Triathlete Fabio Spiteri is no stranger to endurance racing.
An athlete with over 23 years of competitive experience, in recent years Spiteri has switched his focus to gruelling long distance events.
Spiteri is the only Maltese to have completed a triple ironman – a triathlon consisting of an 11.4 kilometre swim, a 540 kilometre bike ride and a 126.6 kilometre run – all done in quick succession with no time to pause for breath.
Now, the 45-year-old embarks on yet another epic triathlon challenge, the Swiss Ultra Triathlon.
Whilst for most triathletes, the ironman triathlon is the ultimate goal, the pinnacle of their racing career, a race that goes beyond physical endurance, Spiteri is taking that to another level.
The Quintuple covers a total distance of 1,130 kilometers. Spiteri will be required to complete one ultra-triathlon each day for five consecutive days: 3.8 kilometers swim, 180 kilometres bike and 42.2 kilometres run.
Each race has to be completed within the set cut-off of 20 hours, per day.
This is the first time a Maltese triathlete will be attempting to undertake such a task, however Spiteri, who has been involved in competitive sports for all these years, is not daunted.
Spiteri explained that besides being competitive with himself, he is very curious when it comes to the limits a human being can withstand when competing in endurance events.
Spiteri switched to ultra-distances in the past two years.
Always one to be honest, Spiteri explains that age was a determining factor for this switch.
“With age I just could not get faster, so I decided to go longer. This race will be my longest race so far,” he said.
Preparation
Naturally preparation is key. Spiteri explains that since the race requires him to undertake an ironman distance, every day, for five days, his training schedule had to be changed and was completely different to the training programme undertaking for the triple ironman
This time round training consisted in a five-day bulk training schedule followed by complete rest.
“It is all about adaptation. Just to put one in the picture, I started a five-day training block which saw me run 21km every day. This would be followed by another five days of cycling 100km every day, followed by another five days of swimming 3.8km and 100km cycling,” he said.
“This would progress into another five-day block consisting of covering a half ironman distance (1.9km swim, 90km bike, 21km run ) every day and so on. Each block would see me increase the volume of training.”
An occasional ironman distance was also tackled to gauge the level of fitness.
The last long session in preparation for the Swiss Ultra was the record-breaking Run-Swim-Run challenge that saw Spiteri cross the length of Gozo, swim the Gozo Channel and run the length of Malta.
Battling jellyfish infesting waters, choppy seas and heat, this feat consisted of a 15km run across Gozo, a 6.3km swim to Malta after which he ran 30 kilometres to Birżebbuġa. A new record time of 5hrs and 36 minutes was registered in the process.
For a challenge that requires three sports to be undertaken, one is bound to think that there might be a particular discipline in which Spiteri feels stronger or weaker. Spiteri is unequivocal – his strongest discipline is his mindset.
In such competitions, even if the running segment is one’s forte, in these long races there will be instances when one stops to walk. For Spiteri, his determination to reach his target will be his strongest attribute.
Being mentally prepared is key for such challenges and Spiteri, has added this part of training into his programme. In fact as part of this training, Spiteri run several marathons on a treadmill and inside a 400m track.
An passionate animal lover, Spiteri has always combined such events to raise awareness towards NGOs that provide shelter and care for animals.
The recent challenge saw him reach his target of €2,000 which were donated towards RMJ Horse Rescue.
In future he plans to raise more funds towards the Association for Abandoned Animals.
“As we are now in the final preparation stages for the Swiss Ultra, I must express my gratitude towards a number of organisations who have supported this initiative,” he said.
“So big thanks go to Garmin Malta, Attrans Ltd, 24/7 Fitness Club, Wheel Wizard, Go & Fun, Eurosport Malta, Uncle Matt’s Kitchen, Lawrence Sofa Cleaning, Millenium Physiotherapy Clinic and Yes Energy Bars – these companies have enabled me to prepared for this race as best as I can possibly be.”
Spiteri will be undertaking the Swiss Ultra Triathlon between August 27 and 31. His first race starts on Tuesday, August 27 at 7am.