A LAKE District Ironman is tackling one of the world’s toughest triathlons this weekend hoping to produce a mammoth performance.

Chris Sterling, from Ambleside, is among an elite field taking part in tomorrow’s Isklar Norseman Extreme Triathlon in Norway.

The race features a 3.8km swim in the Hardangerfjord, with water temperatures between 13C and 15C, followed by a 180km bike ride and a 42.2km run, including 17.2km of steady climb to a high point of 1,850m.

It is a race which is sure to test the 33-year-old, who works in the Climbers Shop in Ambleside and tests himself every week on the roads and fells surrounding the Lakes hub.

“I’ve got an elite entry and there are only 15 elite entries worldwide from more than a thousand applications,” said Stirling, who moved to Ambleside 11 years ago and who originally hails from Portishead, near Bristol.

“It’s 12 hours of going as fast as you can. They are really hard – certainly tougher than a normal triathlon. You have to have determination.

“It’s pretty amazing with the whole atmosphere. You have people turning up to race and others who just want to complete the course. Everyone is in the same boat – the course is the same for them all.

“Mental strength is definitely a big part of it. It’s a whole day of exertion. It does take a mental toll.”

Stirling’s most recent Ironman outing came in the Celtman Extreme Triathlon, a near-250km test in Scotland, where he finished second.

Despite the podium result, the Ambleside Athletics Club man was disappointed not to beat his previous best for the event, clocking 12:08:51, five minutes down on his 2014 performance.

Stirling’s background is in climbing, mountaineering and fell running, all of which helped him decide to move to the Lake District.

He started competing in triathlons in 2012 – finishing 20th in his first Celtman – and has enjoyed victory close to home in the Wasdale Half Ironman.

Cycling came naturally on top of his fell running, while he admits he still has to work hard at the swimming aspect.

“I moved up here to spend more time in the hills,” he said.

“My first triathlon was in 2012 and I’ve done about 15 since. The ones I like doing are the ones in the mountains, it’s got to be a little bit different.

“I moved up here to spend time running and climbing in the hills and those type of races are about the journey and the environment you are in. The challenge of that environment, rather than running on the roads or doing laps on a bike, is what interests me.

“It’s more than an athletic test, it brings everything into one.

“I’ve always done mountaineering and when I came up here I started to do running in the hills. I had always had this thing about doing a triathlon.

“I injured my finger rock climbing and thought that was an ideal time to take up triathlon. It inspired me to enter the Celtman – I might have been a bit mad at the time.”