(somber music)
- [Man] So there is a white building there on the far left
that I can start sighting for.
And as you see, just to the left of that mountain.
- [Man] Three 45, three 45, okay?
You got to drink, you got to drink, let's go.
- All triathlons, All Ironman,
Ironman races, are extreme.
But this is the absolute pinnacle of being extreme.
He'll push himself to the limits,
he'll discover just what it's like to really push
that inner self.
(soft ambient music)
- [Fraser] Scotland, for me, means many things.
All wrapped up into one.
But on top of that list is its beauty.
I was lucky to grow up amongst rolling farmland,
endless forests, meandering rivers,
views towards the distant mountains,
and the open sea all within
a short pedaling distance from home.
The truth is,
Scotland will forever mean an incredible amount to me,
but above all, it's always going to be my home.
Where family and friends will always be.
- I started racing triathlons over 20 years ago as a
teenager here in Scotland.
And I was extremely fortunate for the sports
take me all around the globe.
However, there was one major event here in Scotland that
I never got round to doing,
and that is Celtman Extreme triathlon.
So, in my mind,
there's something really comforting about coming full circle
to be back here to tackle that event,
now that I've stepped away from racing full time.
- [Fraser] The Celtman is classed as an extreme triathlon,
and for some very good reasons indeed.
The swim starts with competitors swimming three point four
kilometers, point to point across a sea loch,
with the salt water temperatures hovering somewhere
between 11 and 12 degrees, if they're lucky.
And that's not even mentioning the jellyfish
that are lurking in there.
Straight out onto the bike for a 202 kilometer clockwise
loop through the north-west highlands,
tackling an elevation gain of nearly 2000 meters,
plus of course the prevailing winds that are ever present in
this exposed part of Scotland.
But despite the difficulty of these
disciplines in themselves,
the Celtman has actually earned its extreme reputation
because of the mountain marathon segment of the event.
Which takes the route up two mountain summits,
joined by a technical rocky ridge,
before descending a loose ski slope.
The terrain may be harsh and unforgiving but all the while
athletes have to contend with and be prepared for the
weather changing in an instant.
The Celtman throws everything,
including the kitchen sink at the competitors.
And if I'm entirely honest, the race really scares me.
(guitar music)
- My name is Blair Cartmell
and I am Fraser's younger brother.
Fraser growing up, between the two of us,
he was the more confident of the two.
I was maybe the younger brother, always in the shadow,
he would answer for me.
I was generally quite quiet whereas, you know,
we've definitely got some stories where Fraser's the one,
well he still is he just talks.
Which is not a bad thing.
You know growing up there's always going to be that aspect of
looking out for one another and certainly maybe being a bit
over cautious out on your mountain bikes,
and we're deciding oh should we go down this steep bit,
and you're kind of maybe kind of giving yourself some advice,
or he's giving me advice, or telling me not to do it.
Fraser he'd be the first to say, he's not super talented.
But, he's got a very big desire to do the best that he can.
I think, seeing what he's done, to go on to win an Ironman,
and win international races, super proud.
I've been to most of those events where he's done very very
well and I've lived through that emotion.
Which is good and bad.
The mountain does scare me in terms of I know people in the
past who've been training on the mountain prior to the race.
They've fallen, broken bones.
I know Fraser very well and that is a possibility,
it's a possibility for everyone.
But obviously you're worried about your relatives.
So yeah, I do worry that that, when you've been going for 12
11 hours, mistakes can happen.
The consequences are quite bad.
(soft guitar music)
- So, I'm here now in the heart of the highlands,
really not that far from where I grew up.
But, spent a childhood of being outdoors,
doin' all sorts of stuff like mountain biking,
walking in some of the hills, skiing in the winter.
And I guess all those sorts
of outdoor activities really laid
the foundations and sowed the seed I suppose for me to go on
and do an awful lot of far more extreme sports,
like Ironman triathlon, like I ended up doing.
And I guess I took for granted this type of playground,
of just being able to go out
and spend time in this environment,
and take it for granted the weather not being so great,
the terrain, the cold.
Everything that's just kind of difficult in Scotland set me
up for going away and feeling like everything was that bit
easier supposed to somewhere else.
And I definitely think it's because this place is such a
demanding place to be, but, well, it's so special as well.
Now, as I've mentioned already,
Celtman is in an extremely rural part of Scotland,
and that means accommodation is really limited.
But thankfully, I have got this, the camper van.
And this is going to be my base for the next few days now that
Celtman is just around the corner.
Now, though I am fairly confident
I can get through the swim,
bike, and run segments involved in the Celtman,
the truth is I can't do this event alone.
And that's because given how tough the event is,
the race organizers insist that you have your own support
systems and network in place for the event.
So that means I've got a whole team of good friends
and family coming along for the adventure.
That includes my dad, John,
who's just going to be helping with all logistics
and things involved with the day.
My brother Blair, who's going to be directing the whole
adventure over the course of the race.
Ross, who's going to be driving the support vehicle that we
need to support me around the event,
with various food stations on course.
And then Sean, who's going to be running as my support runner,
on the mountain marathon stage.
- [Fraser] And well, I love them all,
but collectively they're one heck of a group of characters,
and I no doubt good banter will get them through the day.
- I'm going to eat worms!
(mumbles)
- My plan's Boost on mobile.
- I know, I thought about that Sean, I hear you, but.
(mumbles)
- [Man] Yeah? - You don't drive it
like you stole it.
And if you'd break it, you buy it.
(heavy rock music)
- I think it starts off road and then it goes onto the road.
And then I think you turn left off, I think.
- Sorry, let's start that again.
(all chattering)
- We've got to a bee in his house, yeah we cleaned the house.
- Just prepping Fraser's bottle, for race day tomorrow.
I don't know exactly how many he'll go through,
but during the course of the race we'll just keep refilling
as he needs.
- At 2:30 the alarm went off.
And if I'm honest,
it's the only time in my life racing that I felt,
however fleetingly, a pang of dread.
Simply because of the unknown a lay ahead of me.
Heading to transition,
and everything started to feel reassuringly normal again.
I set my bike in transition area up,
with some slight alterations to usual,
such as a basin for Sean to add some warm water to,
on my SwimEx.
(chattering)
Just a wee routine you have to get into.
(chattering)
Just need more kit at this race.
(chattering)
Cute little hall, isn't it.
34, please.
Next stop was collecting my diver and GPS tracker,
given there is an ever so slight possibility that
could go off course.
With so many people in the little hall,
the scale of Celtman suddenly became very apparent.
And my inexperience of this type of event,
really started to dawn on me.
And truthfully, I panicked a little.
So Sean suggested we go to a view point of the swim course,
to settle my nerves.
Which is one of the beauties of having such a
knowledgeable support team.
- [Man] That over there, that's the first down
as you look to the left of it.
you see the second island, you can see all the lights.
- But even basically you see there's,
let's count the lights from the left,
one, two, three,
and then you've got
the start of that shell. - But you'll still
won't know what you want to see then, won't ya?
- I don't know, but I'm just getting my bearings,
but there is a white building there on the far left
that I can see I'm sighting for.
And as you say, just to the left of that mountain.
(mumbles)
(bagpipes playing)
- [Announcer] Celtman!
(crowd cheers)
- [Fraser] For me, once footed up,
racing instincts start to kick in.
And all that's left is the starting gun to go off.
- [Sean] I'm a bit concerned about the swim because
it's just, it's cold, it's colder than what he's used to,
but the big bonus is he's not going to be in there long.
- Yeah, he's got to endure the swim
for less time than anybody else.
(chuckles)
That's probably a good thing though.
- That's a good thing.
The toughest part of the swim, or the mountain,
it's difficult, if he gets through the swim obviously
then the mountain becomes the hardest part.
(rock music)
- [Fraser] And so the waiting was finally over,
and we were on our way.
Although the sea cold water was a very real concern of mine,
in actual fact I seemed to cope with it
as I could've expected.
And whilst the jellyfish were out in force,
thankfully they weren't an issue.
Luckily, swimming has always been one of my strengths,
so I was able to build a little lead heading towards T1.
(rock music)
(clapping and cheering)
(chattering)
(clapping and cheering)
- All right, you ready? - We're off.
Whew!
(music drowns speaker) - [Man] Bravo, bravo!
- [Fraser] The roads are narrow and winding
this part of Scotland,
so the support team couldn't meet me until I reached 30k.
And I guess it's fair to say they were still ironing things
out a little.
- I was even thinking just put some sweets in your hand and
give it to him, and put him in the side of your pocket.
- Will he slow right down? - He will slow down
when he sees me.
- I'll go down and I'll say you've got sweets,
you've got water. - Oh, that's a yes I bet.
- And I'll just have the (mumbles)
- Yeah, and dad could then be the sweets guy,
I'll be the water bottle. - Take some sweets
just in case.
(mumbles) Dad's got the sweets, and,
Blair's got the bottle.
- Yes, we can just spread ourselves out that's perfect.
Shouldn't be too long.
- [Fraser] However, I arrived with a surprise of my own.
- [Man] We need to get jackets off, I need help!
(shouting)
- Ah, so Fraser, he left his top half of his
neoprene extra layer,
he couldn't get it off in T1,
so he rode the first 30k with that on,
so he's getting pretty warm.
We had to help him get it off.
He's done now, he's good to go.
- [Fraser] After that forgetful mishap,
I was back on the road.
With a strong tailwind on my back I was ready to push hard
to make the most of it.
(lighthearted guitar music)
- We got ridge rocks,
When it's safe to do so we'll go alongside and very
briefly give him the splits,
so he's got information of where the gap
is to the guy behind.
- Three 45, three 45, okay?
You've got to drink, got to drink, let's go!
- Well, Fraser's four 20 in front of Graeme.
Around 40 kilometers on the bike.
- One in front every time I get out the car, grab a bottle.
(guitar music)
- Six 40, six 40, okay? - It's a long climb.
- Yes, yes, got to settle it, come on.
- My name's John Cartmell, I'm Fraser Cartmell's father.
As a family we always, we always did mountain biking,
which led to his very first triathlon, which was the Oban,
off-road adventure triathlon.
Was picked up by the junior Scottish coach.
At the time, he was basically taught to run, and now,
22 years later we're full circle here at the Celtman.
To say I'm proud is really an understatement.
What he's achieved throughout his
whole career is amazing, really,
because he juggled his training with his university studies,
his degree in chemical engineering.
Yeah, it's quite an achievement.
- [Fraser] 100k down,
all of a sudden I felt the effects of this Celtman course.
I was hurting, and the headwind was relentless.
- It's easy to feel good in the first 50, 60k,
but this race is about backend strength and staying fueled.
- [Man] Give me the whole packet, packet.
Come on, my left side.
- [Man] Did he take some joggers?
- [Man] So Basically Graeme Stewart
is taking about four and a half
minutes off Fraser in the last, 25, 30k.
The toughest part of the course with the headwind,
you've got a tailwind section to finish off the course.
Hopefully Fraser can track Graeme into T2.
- [Fraser] Now I was in a real hole.
Still had an hour of riding ahead of me,
not to mention the worrying prospect of
running over the mountain.
- Five 40, okay, five 40,
25k of headwind 25k of headwind, you've got to stay focussed.
(angrily shouts)
- [Man] Hey!
- He's stressed.
(mumbled chattering)
(car indicating)
(chattering)
- Good. - All right.
All right, Let's get to T2, we need to get to T2.
(car puttering)
- [Man] You got any concerns?
- They'll be a mental block, maybe,
if I get to T2A and I'm just feeling hollow.
But everybody feels hollow when they get there.
- Yeah, don't think anybody gets to T2A feeling great.
- Exactly, so,
if there's going to be a need for me to call a pep talk,
be perked up, that's obviously the time.
Because I could easily have managed to get to that point
and be like (blows raspberry), right, okay.
Now the fun begins.
- And remember what I said about this climb up the mountain.
Which phases a lot of people, understandably,
it's actually recovery.
It's such a different set of muscles.
It's the same principle when you run off a bike.
Initially, your body goes, what you doing?
Stops it, and then you find the rhythm,
and you find the rhythm because it's a different set of
muscles that you're using, in many ways.
And, it's the same with an unrelenting uphill climb
for an hour.
You know?
- [Fraser] Yeah, and I haven't, I've never done that.
- You won't be running it, you'll just be getting up it.
You want to get to the top, the first peak with something.
You know, you need to correct your nutrition
on that as well.
- Well, I just, it's just going to be little and often,
that is quite frankly how what we're get.
- Steady goes in, like a cow in a field.
- Exactly, no, absolutely.
(clapping)
- [Fraser] Running into T2 I was just glad to be getting off
my bike, after the mental lows towards the end of the ride.
Seeing everyone again spurred me on,
and although I was still in second place I was well aware of
the fact that this Celtman was more
than simply another race.
(chattering)
- [Man] We're going to have fun?
- All right.
(upbeat guitar music)
- [Fraser] I was a hollow shell,
everything was starting to hurt.
And I really didn't know if I was going to manage this
mountain after all.
So, Sean slowed our pace to a walk,
and although this went against all of my racing instincts,
it actually turned the climb into a form of recovery.
Soon, my energy levels
and alertness were starting to return,
and I could wrap my head around what lay ahead,
not letting anybody down.
(upbeat rock music)
In true Scottish fashion,
a piper was at the mount of the summit,
to welcome everyone who made it up there.
The hardest parts of Celtman was all but over,
and now I just had to scramble downhill safely, through T2B,
and onwards along the road towards the finish line.
(cheering and applauding)
Having so much support from the guys was what kept me
putting one foot in front of the other.
With less than 10k to go,
all that was left was to soak in the atmosphere with Sean,
start to appreciate the journey that this Celtman had taken
me on, returning to race again in Scotland.
(upbeat rock music)
(crowd cheering and applauding)
(chattering)
- You alright?
- Good job. - Thank you very much.
(chattering)
- [Fraser] Scotland is my home.
It's where my closest family and friends live.
And it's where I discovered a sport
that took me around the world.
Celtman has given me an opportunity to close the circle on
that journey, that started over 20 years ago,
right here, in the north of Scotland.
Racing triathlon was always an individual experience for me,
but the truth is,
I could never have managed to do that without the unwavering
support of my family, and those close friends.
So I hope that everyone understands just how grateful I am
for helping to shape this journey,
cause I simply wouldn't have been here without them.
(uplifting music)