The Challenge Family is a global series of long distance triathlons that is changing the face of iron distance racing around the world. Their triathlons feature spectacular courses in iconic locations. The focus at Challenge is to deliver the race of a lifetime to athletes of all ages and abilities, and to create a memorable spectator experience that captures all the excitement and emotion of this inspirational sport.
They have come a long way, since their original Challenge Roth triathlon, which this year is celebrating it's 10th anniversary. Now in 2011 they have 13 races in the triathlon family for triathletes to experience and race in.
The Challenge Family has grown tremendously these past years with races in most of Europe and three races in the southern hemisphere. The team from Challenge Copenhagen sat down with Felix Walchshöfer and talked about the values of the Challenge Family, his thoughts on the two Danish Challenge races, Challenge Aarhus and Challenge Copenhagen and how he sees the Challenge Family evolve in the future.
- The Challenge brand has grown tremendously in the last years from being based in Roth to a global brand in triathlon. What are the values you bring to each of these races around the world?
The key to Challenge is in the name - Challenge Family. It's all about building great relationships with our athletes and stakeholders and making sure they have the best experience possible. This philosophy is echoed at all our races around the world. We don't chose our races based on the cheapest and easiest option with the highest return.
We of course have objectives, but we meet these objectives by carefully choosing who our global partners are, assessing the courses and choosing the best possible and working closely with all the teams to ensure the Challenge brand continues to live up to athletes' expectations. It started five years ago in Wanaka, New Zealand and we now have 12 races around the world with more planned in the next 12 months.
- How do you choose new races and race directors to carry on these values?
It's extremely important for the head office in Germany to have an excellent working relationship with all its partners. Many towns and event organisers around the world want to be a part of Challenge phenomenon. However, we don't accept every expression of interest we receive. This may be because they don't fit with the Challenge values, or because the courses don't have that X factor. They can be the most experienced race directors in the world but if we're not going to work well together then it's never going to work for the athletes- and that's what really matters.
- What are your thoughts on the two Challenge races in Denmark - Challenge Aarhus and Challenge Copenhagen?
The inaugural Challenge Copenhagen was a huge success in every way. The weather threw us some curve balls but the team pulled together and the end result was better then we could have ever expected! What really astonished me was the huge surge in interest in triathlon that the event generated in Denmark. It was fantastic to see and a huge win for the sport.
Having both a half and full distance Challenge race in Denmark for 2011 will only help continue to grow the sport and we very much look forward to Challenge Copenhagen becoming one of the world's iconic iron distance races. It is a true city triathlon in every sense of the word and when you combine the associated technicality of the course with the stunning history of the location, it's hard to beat. Challenge Aarhus is quite different but will still capture that unique Danish heritage with its innovative course that includes running through ARoS, the Museum of Modern Art.
- How do you think they will evolve both nationally and internationally?
I think both will grow in stature on the international circuit and continue to be a valuable part of the Challenge Family and I very much look forward to working with Thomas and the team in this exciting development stage.
- Where are the Challenge family in five years?
We have a lot of exciting plans for the Challenge Family but as they say, good things take time. One thing we are adamant about is ensuring the quality that Challenge athletes expect is not compromised by too rapid growth. We are introducing a number of new races this year of which Challenge Aarhus is one, the others being Challenge Henley in the UK, Challenge Vichy in France and Challenge Cairns in Australia. Now is a time for consolidation before we move to the next phase, but stay tuned, there's a lot more to come including further expansion and the development of a Challenge World Championship.
Source: Challenge Copenhagen
We only hope, based on some of the things Felix mentioned above that we will one day have a Challenge triathlon in North America to choose from. It would also be interesting to see what a Challenge World Championship would bring to the sport one day. Below is a map from TRImapper.com that shows all the Challenge Family triathlons around the world. To learn more about their race offerings visit: www.challenge-family.com
2011 Challenge Family Races
| Event | Location | Distace(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Challenge Wanaka | Wanaka, New Zealand | Full, Half |
| Challenge Fuerteventura* | Fuerteventura, Canay Islands, Spain | Half |
| Challenge Barcelona-Maresme | Calella, Spain | Half |
| Challenge Cairns* | Cairns, Australia | Full, Half |
| Challenge Kraichgau | Ubstadt-Weiher, Germany | Half, Olympic |
| Challenge Aarhus* | Aarhus, Denmark | Half |
| Challenge Roth | Roth, Germany | Full |
| Challange Copenhagen | Copenhagen, Denmark | Full |
| Challenge Vichy* | Vichy, France | Full |
| Challenge Walchsee-Kaiserwinkl | Walchsee, Austria | Half |
| Challenge Henley-on-Thames* | Henley-on-Thames, United Kingdom | Full |
| Challenge Barcelona-Maresme | Calella, Spain | Full |
| Challenge Cape Town* | Cape Town, South Africa | Full |
* = New Challenge Races in 2011
