What and When?
- laviniadrake
- Jun 11, 2025
- 3 min read
August 16th 2025 Lavinia aims to complete her first full distance Ironman. An Ironman triathlon consists of a 2.4mile / 3.8km swim, 112mile / 180km bike followed by a full marathon... yes 26.2 miles / 42.2km run, all on the same day with cut of times for each section. That week, she will head north to Northcape, Norway to the most northern point of mainland Europe, from here she will walk south, to Tarifa, Spain, which is considered the most southern point of mainland Europe. Carrying everything she will need, she aims to set the FKT (Fastest Known Time) for a female to complete this distance, the route will be between 5000-7000km. She will walk on a mixture of national trails and roads, where safety requires. Her aim is complete the walk in 6months so will need to walk 30-40km a day. Lavinia will be documenting the trip through Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, France and Spain on Instagram, Tiktok, Youtube and this website.
Although Lavinia will be walking most of this alone, she does need your help to complete the challenge. Support is as simple as following and sharing her journey on social media to sponsoring a night in a hostel. Keeping safe on this adventure is her sole priority. In July, Lavinia is attending a week long Wilderness Adventure Medicine Course in the Lake District, costing £849 without travel and accommodation. If you or your work can help please read: Support Lavinia.
......Continued from Who and Why?
On returning to the UK Lavinia discovered Ironman had released a title called 'Ironman Viking of the North'
Triathletes who complete a 70.3 and full distance Ironman in Sweden, Denmark or Finland in the same calendar year will receive a special medal and the title 'Viking of the North'! This sounded like a real challenge to work towards, but what about walking the length of Europe?
If Lavinia was to attempt her first Ironman in August and wanted to start walking the length of Europe from Norway, then she would need to set off ASAP after Ironman Kalmar in Sweden, as Northcape, Norway is located in the Arctic Circle, where autumn starts in September with temperatures averaging between 6-13'c quickly dropping as winter sets in. Lavinia will be racing the cold weather down Europe to avoid the freezing temperatures.
The optimum time to go from Norway to Spain would be starting in April and walking through summer, but Lavinia didn't want to wait until 2026 to start. Why wait when life is not guaranteed? She is currently in good health and when is there a good time to leave regular life for 6 months?
Lavinia is taking this opportunity for a life reset, she wants to help and encourage others to get outside enjoying nature through walks, cycling and triathlon. This Easter with her partner Sam, they organised a 'fun' Easter triathlon, the bike and run course involved finding Easter Egg signs to know where to go and finishers received a unique egg shaped medal! With plenty of ideas for more events in the future.
Lavinia is leading four walks in the Cotswolds, before she heads off to Sweden, bookable here. She has planned a whole year of walks from March - December 2026, the locations will vary around Wiltshire, Gloucestershire and Cotswolds area, a mixture of lesser trodden footpaths to incorporating some national trails.
Support Lavinia's Walking N2S Challenge here.
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