Coming from as far as Australia and as near as North Lake Tahoe, more than 200 men and women athletes are gearing up for a race to remember at Northern Nevada’s inaugural Expedition Man Endurance Festival and Ultra-Distance-Triathlon, taking place Saturday, August 25. Athletes will begin with a swim at Zephyr Cove Resort at Lake Tahoe, then onto a more than 100-mile-bike-ride through Carson City and a long-run along the Truckee River, ending at the Legends at Sparks Marina.

“The route I chose is unique,” said Ryan Kolodge, race director for Expedition Man. “I wanted to give racers the opportunity to tour the great scenery Northern Nevada has to offer.”

A self-taught salesman with a Bachelor of Arts in Business, branch manager of a worldwide printing company, Kolodge, 31, completed his first iron-distance race in 2011.

“I trained for six-months off and on and finished in 12 hours and 38 minutes calling my mom on the bike portion a few times … I remember that part very well … “Mom, I’m doing it, I just finished the swim and I’m at 20 miles into the bike ride.”

Kolodge soon found himself asking himself: “why not host a race in Northern Nevada?”

“I went straight home and entertained the idea and did a little research noticing within 800 miles or so, there weren’t that many iron distance triathlons,” he said. “All I thought was one thing – opportunity. I had the drive, the connections and I wanted the challenge.”

After competing in triathlons for five-years, Kolodge I had a good idea what a triathlon in Northern Nevada should look like. He took months researching and analyzing routes and alternative routes in case someone [a city] said “no.” Soon after he had his locations, he was one man, with a sponsorship book, an idea, access to internet and first-hand course knowledge.

“I was turned down left and right until Hammer Nutrition said “yes!” I had a sponsor and it felt good,” he said. “I took that small amount of momentum and Zephyr Cove Resort got on board for the swim start, Carson City was very excited and the City of Sparks was thrilled … I wanted my city (Sparks) to succeed.”

Cason City permitted the event to go against traffic five-blocks down Main Street, highlighting the State Legislature Building along with other historical sites. Cyclists will continue into the peaceful basin of Washoe Valley then onto Reno and ending at the Legends at Sparks Marina.

“They [the athletes] will never be too far from the action of festival we have in store,” Kolodge said. “We’ve got musicians, vendors, food and drink all lined up for the spectator-friendly event.”

The run route utilizes our great river trail which drops runners off at the host hotel for a turnaround point at mile 6.5. Runners will then race back on the river trail and through the Legends and end in front of Scheels. The marathoners will finish the remanding 13.1 miles in and around the marina coming through the Legends area twice before finishing. Athletes can choose from an iron man and half iron man distance. There also is an option to do an “Aqua Bike” a swim/bike for those who want to save their legs and a Relay option. The Relay has the option of two or three person teams in either distance.

“This is a great way to jump into the triathlon world without fully committing to the entire event and a great way to meet other athletes from all over,” Kolodge said.

While Kolodge has created and organized Expedition Man, he could not do it all in one-year without his team: graphic designer, a Web guru, marketing specialist, support coordinators and Max McManus, ironman triathlete, trainer and owner of For Max Results in Reno.

“I called Max in December of 2011 and asked him to help me with this project. I met with him after work and this was a full blown interview,” Kolodge stated. “He drilled me with hard questions with which I had some answers and others, I didn’t have a clue.”

Admitting he was nervous, he wanted Max on his side.

“As the event grew, I continually met with Max for advice from the wording of the event schedule, the menu of the awards ceremony, aid station nutrition, logistics, Web site advice and so on. Max was a huge contributor to making Expedition Man what is today.”

Expedition Man is not the only race Kolodge plans to create.

“I am working on a five-year-deal to create similar races like this. With a new distance never seen before – along the west coast in places where iron distance races have never taken place before!,” he said with excitement. “Here’s how I see it … you must entertain every crazy idea and don’t let anyone bring you down … always surround yourself with people smarter than yourself … if you’re the smartest person in the room, you need to be someone else learning and filling your head full of knowledge.”

For more information on Expedition Man, visit www.expeditionman.com.