Paper short abstract:

How is an endurance sport event used to reproduce images of strong and enduring athletes using nature as a field to revert to a local image of a nordic outdoor destination? The paper shows how the prejudices of the area, the race organisers and the athletes create a co-produced perception of Lofoten.

Paper long abstract:

The ocean for the swim might reach 15°C. Elements of nature, the likely rough weather conditions and the terrain as well as the physical fitness needed to endure the Lofoten Triathlon offer a sublime and intense experience. With the engagement to a very long journey of 4 km swimming, 196 km cycling and a 45 km run over two mountain passes, it seems that at that endurance event in northern Norway the extreme meets the extreme. People who shape themselves for those forms of competitions for many years maroon themselves to the area. At the same time the race organiser mainly highlights the beauty of the Lofoten archipel and stresses that the experience is foremost about moments and not about race time.

What image of the area do they create by this layout and what kind of participants are drawn to the race? Within this, how is the picture of the north created and phantasms of experiencing the north to its fullest are packaged into a triathlon competition? How is the narrative of the enduring male reproduced? What is the role of the Vikings and why is there an 'Arctic Triple Bun' given out at the food stations?

The paper explores the makings of destination and askes how understandings of the north are part of creating a local self-understanding of external stereotypes. With the practice of participating in the north and stepping and inheriting the nature, the athletes affiliate the region and are part of a co-production process of creating a transformation to a former raw countryside.