Emily Finanger

Congratulations on winning both Norseman and Superfrog in 2007! It seems to have been a busy racing season! Which other races have you doing this year?
Thank you! I also raced a half-ironman distance race in Texas and a sprint race in Texas. My parents live there and a race is a good excuse to go visit them. I raced two Olympic-distance races as well- Lifetime Fitness in Minneapolis, MN and the Chicago Triathlon. I also tried one of the Tri-One-O-One races this year in Clear Lake, California. The Tri 101 was about ¾ of an Iron-distance race and the run was up and down a lot of hills so it was probably good for training for the Norseman!


You finished Norseman in 13:01:10, over 2 and a half hour ahead of the female runner up. Tell us about your race.
I have never done a race that requires you to be up so early. My husband and I stayed up at the top of the first big climb out of Eidfjord so we had to wake up at 0200. We were eating breakfast at the host hotel as people were leaving the bar for the night. That was probably the most interesting mix of people in a hotel lobby…a group of people whose lifestyle entails staying out until 3 am and then another group of crazy triathletes who get up and are eating breakfast at the same time. We met our support crews and gave them our bikes, transition gear and all of the fluids and energy replacement we would need for the day and my husband, Lars, and I got on the boat. A lot of anxiety was built up as we rode the ferry out to the starting spot. I definitely was not the first person to jump off the boat. I have never swum in water that is so cold before. It was definitely a shock to the system but as soon as we started swimming I didn’t notice the cold until I had to try to use my hands and feet to climb out over the rocks at the bonfire and at the end of the swim. Putting on gloves, armwarmers and cycling gear was also a challenge with cold hands. I was not the first female out of the water because there was a woman who just did the swim who came out first overall. I did not know at that time that she was only doing the swim so I thought I was in second place until I got to Dyranut where my support crew told me I was first. I stopped there to put on a full jacket and full gloves. In hindsight, I probably should have put on some leg warmers to keep my knees from freezing on the descents. At the end of the bike I still knew I was in the lead but the run is probably my weakest of the three disciplines and I know that a lot of time can be made up in a marathon- especially one where the second half is up a mountain!! I told myself to run the first 25k and then I could walk up the mountain. Going into the race I assumed that is what everyone did, ran the flat and then walked up the mountain. But, the problem was that as I started the uphill section there was a man who ran right past me as I started to walk. That changed my impression about everyone just walking so then I felt I had to run also. I was not able to run the whole way but I made little goals for myself like “just run to that next big rock and then you can walk to that tree up there and then run to the next guard rail..etc” That worked out pretty well. I had heard while I was running on the flat section that we would not be able to finish at the top of Gaustotoppen so that was a little disappointing but I did not know what the alternative would be. I saw Lars for the first time as I was running up and he was coming down from the turnaround. I caught up to Lars as we turned onto the road to the ski lodge off of the main mountain road. We walked and ran to the finish together which I thought was the perfect way to start our honeymoon in Norway. It was very special to me to be able to finish such a challenging race, both mentally and physically, together with my husband.



Your Norseman swim was as fast as the best male athletes. Tell us a little bit about your background in sports.

I started swimming when I was 8 and my family lived in California. I went on to swim at the University of Minnesota. I usually ran and rode my bike to stay in shape if I wasn’t swimming and I started triathlon the summer following my last year of competitive swimming at University. I have been competing in triathlons for 7 years now. My first iron-distance race was in June 2006 in Nice,France and then Lars and I raced at Ironman Hawaii in 2006 as well. Norseman was my 3rd iron-distance race but it was by far the hardest I have had to push myself.




Beeing married to a man with Norwegian heritage, how do you like visiting Norway?

I loved Norway. Lars was born there when his parents were teaching in Stavanger. His Godfather lives in Stavanger and we spent the majority of our time there. The whole country is really breathtaking. I think we were lucky to be able to see so much of the beautiful countryside during the race because it may not have been something we could have seen otherwise. We went to Oslo for a few days after the race and hobbled around the streets there. We were also able to go visit some family friends in Kristiansand. I would love to go back and see more of the country but we were only able to stay for 10 days this summer.



What are your plans for the upcoming season?

I am still trying to figure out a schedule for this coming season. I think we are going to try to go to Lanzarote this year and race the Ironman there. I am most likely going to stick with ½ ironman and the iron-distance for this upcoming season. Congratulations on filling the Norseman already for this upcoming year. That is very exciting and the lucky 200 racers will experience one of the most beautiful and demanding courses in the world. I think I might need a year off of the Norseman in order to forget the pain before I sign up again. It is definitely a race I would love to do again and hopefully finish at the top next time!