Tuesday, July 31, 2012



Norseman is less than 5 days away.  We will be there.  Anticipation is running high for this weekend as 600 athletes will take part in the 10th anniversary of the purest triathlon on the planet.  We asked our friend Tim DeBoom and last year's winner to share a few thoughts as we head into the race.

Having been a competitive swimmer since the age of six, and then embarking on a professional triathlon career for the past 18 years, I can honestly say that I have swum in some amazing places.  However, usually the swim leg of a triathlon is an afterthought for me.  As long as I put in my typical training, I do not do much else to prepare for specific venues.  This changed last year when I decided to do the Norseman Xtreme Triathlon.

I read the stories and talked to past participants about jumping into the darkness from the boat, the numbingly cold water, and the tall granite walls that surrounded the fjord.  For the first time, I was a little apprehensive about the swim leg of a triathlon.  There were many unknowns that could only be answered by jumping into the Hardangerfjord.

When I arrived in Norway and made my way to the start village of Eidfjord, I was overcome with the beauty of my surroundings.  I was still nervous about the water and the challenge of the rest of the course as well, but excitement was creeping in and beginning to overtake the apprehension.

The fjord was majestic.  Huge granite walls plummeted into the water and dropped to a depth of over 2500 feet.  Yes, it was dark, and it looked very cold.  The only way to finish my preparation for the race was to jump on in.  I grabbed my wetsuit and went down to a dock on the water.  My brother, Tony, and friend, Eric Wynn grabbed a canoe and paddled out to join me for an evening swim.

I jumped in and did the customary cold water sprint.  Once the chill in my suit subsided and the water began to warm against my body, I settled down and started swimming for real.  The water was very dark.  It was clean and clear, but so deep, that it appears black.  Every breath I took I saw the granite walls and snow melt falling into the water.  I had to stop several times to just gaze in amazement at my surroundings.  I was swimming in a fjord!  In Norway!  This was not something I ever really imagined myself doing.  It was definitely one of my lifetime highlights.  And yes, it is more memorable than any swim I’ve done in Hawaii.

DeBoom on top of the Gaustatoppen
Leading into the race and for future participants I have a few tips.  Aside from training in colder than normal water ahead of time I strongly suggest getting in the fjord before race morning- try the blueseventy/United Bakeries practice swim Friday morning!  This will help you decide if you need a neoprene cap or just a second swim cap.  It will also help you work out what tint of goggles to use.

On race morning you will be sitting on the boat for quite a while before the start.  I think they like to add to the nervousness of the day by making you wait out on the boat!  When the gate opens to jump off the boat, just get out there.  It is a good distance from the boat to the start line so you don’t want to waste time.  Just give a good primal yell and leap into the darkness below.  You’ll look back on that moment fondly at the end of the day. 

The Norseman Xtreme Triathlon is one of the toughest iconic races in all of endurance sports.  I put winning it at the top of my list of accomplishments.  You can watch the videos and talk to finishers, but you cannot really appreciate it without swimming, biking, and running to cross that finish line on top of the Gaustatoppen.  Good luck to all the lucky participants this year.  I look forward to welcoming you all to the club! 
-Tim DeBoom

Follow blueseventy on Facebook and Twitter sending out updates from the event.  Learn more about the Norseman Xtreme Triathlon here: www.nxtri.com

Friday, July 27, 2012

blueseventy in london


The 2012 London Olympic Games kick off tomorrow and we're very excited to see our athletes compete on the biggest stage in sport. 

Ross Davenport will be competing in the 200m freestyle
Swimming kicks off Saturday, July 28 and runs through Friday, August 3rd. blueseventy athletes competing in the 2012 Olympics include:
  • Ross Davenport of Great Britain. 200m freestyle and 4x200m freestyle relay
  • Carlos Almeida of Portugal
  • Ines Remersaro of Uruguay
  • Arlene Semeco, Albart Subiruts, Daniele Tiraussi, Cristian Quintero, Octavio Alesi & Alejandro Gomez representing Venezuela
  • Sebastian Jahnsen, Andrea Cedron, Mauricio Fiol representing Peru
  • Nick Schwab & Dorian Mac representing the Dominican Republic
  • Karen Riverios Schulz of Paraguay
  • Carolina Colorado of Colombia
  • Cecilia Biagiolli & Juan Martin Perryra representing Argentina
  • Danielle Beabrun of Santa Lucia

There will many more athletes rocking blueseventy from the host county and European countries but we can't mention them here (blackout!). Also, don't miss one of the most epic events of the Olympic Games - the Swimming Marathon - on Aug. 9th & 10th. Open Water Swimming is one of the fastest growing sports in the world and is an event we follow very closely here at blueseventy

Destined to be one of the highlight events of the 2012 Olympic Games Triathlon will take place in legendary Hyde Park. The swim will be in the Serpentine, the bike will leave the park via Queen Mother's Gate, travelling through Wellington Arch, down Constitution Hill and on to Birdcage Walk in front of Buckingham Palace before returning to the park to complete the event with a four lap run around the Serpentine. 

Gwen Jorgensen chooses the Nero Race goggle.
The women's Triathlon event will be contested on Aug. 4th. We're very excited to have up and coming American Gwen Jorgensen representing blueseventy in London. Gwen only began competing in the sport in 2010 and with a killer run will challenge for a medal. Fellow USA athlete Sara Groff can't be counted out after a stellar 2011 season. New Zealand's Nicky Samuels, Great Britain's uber swimmer Lucy Hall, Aileen Morrison of Ireland, Czech athlete Radka Vodičková and South Africa's Kate Roberts are blueseventy athletes to watch.

Alistair Brownlee
The men's race will be held on Aug. 7th and our team of athletes in London is impressive. Great Britain's Alistair Brownlee, who will be competing along with his brother Jonathan, are among the favorites for a medal.  Bevan Docherty of New Zealand will be chasing a gold medal to complete the silver (Athens) and bronze (Beijing) he has. Be sure to keep an eye on four-time Olympian's Simon Whitfield (Canada) and Hunter Kemper (USA). Other blueseventy athletes looking for a place in history: Kyle Jones of Canada, Ryan Sissons of New Zealand, Richard Varga of Slovakia and Premysl Svarc of the Czech Republic.

This Special Edition Helix wetsuit probably won't see action during the Games but we have other plans for it!

Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Spring Training with Matt Ellis

As an ex-National League Basketball player Matt Ellis took up triathlon for cross training. Success came quick: he won his first sprint distance race and placed second in his first olympic. Since then he has gone on to race the UK Elite Superseries coming 24th in the National Elite Champs, raced 70.3 World Champs and helped Paratriathlete Iain Dawson to World, European and National Titles. In 2011 Matt obtained his pro level membership from the British Triathlon Federation and is pushing his development by stepping up to top level competition in 2012.

Here's a beautifully shot video taking a peak into Matt's spring training campaign. 



Matt wears the 2012 Helix, competes in our top of the line apparel (TX3000) and chooses the Nero Race goggle. You can follow Matt on at his blog and on twitter (@Triathletematt).