Ette seals a perfect 10 in gruelling race

Tuff Fitty Triathlon Club’s Chris Ette completed an Ironman distance triathlon every day for a staggering 10 consecutive days to secure a prestigious Deca Enduroman crown.

The 34-year-old raised £2,000 for Help for Heroes as he took on a 2.4-mile swim, 116-mile bike ride and 26.2-mile run each day in the New Forest.

Not only did he have the mammoth distances to cover, he also did it against the elements as appalling weather made things even tougher, as well as downed trees and power lines to avoid.

Of the 12 starters that took up the challenge, only six completed it and Ette came home in third position, accomplishing his aim, as in the two years the event has been running in the UK, out of 32 athletes that have entered, only nine have been successful in finishing.

He said: “I didn’t cross the finish line until 12.04am on Monday morning, I was shell-shocked, and couldn’t quite believe it was over. It still felt like I was going to have to get up and race again the following morning.

“This was undoubtedly the hardest thing that I have done, it stretched me both physically and mentally. There were moments throughout the race of complete lows and doubting my ability to finish, but in the same day you would see something or somebody would say something to you and you felt invincible.

“Completion hasn’t sunk in, it’s not until someone reminds you of what you have achieved that it becomes real.”

Ette’s times increased and dropped during the 10 days after finishing in his quickest time of 14hrs 07mins on both days one and two. He then made 14-38 on day three, 16-14 on day four, 18-24, 17-25, 16-37, 17-51, 17-12 on days five to nine, before completing the final event in 18-06.

Not only did Ette have to contend with the awful weather, which resulted in the bike course being changed due to health and safety reasons, he suffered various mechanical failures with his bike which lost him considerable time.

He added: “Riding a total of 1,160 miles in 10 days, of course you will have your problems.

“But having a support crew allowed me to concentrate on moving forward during low periods when your body is shouting at you to stop.”