Glasgow twins talk hungover triathlon, completing Norseman for pizza and just enjoying the ride

Iain and Andrew Todd (44) spent the last 20 years learning how to swim, run and cycle, and attempting some of the most strenuous multi-sport races around the world. 

Now, they have released a book, DNF - Did Not Finish, telling their stories of success and failure, including a hungover triathlon, completing a race for some Norwegian pizza and getting hypothermia. 

Among other challenges, the brothers have taken on Norseman, the most extreme triathlon in the world, held in the Norwegian fjords.

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Iain, an IT manager at Strathclyde University, said, unlike the athletes they came up against over the years, he and his brother have no sporting background.

“A lot of people write books about their sporting feats, take Olympians with their amazing achievements,” he added.

“We wanted to write a book which was more about not being very good at it, and that’s okay.

Iain at the Norseman triathlon

Iain at Norseman

“You can go to a race and come last or not finish at all and you can still enjoy it just as much as the people who are on the front getting medals.”

The twins, originally from the Isle of Lewis, both signed up to Norseman and were selected among thousands of applicants. 

The race is branded “the ultimate triathlon on the planet”, with athletes plunging into freezing fjord water, cycling 112 miles in arctic conditions, and running a marathon to the top of a 2,000m Norwegian peak.

Andrew, who works as a legal counsel, took part in 2016, but had to abandon the race at the biking stage, due to hypothermia.

Iain joined in 2018 and managed to complete the exploit in 16 hours - with the help of some local pizza. 

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He said: “I knew that at the end of the race there was an amazing pizza shop that shut at 10 o'clock. 

“So my whole way through the run my only thought was ‘I need to finish this in enough time to be able to get back to this town to get this pizza’. 

“I think my favourite picture in the book actually is one of me eating the pizza, because it was amazing, best pizza I've ever had.”

Andrew at Norseman

The inspiration for Norseman came from a YouTube video from over ten years ago that left the brothers intrigued to try the adventure. 

Iain added: “There was this video of this ferry going out into the Norwegian fjords. 

“And then suddenly these guys started jumping off the back of it and into the sea.

“I just thought that looked amazing, I didn't know what was going on. 

“Me and my brother grew up in the Isle of Lewis, we've always used the ferry for getting to the mainland and back. 

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“So it was just so interesting to see it being used for something completely different to what we're used to.”

The only scary part for Iain was coming up against 200 Scandinavian sporting elite gods.

“It's very intimidating when everyone is blond, blue-eyed, muscly and looks like they do Norseman for fun,” he said, “and then there was me, just a normal bloke.

“I was quite scared going into it but once I started the race I was actually feeling quite calm, I thought ‘it's started now, the only way to finish this is to get to the end’.”

Iain and Andrew Todd

Before Norseman, the brothers attempted a stage of the Tour De France.

But another memorable event was Iain’s and Andrew’s very first triathlon experience in Edinburgh, on New Year’s Day, ten years ago. 

After a long night of celebrations, Iain turned up to the Commonwealth pool hungover and after the swimming section decided he really needed to dry his hair before jumping on a bike to Arthur’s Seat.

“I thought that was what you're supposed to do in a race,” he added.

“My mum told me not to go out with wet hair so I was like ‘why would you do that, it doesn't make any sense, you'll catch a cold’. 

“I was standing at the hairdryer when a guy came up to me and said, ‘Oh, how did the race go?’ and I was like, ‘what do you mean, I'm still doing it’. 

“In the end, I came last and my brother came second last, we just didn’t know what we were doing at all.”

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Iain gave credit to the Glasgow Triathlon Club for preparing him for the several challenges he’s faced over the years. 

“They were so helpful and were able to take someone who couldn't swim up to a level where I could do Norseman, swimming in cold water for kilometres.  

“That’s how good they are, and even if you have no experience, it's the perfect place to go along and meet other people who want to do similar sort of things.”

Read more about Iain’s and Andrew’s adventures in their new book, DNF - Did Not Finish, available on Amazon.