Now it’s getting serious: On Thursday, Jonas Deichmann starts his biggest challenge to date: 3.8 kilometers swimming, 180 kilometers cycling, 42.2 kilometers running. 120 times in 120 days!
In the final phase before his new world record project, Jonas Deichmann takes things easy for his standards – out of necessity. “Actually, I miss sports,” he says. His workload in the final days before the start of Challenge120: two to three hours per day. For someone like Deichmann, practically nothing. From Thursday, the extreme athlete faces 12-hour intensive triathlon days. And that 120 times in a row. Rest days: zero.
Deichmann wants to complete the triathlon long-distance classic par excellence in and around Roth 120 times: 3.8 kilometers of swimming, 180 kilometers of cycling and 42.2 kilometers of running. A total of 27,120 kilometers in the water, on the bike and on foot. “I’m in absolute top shape and I’m really up for it. I’m excited,” said the 37-year-old in an interview with the German Press Agency.
Biggest challenge lies ahead
But how do you do that? How do you motivate yourself? “Of course I have my big milestone in my head, my visions,” explains Deichmann, who has already achieved many almost unimaginable feats of endurance. Be it 23,000 kilometers by bike from Alaska to Ushuaia in less than 100 days. Be it cycling from New York to Los Angeles and back. “The next project will be the biggest challenge so far,” emphasizes Deichmann himself on his homepage.
Born in Stuttgart in 1987, Deichmann graduated from the University of Jönköping in Sweden in 2012 with a degree in economics, followed two years later by a master’s degree in economics and development from the Copenhagen University of Economics in Denmark. After working as a sales manager at a Swedish IT company from 2015 to 2017, Deichmann became an “independent adventurer, extreme athlete, author and speaker”.
Extreme endurance sports meet football
He was recently at SpVgg Unterhaching. But Deichmann also talked about his ventures at Bayern Munich when Julian Nagelsmann was still coach there. A lot is taken from professional footballers. “And it’s a bit unimaginable for many footballers that they would do projects like mine on their own,” said Deichmann.
He will have to swim the total 456 kilometers without assistance, he will have to ride the 21,600 kilometers on his triathlon bike without assistance, and he will also have to run the 120 marathons without assistance. Nevertheless, he is unlikely to be alone, including medical care, among other things. But Deichmann is also used to this from his tours. He moves people along, he inspires people with his enthusiasm.
“I have now received so much feedback from people who have announced that they want to be there or take part. It will be a real fun run at the end,” said Deichmann. But there is still a long way for Deichmann to reach the last kilometer of the Challenge120 in the early evening of September 5th.
But the extreme athlete, who has also been nicknamed “German Forrest Gump,” doesn’t think that way. “I always say I run from chocolate bar to chocolate bar,” he once described his approach. He doesn’t think to himself: “Oh, there are still 5000 kilometers left and I have a headwind, but rather: Hey, there’s a gas station in 20 kilometers and there’s a chocolate bar. Cool, I’m looking forward to that.”
The milestone in your head
The Challenge120 won’t be enough with chocolate bars either. Every day around lunchtime he plans to take a short break to eat: there will be pasta or something similar. Carbohydrates on the one hand, easily digestible on the other. Then it continues. After the start at 7 a.m. in Rothsee – he is expected at the finish line at around 6:40 p.m., which in 119 cases is at the challenge team’s office.
On July 7th, Deichmann will enter the triathlon arena, which once a year also becomes the dream come true of thousands of athletes from all over the world. The extreme athlete will be competing among the professionals at the Challenge Roth, the largest long-distance event. Except for the swimming route, it will be the same route for him, but the race will go into the Main-Danube Canal instead of into Rothsee.
For Deichmann it will be half time, number 60. “Of course I have that in mind as a milestone,” he says. Then he will really get to know the goosebumps factor of the Solar Mountain when tens of thousands of participants scream upwards in a tight line like on an Alpine stage of the Tour de France. The day after, Deichmann witnesses the remaining cleanup work.
When physical exhaustion is beautiful
Former Hawaii and two-time Roth winner Anne Haug emphasized that the project was an “incredible mental challenge”. Challenge Roth race director Felix Walchshöfer classified Deichmann’s project as “unprecedented”.
The previous record is 105 long distances in a row. Deichmann came up with 120 because he had completed the total distance in his triathlon around the world. Deichmann once explained that he thinks physical exhaustion is wonderful: “The feeling of recovering after you’ve really put your foot down and done a lot is a great feeling.” Taking it easy is just not his thing.