When most of us club riders do a Sunday club ride we might ascend about 1,000m and we’ll be home within 3-4 hours. Nima Javaheri rode for 114 hours and climbed 38,000m. In doing so he set a new world Everesting record (the equivalent of 4 Everests) and raised a heap of money for blood cancer research. It’s an astonishing feat for someone who works full time as a banker in Switzerland.
As you’d expect we delved into the practical elements of completing such a demanding challenge, particularly as Nima chose to do it in March on La Croisette, on the border of France and Switzerland, which meant temperature lows of -6c. For a little insight into the challenge you can watch a short film of the world record ride.
Nima’s record breaking ride didn’t just come from nowhere as he’s no stranger to endurance events. In 2021 he competed in and won a mad race, Witiker Backyard Ultra which involves running a 6.7km loop on the hour, every hour until the last competitor is left standing. You can also watch a short film of that win. When we spoke to Nima he was about to compete in this years edition on 26 May 2022.
What we loved about Nima is unusual approach to training & competing. To say it was refreshing is an understatement. What cannot be understated however is his incredible mental fortitude. As you’d expect we delved into where that drive comes from and what allows him to just keep on going. Nima epitomises the 40% rule that Jesse Itzler introduced us to when he wrote about living with a Navy Seal. The 40% rule is simple: When your mind is telling you that you’re done, that you’re exhausted, that you cannot possibly go any further, you’re only actually 40% done.
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