances.
Uh two or three of them uh werealready uh in Spain, one in UK
and another one somewhere else.

Speaker 3 (59:40):
Yeah.

And uh okay, I decided that it's easier for me
to go in Europe and to nottravel to US.
The funny part of this uh ofthis participation was that uh I
gave the international part ofthe of the of the race because I
was the only one.
guy outside Spain.

Larry Ryan (01:00:02):
There have been 17 uh Spanish uh guys and me which
I which I I I gave the the thethe world dimension of the of
the race was strange but I I cansay that uh this 515 uh format

(01:00:22):
is one of my favorites it's faraway uh easier to manage and uh
than let's say a double Iron Manor a triple Iron Man because of
this format with 12 hours cutoff times every day um it's nice
that you can stop you canrecover and restart again in the

(01:00:43):
next day right which uh whichmakes it a little bit more
competitive and then became i ibecame friends with uh man and
alu and al and manu and um icame back in the in the next day
in the next year right againyeah and uh then again but uh

(01:01:08):
but this is my my favorite if iif i will consider to to to go
back to a shorter uh distancethis will be ultraman mm yeah
for sure and and and how manyhow many people are showing up
at uh at the race in spain howmany competitors are you seeing
we have been in the in the lastyear 11 in the first year uh 17

(01:01:32):
or 18 something like that yeahyeah so not too not too many
that's why manu for the timebeing he stopped organizing the
the ultraman okay he's uh he'she's uh concentrated on uh on uh
their uh regular races like uhhalf iron and uh full iron they
have okay it's not iron the longdistance triathlon yeah two to

(01:01:54):
six let's say yeah and um but hestill thinks to think to uh to
restart with the these ultramanuh races but he's got no uh no
requests right for that wellthat's that's why around no it's
there's a lot of most of theraces are down in numbers now

(01:02:16):
the the only one thatcontinually sells out with plus
50 is down in Australia um anduh Zild has also been doing well
but most of the other races arethe numbers have really dropped
off so uh I'm not surprised tohear that when you are doing
these things uh you've you'vegone into the the doubles the

(01:02:39):
triples the decas because you'resaying like if you went down in
distance to 515 again becauseyou're doing you know decas and
things like that.
But when you start getting intowhen you when you start getting
into these uh there tends to besome different formats you know

(01:02:59):
it could be day by day it couldbe continuous supported
unsupported um when when you'redoing these multiples what what
have you found to be the hardesttype of event now I can say
that triple continuous is one ofthe hardest races in uh in the

(01:03:20):
ultra triathlon so uh yeah ultratriathlon being something
totally different than uh thanultraman totally different than
iron so okay uh multiplemultiple of Ironman but it is
totally totally different uhorganization there uh it's all
the time on a circuit on a lapof like uh eight kilometers of

(01:03:45):
uh biking and uh uh onekilometer one kilometer
something the lap of for the forthe uh the loop for the um run
and the swimming is always inthe pool 50 or 25 yeah and you
have the the support team thesupport tent the support car or

(01:04:05):
whatever you have there so uhit's only about uh management in
these races so uh depends onyou how you want to to to manage
your nutrition which is veryimportant the rest it's also
very important if you rest insome races you don't right and

(01:04:28):
that's why I said that okay ifthe double you can do without
sleeping the triple is alsopossible we are not talking
about uh extreme athletes whichare going for uh they are going
sleepless for a kin tuple okaythese are only only some some
some exceptions yeah but intriple all athletes are tempted

(01:04:49):
in a way not to sleep and thisis 60 hours and uh it's it's
very tricky because it lookslike you can for instance in in
in in in yeah in in BadRatkesburg the the race starts
at 6 p.m yeah uh because of thethis is how they they they they

(01:05:12):
can arrange with the authoritiesto to organize the race in
order to finish until uh Mondaymorning at six o'clock so
everything started uh at uh sixafternoon so in the first night
obviously you are not sleepingbecause uh yeah you finish the
the the swimming in four hourslet's say and after that uh you

(01:05:36):
start peddling uh the entirenight sleepless yeah you finish
probably in the next day in theafternoon or in the evening
after 20 24 maybe 25 hoursminimum but again you are
tempted not to sleep because yousaid you I I didn't sleep uh in

(01:05:58):
the in the night before okay ifI push now 126 kilometers is
immediately but it's always it'salways that that this is the
moment where the the most of theathletes are are are they stop
right the fatigue it's sointense in the in the second

(01:06:20):
night it's somethingunbelievable I I I attempt uh
three times and I uh I finishonly once in the triple because
because of this I always do toohard uh to to to go sleepless
and this cost me the raceactually and that's why I

(01:06:40):
consider the the triple veryvery hard yeah if you pass uh to
kint uple the kint apple ismore generous with uh with uh
cut off times which is 200 140hours or something like that so
enough time to to to have sleepuh okay power nets or even

(01:07:02):
longer sleep like three fourhours during the night and still
to finish so it's not an easierrace it's easier to manage race
than the triple okay this is isthis is the case for kinta for
uh for continuous races one perday races are the hardest in my

(01:07:25):
opinion it doesn't matter ifit's quintable or but especially
if we are talking about uh decayeah deca one per day is one of
the hardest races in this worldit's unbelievable because you
are you are condemned to to wakeup in the next day at eight
o'clock and you you have youhave like 24 hours uh to finish

(01:07:48):
an Ironman and you think thatit's a generous uh generous time
but it's not it's not after acouple of days is not anymore is
not even enough because youhave to eat you have to sleep
you have to recover and to startagain at eight o'clock yeah uh
yes I did it last last year inItaly it was a very intense uh

(01:08:12):
uh experience because I gotinjured in the in the ninth day
so in the okay I I pushed myselfto to over some limits that I I
didn't know that uh they arethere and uh I finished the
ninth day and I said okay inthis moment uh I can consider

(01:08:35):
that I finished the race becausein the I I I had a an injury to
to one of my uh wad rich and Icouldn't run but I could walk oh
yeah and I ex for the firsttime in my life I experienced
how to walk a marathon yeah it'ssomething unbelievable I I will

(01:08:56):
never do that again I hope willnot be the case because it was
it was unbelievable I I finishedit in nine hours and something
and uh yeah I was completelydestroyed but happy so yeah and
and now we I said at thebeginning we've caught you
between races you're about tohead off to Taiwan again and and

(01:09:17):
you're gonna do a continuousDECA there.
Um tell tell tell us about whatwhat does this look like for
you are are you feeling likeafter your Sardinia training
camp that uh you're you're readyfor this and and what is I know
there's something special aboutthis if you're able to complete
it tell us about that as welluh sardinia uh act like um

(01:09:44):
mental mental health more thanuh the physical training camp uh
because as I said after thatokay let's let's call it failure
uh I'm um very motivated rightnow to to to complete the the
deca continuous I never did a uha continuous deca uh I did this

(01:10:07):
as I said one per day so for 10uh consecutive days uh one iron
per day but this year in KolmarI finished uh a Decca split
deca split is um uh uh five ironin the first five consecutive
days and followed immediately bya kin tuple uh continuous race

(01:10:30):
yeah so you multiply the theiron and you have uh the the the
distances for the kin tuplewhich are let's say uh 19
kilometers of swimming 900kilometers of biking and 211 uh
running so uh i did this but umi guess or i guess i i guess i

(01:10:54):
know precisely that uh this wasfirst time when when iut a
organized uh uh as an officialrace and uh a split race right
it was some some some somebodyyes it's a new format it's a
different but this format is notnew uh um it's well known by

(01:11:14):
the ultra world right becausesomebody i don't know some years
ago proposed a deca split uh adouble deca split that means uh
a decad one per day and afterthat followed by uh the
decadinuous but this never tookplace so finally now in colmar
they decided to organize it anduh we started three athletes

(01:11:38):
unfortunately we finished onlytwo um in this format uh i was
on the second place or the lastone depends on how you want to
look at it uh second place ofcourse of course second place
and um yeah um that's why uhhaving now the one per day and

(01:12:00):
uh the split i have the chanceto have this unofficial triple
crown of deca if i complete uhuh the one who who is missed
which is missing right now in myuh in my under my belt let's
say the continuous format ianyway i wanted to do that i i
wanted to do a continuous beforebefore um let's say my

(01:12:25):
retirement from the from thisultra ultra races because i if i
i cannot find any more let's somy let's say so much uh
motivation to continue which sosuch long races uh despite that
uh the fact that i i love beingbeing there with these uh with
these guys uh uh which are allmy friends from from the ultra

(01:12:48):
races but uh yes uh this this ismy um my ultimate and my last
goal let's say the the the decacontinues which will take place
now in taiwan and what what isthe date of that race uh 9th of
uh november will be the startfor the deca but they they they

(01:13:10):
of course they uh they willorganize also quintaple double
triple but yeah the the thequeen race remains the deca our
our our episode here that we'rerecording today is gonna come
out on november the 13th soyou'll be right in the middle of
this on the bike so people canstart checking it out and go to

(01:13:30):
the website and see how you'redoing and and see if you're
gonna be this uh triple crownholder unofficially yes yeah yes
unofficially they they don'thave a a name for that because
they uh i i I gave i i inventedthis name of triple crowns yes
uh because yeah uh the thechances to to be the the first

(01:13:51):
and the only one in the worldhaving this triple crown yeah
yeah because uh but we there area lot of people finishing which
uh finish the the one per dayalso uh a lot let's say uh it's
uh uh a way of speaking they arenot a lot they are two hundred
probably in the two hundred inthe in the in the world yeah but

(01:14:14):
uh okay only two guys uh uh onefrom france and one from
Romania which uh finished thethe the split right and because
the guy from uh from France uhuh don't want to attend in the
the Taiwan uh race so I have mychances to be the the one and
only amazing well I I definitelywill be cheering you on and and

(01:14:39):
and checking it out to makesure that uh we get you to the
finish line and with all thepeople that listen to the
podcast um we know that the thethe good vibes can be sent out
across the across the globewithout being present so half of
the planet yeah yeah send thoseohana vibes out and make sure
we get you to the finish.

Marius Butuc (01:14:59):
Thank you guys nevertheless it this is for me
it's it's uh it's encouraging ina way uh the fact that okay
some of my friends which arecompeting there they are
dreaming of let's say podium orthe maybe they want to to beat
their own personal bests uh theor everybody has uh has uh the

(01:15:23):
the different different goalswhen uh they attempt to a race
but in my case it's it doesn'tmatter it's one second before
the the the the cutoff times uhthe for me it's only this in
this case for real it's onlyfinishing it's not only
declarative yeah I want tofinish the race and uh no I for

(01:15:44):
real I only need to finish itbecause the goal is something so
somewhere else.

Larry Ryan (01:15:51):
Yeah yeah that's awesome.
Well hey Mary uh thank you somuch for for joining me today on
the podcast and telling usabout these unique adventures
that you have gone on and andhow they've shaped your life a
little bit we will be cheeringyou on to this made up triple
crown of yours and uh I reallyappreciate your time so thank

(01:16:15):
you very much thank you Larry itwas a real pleasure to to meet
you even in in in this way andto to discuss about our passions
and all these thank you

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