Can you train for a long-distance triathlon in 12 months?
Here's a look inside the ambitious health study where everyday participants push their limits to uncover how endurance training transforms the body and mind.
“I wouldn’t say I was a couch potato,” laughs UBC alum Vicens Paneque (MDS'21). “But I’ve certainly never done anything this intense before. It’s changed the way I see my body and what it can do.”
The “it” Paneque refers to is the ULTRA Project—a first-of-its-kind research study that aims to take 40 healthy but inactive individuals and, through a structured training plan, turn them into long-distance triathletes 12 months later.
At the end of the project, participants should be ready to complete a long-distance triathlon race, meaning a 3.9-kilometre swim, 180.2-km bike ride, and 42.2-km run.
While Paneque’s goal “is to just finish the race,” the panel of researchers analyzing his performance data are delving much deeper.
They want to know: What a year-long training program will do to cardiovascular, immune, and metabolic function, as well as how an individual’s psychology may change?
“When someone moves from being largely sedentary to then being able to complete a long-distance triathlon, it’s a massive physiological and psychological shift,” explains Dr. Robert Shave, Professor of Health and Exercise Sciences at UBC Okanagan.
“Scientifically, we know that competitive athletes are fitter and healthier than people who don’t exercise. But we know surprisingly little about how the body actually responds to endurance training over a prolonged period of time.”
Turning sweat into science
The ULTRA Project is more than just a comprehensive training plan—it’s one of the most ambitious exercise research studies ever conducted at UBC Okanagan.
Participants meet with the research team six times over the year, each time undergoing multi-day assessments ranging from bloodwork and aerobic capacity testing to psychological surveys, body composition scans, and ultrasound imaging of the heart and arteries.
Training plans for the participants are delivered via a custom phone app and monitored through heart rate data. To remain in the study, participants need to complete at least 80 per cent of the training program, which gradually ramps up to a maximum of 17 hours per week.
The project brings together a large, cross-disciplinary team, including collaborators from UBC’s Vancouver campus and Harvard University, as well as doctoral, master's, and post-doctoral researchers interested in cardiology, physiology, and psychology.
Accountability is the secret ingredient
While the science is rigorous, the heart of the project is human.
Participants say the sense of connection—both to the research team and to each other—is one of the most powerful motivators.
“We see each other on the app, or out training on the same routes,” says undergraduate Chemistry student and study participant Sophia Vanslyke. “There’s this feeling that we’re in it together, even if we’re all at different paces.”
Bruce Aitken (BASc'17), another participant and UBC alum, agrees. “It’s not just about crossing the finish line. It’s about committing to something with other people. I’ve met some great friends through this, including Vicens.”
Adds Paneque, “Through this study, I’ve really surprised myself with what I can do.”
How it all turned out
Throughout the study, training went well for all three participants as they ramped up their hours in the pool and on the road.
Nine months into the study, Vanslyke completed a half-Ironman in Victoria, BC, alongside her father Stephen. Although an injury ultimately prevented her from completing the full Ironman as part of the study, Vanslyke isn’t ruling out a race in the future.
Paneque and Aitken both completed a full Ironman in Sacramento, California, after a year of training.
“The swim and the bike ride felt great for me,” says Paneque of the experience. “But the run was a cramp battle.”
Adds Aitken, “Unfortunately, Vicens and I didn’t get pictures together at the finish line because my wife basically had to carry me back to the hotel!”
But the intensive experience hasn’t deterred Aitken one bit from pursuing more training; in fact, it has invigorated him to pursue a new lifestyle.
“I plan to continue training for triathlon, and just got my first coach outside the program.”
