You can approach the matter through the numbers. An Ironman triathlon is: 3.8 kilometers of swimming, 180 kilometers of cycling, 42.195 kilometers of running. Completing an Ironman triathlon is a life goal for many ambitious amateur athletes. It is an extremely demanding goal that requires a lot of time, effort and training as well as a high level of endurance. Jonas Deichmann now has the goal of stringing together 120 such Ironman triathlons. For 120 consecutive days. An Ironman every day for four months.
Bernd Steinle
Editor in the “Germany and the World” department.
Sounds unimaginable. Perhaps it is better to approach the matter through Jonas Deichmann’s personal story. About his impulse, his motivation. “I’m now 36, the best age for long distances, at the peak of my sporting abilities,” he says. “Now is the time to find out what’s possible.”
He has often shown that he can do a lot. Deichmann holds several cycling records for the fastest continental crossings, he attracted attention with a triathlon around the world in which he completed 450 kilometers of swimming, 21,000 kilometers of cycling and 5000 kilometers of running in 429 days (the equivalent of 120 Ironman distances). Most recently, he cycled 5,500 kilometers across the USA, from New York to Los Angeles, and jogged a good 5,000 kilometers back to New York. Now, he says, he wants to explore his personal limits: “In terms of sport, this is the biggest challenge of my life.”
The record stands at 105
Nobody has managed it yet. The record stands at 105 Ironman triathlons in a row, set in 2023 by Briton Sean Conway. Deichmann knows him, “a really fine guy,” and he tries to use Conway’s experiences to his advantage. The professional athlete has set himself the goal of not spending more than twelve hours on the road every day. “If you need 15 hours or more, the regeneration time will be too short in the long run,” he says. Because: A lot of sleep will also be important in the project. It is best for the body to get used to a kind of routine, to a daily routine that is always the same.
Deichmann himself sees two major difficulties, in addition to the physical strain. The first: the food. “It’s also an eating competition,” he says. 11,000 to 12,000 calories a day are necessary. In the long run, this doesn’t just work with gels and energy bars, which is why he also plans a daily pasta break on the bike route. “Normally when you do an Ironman you go into a calorie deficit on the day of the competition. But I can’t lose two kilos every day.” Secondly: There will also be bad days. “On a good day, the distance is not a problem for me,” says Deichmann. “But in four months not every day is a good day.” Cold, constant rain, an infection, a lot can happen. On other projects, he then reduced the pace and daily workload for a short time. This time it won’t work. “I have to do the same distance every day.”
“Running through Kansas is definitely more boring.”
And then there is the mental question. The fight against monotony, the same old processes. But Deichmann is not afraid of that. On the one hand, because he is hoping for plenty of company on his “Challenge 120”. Because he will compete in the Middle Franconian town of Roth, a triathlon stronghold and the annual venue for the “Challenge Roth”, the most popular triathlon competition in the world. Deichmann will start on this route for the first time on May 9th, the “Challenge Roth” on July 7th will be his half-time competition, followed by 60 more triathlon days until September 9th. Anyone who would like to accompany him is warmly invited. Deichmann also expects a greater scenic appeal in Franconia in the summer than he has already experienced elsewhere: “Running through Kansas is definitely more boring.”
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He can’t imagine that he could fall into a motivation hole during these four months. “If I have a goal in mind that is very important to me and for which I give everything, then it’s not difficult for me to motivate myself,” he says. It’s a different kind of challenge than cycling through Africa or through Siberia in winter, but he is convinced that it is doable. And as far as adventures and traveling around the world go, there’s always time for that later. “I still have a long bucket list,” says Jonas Deichmann.