(somber music) - [Man] So there is a white
building there on the far left that I can start sighting for. And as you see, just to
the left of that mountain. - [Man] Three 45, three 45, okay? You got to drink, you
got to drink, let's go. - All triathlons, All Ironman, Ironman races, are extreme. But this is the absolute
pinnacle of being extreme. He'll push himself to the limits, he'll discover just what
it's like to really push that inner self. (soft ambient music) - [Fraser] Scotland, for
me, means many things. All wrapped up into one. But on top of that list is its beauty. I was lucky to grow up
amongst rolling farmland, endless forests, meandering rivers, views towards the distant mountains, and the open sea all within a short pedaling distance from home. The truth is, Scotland will forever mean
an incredible amount to me, but above all, it's always
going to be my home. Where family and friends will always be. - I started racing triathlons
over 20 years ago as a teenager here in Scotland. And I was extremely
fortunate for the sports take me all around the globe. However, there was one major
event here in Scotland that I never got round to doing, and that is Celtman Extreme triathlon. So, in my mind, there's something really
comforting about coming full circle to be back here to tackle that event, now that I've stepped away
from racing full time. - [Fraser] The Celtman is
classed as an extreme triathlon, and for some very good reasons indeed. The swim starts with competitors
swimming three point four kilometers, point to
point across a sea loch, with the salt water
temperatures hovering somewhere between 11 and 12
degrees, if they're lucky. And that's not even
mentioning the jellyfish that are lurking in there. Straight out onto the bike
for a 202 kilometer clockwise loop through the north-west highlands, tackling an elevation gain
of nearly 2000 meters, plus of course the prevailing
winds that are ever present in this exposed part of Scotland. But despite the difficulty of these disciplines in themselves, the Celtman has actually
earned its extreme reputation because of the mountain
marathon segment of the event. Which takes the route
up two mountain summits, joined by a technical rocky ridge, before descending a loose ski slope. The terrain may be harsh and
unforgiving but all the while athletes have to contend
with and be prepared for the weather changing in an instant. The Celtman throws everything, including the kitchen
sink at the competitors. And if I'm entirely honest,
the race really scares me. (guitar music) - My name is Blair Cartmell and I am Fraser's younger brother. Fraser growing up, between the two of us, he was the more confident of the two. I was maybe the younger
brother, always in the shadow, he would answer for me. I was generally quite
quiet whereas, you know, we've definitely got some
stories where Fraser's the one, well he still is he just talks. Which is not a bad thing. You know growing up there's
always going to be that aspect of looking out for one another
and certainly maybe being a bit over cautious out on your mountain bikes, and we're deciding oh should
we go down this steep bit, and you're kind of maybe kind
of giving yourself some advice, or he's giving me advice,
or telling me not to do it. Fraser he'd be the first to
say, he's not super talented. But, he's got a very big desire
to do the best that he can. I think, seeing what he's done,
to go on to win an Ironman, and win international races, super proud. I've been to most of those
events where he's done very very well and I've lived through that emotion. Which is good and bad. The mountain does scare me in
terms of I know people in the past who've been training on
the mountain prior to the race. They've fallen, broken bones. I know Fraser very well
and that is a possibility, it's a possibility for everyone. But obviously you're worried
about your relatives. So yeah, I do worry that that,
when you've been going for 12 11 hours, mistakes can happen. The consequences are quite bad. (soft guitar music) - So, I'm here now in the
heart of the highlands, really not that far from where I grew up. But, spent a childhood of being outdoors, doin' all sorts of stuff
like mountain biking, walking in some of the
hills, skiing in the winter. And I guess all those sorts of outdoor activities really laid the foundations and sowed the
seed I suppose for me to go on and do an awful lot of
far more extreme sports, like Ironman triathlon,
like I ended up doing. And I guess I took for granted
this type of playground, of just being able to go out and spend time in this environment, and take it for granted the
weather not being so great, the terrain, the cold. Everything that's just kind of
difficult in Scotland set me up for going away and feeling
like everything was that bit easier supposed to somewhere else. And I definitely think it's
because this place is such a demanding place to be, but,
well, it's so special as well. Now, as I've mentioned already, Celtman is in an extremely
rural part of Scotland, and that means accommodation
is really limited. But thankfully, I have
got this, the camper van. And this is going to be my base
for the next few days now that Celtman is just around the corner. Now, though I am fairly confident I can get through the swim, bike, and run segments
involved in the Celtman, the truth is I can't do this event alone. And that's because given
how tough the event is, the race organizers insist
that you have your own support systems and network in
place for the event. So that means I've got a
whole team of good friends and family coming along for the adventure. That includes my dad, John, who's just going to be
helping with all logistics and things involved with the day. My brother Blair, who's going
to be directing the whole adventure over the course of the race. Ross, who's going to be driving
the support vehicle that we need to support me around the event, with various food stations on course. And then Sean, who's going to
be running as my support runner, on the mountain marathon stage. - [Fraser] And well, I love them all, but collectively they're one
heck of a group of characters, and I no doubt good banter
will get them through the day. - I'm going to eat worms! (mumbles) - My plan's Boost on mobile. - I know, I thought about
that Sean, I hear you, but. (mumbles) - [Man] Yeah?
- You don't drive it like you stole it. And if you'd break it, you buy it. (heavy rock music) - I think it starts off road
and then it goes onto the road. And then I think you
turn left off, I think. - Sorry, let's start that again. (all chattering) - We've got to a bee in his
house, yeah we cleaned the house. - Just prepping Fraser's
bottle, for race day tomorrow. I don't know exactly how
many he'll go through, but during the course of the
race we'll just keep refilling as he needs. - At 2:30 the alarm went off. And if I'm honest, it's the only time in my
life racing that I felt, however fleetingly, a pang of dread. Simply because of the
unknown a lay ahead of me. Heading to transition, and everything started to feel
reassuringly normal again. I set my bike in transition area up, with some slight alterations to usual, such as a basin for Sean
to add some warm water to, on my SwimEx. (chattering) Just a wee routine you have to get into. (chattering) Just need more kit at this race. (chattering) Cute little hall, isn't it. 34, please. Next stop was collecting
my diver and GPS tracker, given there is an ever so
slight possibility that could go off course. With so many people in the little hall, the scale of Celtman suddenly
became very apparent. And my inexperience of this type of event, really started to dawn on me. And truthfully, I panicked a little. So Sean suggested we go to a
view point of the swim course, to settle my nerves. Which is one of the
beauties of having such a knowledgeable support team. - [Man] That over there,
that's the first down as you look to the left of it. you see the second island,
you can see all the lights. - But even basically you see there's, let's count the lights from the left, one, two, three, and then you've got the start of that shell.
- But you'll still won't know what you want
to see then, won't ya? - I don't know, but I'm
just getting my bearings, but there is a white building
there on the far left that I can see I'm sighting for. And as you say, just to
the left of that mountain. (mumbles) (bagpipes playing) - [Announcer] Celtman! (crowd cheers) - [Fraser] For me, once footed up, racing instincts start to kick in. And all that's left is the
starting gun to go off. - [Sean] I'm a bit concerned
about the swim because it's just, it's cold, it's
colder than what he's used to, but the big bonus is he's not
going to be in there long. - Yeah, he's got to endure the swim for less time than anybody else. (chuckles) That's probably a good thing though. - That's a good thing. The toughest part of the
swim, or the mountain, it's difficult, if he gets
through the swim obviously then the mountain
becomes the hardest part. (rock music) - [Fraser] And so the
waiting was finally over, and we were on our way. Although the sea cold water was
a very real concern of mine, in actual fact I seemed to cope with it as I could've expected. And whilst the jellyfish
were out in force, thankfully they weren't an issue. Luckily, swimming has always
been one of my strengths, so I was able to build a
little lead heading towards T1. (rock music) (clapping and cheering) (chattering) (clapping and cheering) - All right, you ready?
- We're off. Whew! (music drowns speaker)
- [Man] Bravo, bravo! - [Fraser] The roads
are narrow and winding this part of Scotland, so the support team couldn't
meet me until I reached 30k. And I guess it's fair to say
they were still ironing things out a little. - I was even thinking just put
some sweets in your hand and give it to him, and put him
in the side of your pocket. - Will he slow right down?
- He will slow down when he sees me. - I'll go down and I'll
say you've got sweets, you've got water.
- Oh, that's a yes I bet. - And I'll just have the (mumbles) - Yeah, and dad could
then be the sweets guy, I'll be the water bottle.
- Take some sweets just in case. (mumbles) Dad's got the sweets, and, Blair's got the bottle. - Yes, we can just spread
ourselves out that's perfect. Shouldn't be too long. - [Fraser] However, I arrived
with a surprise of my own. - [Man] We need to get
jackets off, I need help! (shouting) - Ah, so Fraser, he
left his top half of his neoprene extra layer, he couldn't get it off in T1, so he rode the first 30k with that on, so he's getting pretty warm. We had to help him get it off. He's done now, he's good to go. - [Fraser] After that forgetful mishap, I was back on the road. With a strong tailwind on my
back I was ready to push hard to make the most of it. (lighthearted guitar music) - We got ridge rocks, When it's safe to do so
we'll go alongside and very briefly give him the splits, so he's got information of where the gap is to the guy behind. - Three 45, three 45, okay? You've got to drink, got to drink, let's go! - Well, Fraser's four
20 in front of Graeme. Around 40 kilometers on the bike. - One in front every time I
get out the car, grab a bottle. (guitar music) - Six 40, six 40, okay?
- It's a long climb. - Yes, yes, got to settle it, come on. - My name's John Cartmell,
I'm Fraser Cartmell's father. As a family we always, we
always did mountain biking, which led to his very first
triathlon, which was the Oban, off-road adventure triathlon. Was picked up by the
junior Scottish coach. At the time, he was basically
taught to run, and now, 22 years later we're full
circle here at the Celtman. To say I'm proud is
really an understatement. What he's achieved throughout his whole career is amazing, really, because he juggled his training
with his university studies, his degree in chemical engineering. Yeah, it's quite an achievement. - [Fraser] 100k down, all of a sudden I felt the
effects of this Celtman course. I was hurting, and the
headwind was relentless. - It's easy to feel good
in the first 50, 60k, but this race is about backend
strength and staying fueled. - [Man] Give me the whole packet, packet. Come on, my left side. - [Man] Did he take some joggers? - [Man] So Basically Graeme Stewart is taking about four and a half minutes off Fraser in the last, 25, 30k. The toughest part of the
course with the headwind, you've got a tailwind section
to finish off the course. Hopefully Fraser can track Graeme into T2. - [Fraser] Now I was in a real hole. Still had an hour of riding ahead of me, not to mention the worrying prospect of running over the mountain. - Five 40, okay, five 40, 25k of headwind 25k of headwind, you've got to stay focussed. (angrily shouts) - [Man] Hey! - He's stressed. (mumbled chattering) (car indicating) (chattering) - Good.
- All right. All right, Let's get to T2, we need to get to T2. (car puttering) - [Man] You got any concerns? - They'll be a mental block, maybe, if I get to T2A and I'm
just feeling hollow. But everybody feels hollow
when they get there. - Yeah, don't think anybody
gets to T2A feeling great. - Exactly, so, if there's going to be a need
for me to call a pep talk, be perked up, that's obviously the time. Because I could easily have
managed to get to that point and be like (blows
raspberry), right, okay. Now the fun begins. - And remember what I said about
this climb up the mountain. Which phases a lot of
people, understandably, it's actually recovery. It's such a different set of muscles. It's the same principle
when you run off a bike. Initially, your body goes, what you doing? Stops it, and then you find the rhythm, and you find the rhythm
because it's a different set of muscles that you're using, in many ways. And, it's the same with an
unrelenting uphill climb for an hour. You know? - [Fraser] Yeah, and I
haven't, I've never done that. - You won't be running it,
you'll just be getting up it. You want to get to the top,
the first peak with something. You know, you need to
correct your nutrition on that as well. - Well, I just, it's just
going to be little and often, that is quite frankly how what we're get. - Steady goes in, like a cow in a field. - Exactly, no, absolutely. (clapping) - [Fraser] Running into T2 I
was just glad to be getting off my bike, after the mental lows
towards the end of the ride. Seeing everyone again spurred me on, and although I was still in
second place I was well aware of the fact that this Celtman was more than simply another race. (chattering) - [Man] We're going to have fun? - All right. (upbeat guitar music) - [Fraser] I was a hollow shell, everything was starting to hurt. And I really didn't know if
I was going to manage this mountain after all. So, Sean slowed our pace to a walk, and although this went against
all of my racing instincts, it actually turned the climb
into a form of recovery. Soon, my energy levels and alertness were starting to return, and I could wrap my head
around what lay ahead, not letting anybody down. (upbeat rock music) In true Scottish fashion, a piper was at the mount of the summit, to welcome everyone who made it up there. The hardest parts of
Celtman was all but over, and now I just had to scramble
downhill safely, through T2B, and onwards along the road
towards the finish line. (cheering and applauding) Having so much support from
the guys was what kept me putting one foot in front of the other. With less than 10k to go, all that was left was to soak
in the atmosphere with Sean, start to appreciate the journey
that this Celtman had taken me on, returning to
race again in Scotland. (upbeat rock music) (crowd cheering and applauding) (chattering) - You alright? - Good job.
- Thank you very much. (chattering) - [Fraser] Scotland is my home. It's where my closest
family and friends live. And it's where I discovered a sport that took me around the world. Celtman has given me an
opportunity to close the circle on that journey, that
started over 20 years ago, right here, in the north of Scotland. Racing triathlon was always an
individual experience for me, but the truth is, I could never have managed to
do that without the unwavering support of my family,
and those close friends. So I hope that everyone
understands just how grateful I am for helping to shape this journey, cause I simply wouldn't
have been here without them. (uplifting music)
