More than 16,000 people want one of Norseman’s 335 places, twice as many as a year ago

A total of 16,033 athletes entered the ballot for the 2027 Norseman Xtreme Triathlon, more than twice as many as the year before, for a race that will put only about 250 people on the start line.

The organisers said entries rose by 102 per cent from 7,956 for the 2026 race. The ballot closed on 11 October and the draw results were announced on 21 October.

The applicants are also younger and more of them are women. The median age fell from 38 to 34, and the number of women entering almost tripled, from 652 to 1,907, according to the race.

A small race with a long queue

Norseman starts at 05:00 with a jump from a car ferry into the Hardangerfjord at Eidfjord. Athletes swim 3.8 km, ride 180 km across the Hardangervidda plateau and run a marathon. The first 160 runners to reach the 37 km point continue to the summit of Gaustatoppen, Slowtwitch reported. In all, the course has more than 5,000 m of climbing.

The next edition is on 7 August 2027. The race will allocate 335 start slots, which on past experience leaves 250 to 255 athletes on race day. The ballot rules guarantee at least 15 per cent women and at most 25 per cent Norwegians.

Norway is still the largest market, with 7,176 entrants, up 145 per cent. International entries grew by 78 per cent, led by Britain with 1,740, then France (1,074), the United States (1,045) and Germany (785). Athletes from 110 countries entered, up from 100.

More than half of the entrants are under 35, and 11 per cent are under 25, almost double last year’s 6 per cent.

Women made up 12 per cent of the ballot, up from 8 per cent. “These developments are not accidental,” Mandt said in a race statement. “We have specifically worked to reach younger athletes and encourage more women.” He added that there was “still work to be done, especially when it comes to female participation”.

Two in three people who entered for 2026 tried again, and two in three of this year’s entrants were new to the ballot, the organisers said.

Norseman 2.0: fewer cars, harder cut-offs

The organisers are calling the 2027 race “Norseman 2.0”. The race runs on open public roads with permission from the police and the Norwegian Public Roads Administration, and traffic along the course has grown every year.

From 2027, sections of the bike and run courses will be closed to vehicles without accreditation. Each athlete keeps one support car, but friends and family who are not in it will watch from new spectator zones.

Because roads can only be closed for a limited time, cut-off times will be stricter and placed at more points on the course. “Stricter cut-off times are not our choice as organisers,” the race said. “They are a condition for being allowed to use the roads in 2027.” Under the new cut-offs, 12 finishers from 2026 would have been stopped before the run.

“We would rather make Norseman tougher and safer than risk losing it,” Mandt said.

A shipbuilder signs up

Norseman has also signed the shipbuilder Vard Group as its Summit Partner, its highest sponsorship tier, for the 2027 to 2029 races. No financial terms were published. Two Vard employees will race in 2027.

The race is the world championship of the XTRI World Tour, which Slowtwitch says now has 13 full-distance races. A place on the start line costs €550 for those drawn in the ballot, who must register by 14 November.