Jean David Tremblay
In the summer of 2022, Quebecer Jean-David Tremblay achieved the magnificent feat of completing 10 Ironman events on the Hawaiian archipelago within 10 days. This challenge was named Epic Deca to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Epic5 event. PHOTO PROVIDED BY JEAN-DAVID TREMBLAY
37 years old – Estrie
Single father, athlete trainer and race organizer
· Epic Deca 2022
For what?
“You have to have psychological problems to take part in such events. I was so at the bottom of the barrel. I wanted to take on a super difficult challenge to forget all the evil that was gnawing at me inside.”
When Jean-David Tremblay left the Canadian Armed Forces and was sucked into the whirlwind of life that lured him to the bottom of the barrel, he found his path and his reasons for living by succeeding in Ironman-style triathlon events. In the summer of 2022, in a completely crazy challenge, he put up 10… in 10 days.
To mark the 10th anniversary of the Epic 5 event taking place in the Hawaiian archipelago, the organization came up with the crazy idea of doubling its usual challenge.
You will understand that the 5 at the end of Epic represents five times the distance of an Ironman triathlon.
So for the special edition of Deca the 10 were “wild”. Ten participants had to swim 3.8 km, cycle 180 km and run 42.2 km. Every day. For 10 days… immediately.
Complete madness
“You have to go in there and tell yourself that you have to finish it. There is no other option,” says Tremblay. He is one of three men in the world to have successfully completed this extreme endurance challenge.
In 2022, to celebrate its 10th anniversary, the Epic 5 organization decided to hold the Epic Deca, stringing together 10 Ironmans in as many days. Quebec's Jean-David Tremblay (in green in the middle) is one of the only three finishers of this ultimate challenge. Instagram EPIC5_CHALLENGE
It's terrible bad luck for a doctor who was signed up for the test that allowed him to take part. The man was the victim of an accident and could not be present. The Quebecer therefore contacted him to buy his share, worth $10,000.
With multiple successes in long endurance events such as Ultraman Canada, in which athletes swim 10km, bike 421km and run 84.4km over three days, Tremblay prepared for the ultimate Hawaiian test.
For what?
“Because I wanted to follow in the footsteps of the people who marked the challenges along the way,” he explains.
In the summer of 2022, Quebecer Jean-David Tremblay achieved the magnificent feat of completing 10 Ironman events on the Hawaiian archipelago within 10 days. This challenge was named Epic Deca to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Epic5 event. PHOTO PROVIDED BY JEAN-DAVID TREMBLAY
It must be understood that when Tremblay began endurance competitions, he was experiencing the darkest moments of his life. Without any real preparation during the 2019 edition of the Ironman in Mont-Tremblant, he hoped that his extreme fatigue would free him from the ailments that had consumed him since his return to civilian life.
“I was so at the bottom of the barrel that I tried to find a lot of solutions to get out of it. I tried so many that I ended up rolling in the snow in Bobettes because it was good. “You're willing to do anything to do something very difficult that makes you forget about the inner mental turmoil,” he says.
“For me, it was about competing in events like an Ironman,” Tremblay continues. Without training it could be fatal for me.
But that night in 2019, an angel was watching over him in the Laurentians. In the following days he registered for another Ironman race.
“This time it was for the right reasons. I saw and felt that I was able to grow beyond myself. But something was missing and I wanted to be specific. It was hard to put into words because I didn’t know what I had achieved.”
Negative reception here
During his training, while he was still studying biomechanics at Western University in London, Ontario, a trainer whispered to him that he seemed to be “engaged in a long adventure that would allow him to learn on the fly.”
In fact, 2,260 painful kilometers awaited him later in Hawaii.
Through this coup, Tremblay believed he would make his mark in the Quebec imagination. But when he returned, he said he was rejected and called him a madman who should be locked up. The negative comments obviously shocked him and prompted him to write a book called “Hungry for More in Life.”
“This ordeal helped me. “I will always have this title at the Epic Deca because it was a unique edition,” confirms the one who continues to take part in endurance races around the world. He also became a specialist trainer and event organizer.
How do I survive 10 days?
The question is legitimate. For many enthusiasts, completing an Ironman triathlon is a dream that requires intense training and a willingness to do anything. Lining up ten in a row stimulates the imagination.
In the summer of 2022, Quebecer Jean-David Tremblay achieved the magnificent feat of completing 10 Ironman events on the Hawaiian archipelago within 10 days. This challenge was named Epic Deca to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Epic5 event. PHOTO PROVIDED BY JEAN-DAVID TREMBLAY
Jean-David Tremblay trained in Texas for months before flying to the Hawaiian Islands. In addition to the many hours of running, cycling and swimming, he used every trick imaginable to extend his adventure to the finish line.
“I picked up techniques through my various ultra events. I used inflatable boots that massage the legs, I took cold showers and baths to relax, and I put a lot of ice on my whole body,” he explains, listing some processes that allowed him to relax to recover better.
During the 18-hole golf course run in one of the ten triathlons, he dipped his feet in ice-cold water for five minutes after every lap on the course. He took this moment to take a deep nap, as he barely slept two hours a night on average. There's nothing relaxing about that.
The 37-year-old also said that at times his feet were so swollen that he could no longer put on his shoes.
4e almost fatal day
He was often unable to walk or move between exams. So much so that after the fourth day of the adventure, he boarded the plane in a wheelchair and carried the participants from island to island.
“I collapsed after that day. My face was sunburned, my lips were chapped, and I was exhausted. I was so committed that I thought I would ruin the rest of the adventure. But when I got my gear bag the next morning, I changed and once I was in the water I was just swimming with my arms. My legs stopped moving, he says.
“Then my blisters broke out on my shoes. It's not so great with salt water, adds the endurance athlete and describes the severe pain. That hurt me the most.”
Thinking about giving up, Tremblay paused for a moment and called his coach and his father.
In the summer of 2022, Quebecer Jean-David Tremblay achieved the magnificent feat of completing 10 Ironman events on the Hawaiian archipelago within 10 days. This challenge was named Epic Deca to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Epic5 event. PHOTO PROVIDED BY JEAN-DAVID TREMBLAY
The first simply advised him to continue his challenge “because he had paid for it and had no other choice.” The second, destitute thousands of kilometers away in Quebec, could do nothing and simply listened to him.
Second breath
“I found another level of perseverance that I didn’t know existed. You learn when you're put in that position.
“The body lets go, it tenses up and it becomes difficult to breathe. The psychological side takes control and tells you that you can do more. It becomes the engine of physical abilities. It’s like the pain goes away.”
From the 6th to the 10th triathlon, only three participants remained who survived the Epic Deca.
Up to 105
After this successful extreme adventure, Tremblay would have liked to take on another incredible challenge. However, as a single father, he couldn't afford to be away for months at a time.
His goal was to complete 102 Ironman triathlons in as many days to set a new world record.
Britain's Sean Conway made sure of that last summer when he performed even better. He stopped the clock at 105, all under the 17 hour mark.
“Not a day off. It's by far the hardest thing I've ever done,” says the man, who has completed more than twenty endurance competitions around the world, on his website.