An ultra-triathlon covers more distance than an ITU 'long course,' or Ironman triathlon. The term generally refers to all triathlon events with a distance that is a multiple of the Ironman Triathlon, which consists of of swimming, of cycling, and a full marathon () of running. The most common distances are the double, triple, quadruple, quintuple and deca triathlon. Unlike a standard triathlon event, an ultra-triathlon event may not necessarily involve the three component disciplines of triathlon (swimming, cycling and running) in direct consecutive order, but may instead consist of multiple consecutive individual triathlons performed on consecutive days, or may involve disciplines out of the usual order, such as the Enduroman that goes run-swim-bike to allow crossing of the English Channel.
The first ultra-distance race was held as a double in Huntsville, Alabama, United States in 1985, and since then the distances have been expanding. While 20x and even 30x events have been held, the DECA, or 10x event, either in the 'continuous' version (swim-bike-run), or in the 'one-per-day' version is typically the longest distance that can be found on the race calendar every year. In 2020 and 2022, the swissultra DECA continuous was the IUTA World Championship over that distance.M. Gruebele et al., 'Mastering the DECA',
The IUTA (International Ultra Triathlon Association) is the official governing body of Ultra Triathlon.
Standard distances Distances Swimming Cycling Running Single Ultratriathlon Double Ultratriathlon Triple Ultratriathlon Quadruple Ultratriathlon Quintuple Ultratriathlon Deca Ultratriathlon Deca One-Per-Day (10 days) every day 3.8 km every day 180 km every day 42 km Ultraman 3 daysDay 1 - 10km (6.25mi) Day 1 - 145km (90mi), Day 2 - 276.1km (172.5 mi) Day 3 - 84.3km (52.7 mi)Ultra 355 3 daysDay 1 - 5km (3.1mi)Day 1 - 120km (75 mi), Day 2 - 180km (112 mi)Day 3 - 50km (31.25 mi) Double Deca Ultratriathlon Triple Deca Ultratriathlon
World records Men DistanceAthleteTimePlaceSingle Kristian Blummenfelt7 h 21 m 12 s2021 CozumelDouble Christoffer Heick17 h 51 m 17 s2026 Vinni, Estonia - Result3x Robert Karaś30 h 48 m 57 s2018 Lensahn4x Søren Højbjerre53 h 41 m 00 s1993 Szekesfehervar5x Adrian Kostera 67 h 45 m 51 s2022 Colmar5x Day Rait Ratasepp 49 h 32 m 49 s2022 Buchs10x Jurand Czabański169 h 53 m 33 s 2025 Búzios10x Day Rait Ratasepp 99 h 49 m 47 s2024 Vinni20x Vidmantas Urbonas437 h 21 m 40 s 1998 Monterrey20x Day Norbert Lüftenegger241 h 36 m 45 s 2019 Buchs30x Dirk Leonhardt959 h 03 m 00 s2020 Bruchköbel30x Day Jozsef Rokob356 h 33 m 17 s2013 Lonato del GardaUltraman Simon Cochrane19 h 48 m 47 s2023 Noosa Heads
Women DistanceAthleteTimePlaceSingle Anne Haug8 h 02 m 38 s2024 RothDouble 22 h 55 m 19 s2024 Bad Radkersburg3x 36 h 13 m 55 s2024 Lensahn4x Astrid Benöhr59 h 15 m 00 s1993 Szekesfehervar5x 84 h 44 m 29 s2018 Buchs5x Day 66 h 52 m 22 s2018 Buchs10x Christine Couldrey247 h 07 m 21 s2018 New Orleans10x Day Alexandra Meixner137 h 23 m 43 s2022 Buchs20x Alina Ranceva554 h 07 m 15 s2026 Peschiera del Garda20x Day Alexandra Meixner279 h 37 min 48 s 2016 Buchs
References
External links International Ultra Triathlon Association