An Interview with Marius Butuc: Living Life Through Endurance

At forty-nine years old, Romanian athlete Marius Butuc has one of the most fascinating journeys in endurance sports. His path to ultra triathlon did not begin with medals or ambition, but with loss, change, and the decision to rebuild himself. Today, he is known for completing more than fifty long-distance triathlons, including Deca formats, and for being the only finisher of the legendary Trans Sweden Triathlon.

We sat down with Marius to hear his story in his own words.

Q: Marius, how did this incredible journey into triathlon begin?

A: Fourteen years ago my company went bankrupt. It was heartbreaking to see ten years of work disappear, and there was nothing I could do to stop it. I was working in top management with many employees, and the stress was overwhelming. My way of escaping was through smoking, drinking, and long nights at parties with friends.

But one day I decided that this life was no longer who I wanted to be. I quit smoking, drinking, everything, just like that. Soon after, a friend invited me for a bike ride. The moment I got back on the bike I remembered how much I had loved cycling as a child. Around the same time I had started swimming, and without realizing it I was already on the path to triathlon, even though I had never heard of the sport before.

At first I had no training plans or structure. I was just enjoying myself. Step by step, I entered the fascinating world of multisport. In 2014 I finished my first Olympic distance triathlon.

Q: Why triathlon and not something else?

A: The answer is actually hidden in the lyrics of a heavy metal band I like, Five Finger Death Punch. They sing, “I don’t look for trouble, trouble looks for me.” That line has always felt like me.

Q: What were some of the most important milestones after that first race?

A: In 2014 I completed three Olympic distance races. The next year I raced my first Half Ironman in Pescara, Italy. In 2016 I finished my first full Ironman in Frankfurt.

After that my world opened up. I raced Ironman events in Lanzarote, Nice, Mallorca, Amsterdam, Madrid, Venice, Israman in Israel, and Swissman in Switzerland. I ran marathons across Europe and trail ultramarathons in Romania. I competed in the first edition of Oceanman Italy at Lago d’Orta and I swam across Romania’s longest lakes, from seven to twenty kilometers.

One of my favorite formats is Ultraman. I have finished four of those classic three-day races.

Q: You are also known for inventing your own challenges. Can you share a few?

A: During the pandemic I created something I called “A Hell of a Tri.” It was six kilometers of swimming, six hundred kilometers of cycling, and sixty kilometers of running, all around my home.

I also did Iron Week, seven Ironmans in seven consecutive days. I ran four marathons in four cities in four days. I created the TATF Ultra Triathlon, an ultraman-style race crossing two of the highest passes in Romania’s Carpathians. Then there was DUTOR, a Double Ultra Triathlon Offroad. And I finished a Quadruple Ultra Tri Continuous, where the cycling part was a seven hundred and twenty kilometer unsupported bikepacking loop.

On the official side I have raced Single, Double, Triple, Quintuple, and Deca formats, including the one-per-day Deca in 2024 and the Split Deca in 2025. Between official and unofficial events, I have completed more than fifty long-distance triathlons. In 2024 I was ranked third in the IUTA World Ranking.

Q: Out of all these achievements, which one means the most to you?

A: Without doubt the Trans Sweden Triathlon in 2022. That race was my dream for years. It was something no one had ever done before. I was the only athlete on the start line because the others who wanted to try were rejected by the organizer. It was considered too dangerous without the right experience.

The race started with a twenty kilometer swim in the Baltic Sea at Smygehuk. Then came two thousand kilometers of cycling north to Abisko and Ricksgraensen. The final stage was a one hundred and sixty kilometer trail run to the summit of Kebnekaise, Sweden’s highest mountain.

The cutoff time was fourteen days. It was completely unsupported. I finished in twelve days, twelve minutes, and seventeen seconds.

It was not only physical. During the run the race became a brutal fight for survival, against the elements and against the clock. My mind regressed into old memories, and I saw the image of my father, who had passed away twenty years earlier. Somehow my brain went to a place I thought was lost, and I recovered him there. That finish made me proud, but even more, it gave me the gift of remembering my father again. Out of that experience I later wrote a book in Romanian, “Solitary. The Story of a Triathlon.”

Q: What is the mindset that allows you to keep going in races like these?

A: My mindset changes from day to day. I do not use mantras, I do not pray during races, and I do not meditate. What drives me is novelty. The unknown.

When I repeat a race I lose interest. Pain feels worse, tiredness is heavier, and I only want to stop. But when I do something never done before, all of that disappears. Pain becomes secondary. The unknown lifts me forward.

Kristian Kristiansen, the organizer of the Trans Sweden Triathlon, once told me, “To do something unknown is scary. To do something that no one has done before is even scarier. But there you will find development.” That sentence defines how I see myself as an athlete.

Q: Does faith play a role in your life and in your races?

A: I am not a religious person in the classical sense. I studied religion, but I have not practiced since childhood. The Bible is part of my library, and if there is one parable that describes my life it is the Parable of the Talents.

Sometimes during races I remember prayers from my grandmother, fragments of poems, songs, even pieces of the church service from my childhood. These memories bring silence and peace, and they have often helped me.

For me the connection between physical effort and spiritual life is best expressed by Gabriel García Márquez, who said, “I live to tell a story about my life.” That is what racing is for me. Not only a report about distances and times, but stories, visible and invisible, that come alive along the way.

Q: What are the goals that keep you motivated now?

A: My first goal is to complete all three formats of the Deca Triathlon. I already have the one-per-day and the Split. What is missing is the Continuous Deca.

I also dream of racing Arch2Arc, which goes from London’s Marble Arch to Paris’ Arc de Triomphe, including a swim across the English Channel.

Another big goal is Deca Taiwan. If I manage to race there, I could be the first athlete to complete all three Deca formats. That would be a chance to reach my full potential.

Q: After everything you have done, what is your message to others?

A: My life as an amateur athlete has brought me enormous satisfaction. I have achieved things that once seemed impossible. I have become more patient, more tolerant, and I have built myself day by day into a better person.

I do not give advice. I only show myself as I am, the product of my own self-education.

I see life as a gift. At birth it is like an empty glass. Filling it is our privilege. And I cannot afford to waste it.