June 5, 2025, 2:00 pm | Read time: 4 minutes
Josefine Rutkowski, 35, from Thuringia, quit her secure civil service job and is currently preparing for a world record attempt. Starting in mid-July, the former teacher will embark on 60 Ironman distances in 60 days. With this project, she aims not only to make history but also to exemplify what she has always told her students.
People do crazy things—and in triathlon, this is very evident. While other sports stop at one distance or discipline, some triathletes stack not just three challenges on top of each other. Some tackle two, three, five, ten, 30—or even 60 long distances on consecutive days. If Josefine Rutkowski achieves what she has set out to do, it would be the women’s world record in the so-called “per-day formats.”
Overview
“2 in 2,” “10 in 10″—or “60 in 60”
In triathlon, there is a per-day format: In the “Double Day” or “2 in 2,” two long distances are completed on two consecutive days; in the “Triple Day,” three; in the “Deca Day,” it’s ten in ten days… for most of us, these are unimaginable physical feats. But for ultra-athletes like Josefine Rutkowski, that’s far from the end.
The 35-year-old from Thuringia is currently planning her “60 in 60” adventure: 60 triathlon long distances in 60 consecutive days. Starting July 13, Rutkowski plans to swim 3.8 kilometers, cycle 180 kilometers, and run 42.2 kilometers daily. Who is this woman?
Josefine Rutkowski Quit Her Civil Service Job
Rutkowski (35) has been successfully participating in triathlon competitions for many years and is among the best amateur triathletes worldwide in her age group. In 2019, the Thuringian became the German champion in the middle-distance triathlon and the long-distance in the 30 to 34 age group. At the Ironman Hawaii 2019, she finished 31st in this age group. Her personal best in the long distance is 9:57:12 hours.
Recently, the 35-year-old quit her secure civil service job to, as she explains on her website, “dedicate herself to new professional and personal horizons.” Her motivation is to live by example, what she taught her students as a former teacher: “Follow your dreams and forge your own path.”
For the 35-year-old, leaving the secure job now leads to the start of a sporting experiment that is likely to be a boundary-pushing experience. Instead of marking exams, she now adjusts her own performance standards and prepares for her “60 in 60” project on a daily basis. 60 complete Ironman distances in 60 consecutive days.
Girlfriend of Jonas Deichmann
Her passion for the extreme was ignited in the summer of 2024 during the “Challenge 120” by endurance athlete and adventurer Jonas Deichmann. Deichmann completed the staggering number of 120 long-distance triathlons in 120 consecutive days (FITBOOK reported). Rutkowski joined him on some days, swimming, running, and cycling alongside him. Together, they completed five long distances in a row. Since then, Deichmann and Rutkowski have been a couple.
Encouraging People to Surpass Themselves
Now, 60 long distances instead of five. That’s an increase of 1,100 percent—a gigantic increase in strain, exhaustion, and mental challenge. “My goal with my […] project is to encourage people to surpass themselves, passionately pursue their goals, and discover their inner strength,” Rutkowski writes about her motivation. “I am proud that she has the courage to challenge the women’s world record,” posted Deichmann. He will definitely be there.
And that Josefine Rutkowski is with this very person is a real mental ace up her sleeve—Deichmann has likely experienced every form of pain, fatigue, crisis, and self-doubt during his challenges. There are probably few people who know so well how to ignite extreme motivation and maintain it over weeks. One of many secrets that FITBOOK Editor-in-Chief Nuno Alves elicited from him in a conversation at OMR 2025: “Unconditional optimism” and the firm belief that you can do it.
Current Record is “30 in 30”
The existing official record for the “per-day” formats for women in triathlon is 30 long distances in 30 days. It was set by Austrian Alexandra Meixner in 2024 in Italy.1 Meixner was on the move between 15 and 17 hours per day, and her total time over all 30 daily Ironmen (Ironman or Iron-Distance is the long distance) was 492 hours 52 minutes 12 seconds. Josefine Rutkowski has set her sights on double that.
Causes, Symptoms and Progression of Parkinson’s Disease
May Help With ADHD: The Rules of the Oligoantigenic Diet
How to Run Faster
Record Attempt Starting July 13 in the Palatinate
Rutkowski’s record attempt will take place starting July 13 in Dudenhofen/Speyer (Palatinate). Interested parties are warmly invited to join her in swimming and running. We are already looking forward to images like those from the summer of 2024 with Jonas Deichmann, around whom crowds of people gathered during the marathon.