Irn Broon shows his mettle in gruelling triathlon

THEY swam across a freezing fjord, cycled 200km uphill and then ran a marathon up a mountain - and all they got was a T-shirt.

Two Edinburgh men have just competed in the world's toughest long-distance triathlon, the Norseman Xtreme, which has earned a fearsome reputation as one of the world's toughest physical and mental challenges.

Only a few hundred athletes are able to compete each year and they are faced with the daunting task of jumping off the back of a car ferry in the dead of night to swim across the freezing waters of the Hardangerfjord, followed by a gruelling cycle through the mountains around Eidfjord and finally a will-sapping marathon run up the Gaustatoppen, one of Norway's tallest mountains.

While the competitors are vetted for their fitness - only one in 12 applicants get to race - there were still almost 30 people who had to be pulled from the water for safety reasons after tiring.

All of which make the achievements of first-time racer Ian Brown - known to his friends as "Irn Broon" - all the more impressive.

Mr Brown, 44, who owns Brown's Decorators and Builders, was determined to take part after competing in other iron man events. He spent ten months preparing for the event, swimming in the Threipmuir reservoir in the Pentlands to try to get used to cold water conditions.

While he may just have earned a T-shirt, he said it was a "lifetime achievement" and admitted he had been "thrilled" to make the final 160 racers that got to take part in the mountain marathon.

"I've been worrying about this for the last ten months, but I was so keen to take part and it was incredible," he said. "The toughest part was the swim as it is quite daunting to jump off the back of a ferry in the pitch black and then just swim.

"The cycling section was longer than normal this year because of the cold weather, but that's my strength anyway, and when I found out I was getting to go up the mountain I was just overwhelmed."It's an incredible feeling to have completed it."

As one of the mountain racers, Mr Brown earned the coveted black T-shirt - other racers get a white one - and admitted he was going to frame it.

Mr Brown completed the gruelling course in 14 hours and 40 minutes.

He was joined in the race by Stuart Macleod, 39, an IT manager from Willowbrae, who was taking part for the second year running, having become the first Scot to complete the challenge when he raced last year.

After a strong race he came 20th overall, finishing in just 13 hours, and was the fastest place Brit in the whole event.

The keen runner admitted he wasn't entirely sure what had first encouraged him to compete in the event, but admitted there was no way he was missing out.

"It might have been a mid-life crisis but I'm not sure," he said. "It's a really special event."