Sam Skrocke never has been one to shy away from an athletic challenge. In fact, the Truckee adventurer seeks them out. Same goes for his best friend, Mike Tebbutt of Kings Beach.

It's a common trait that drew the pair together nearly 10 years ago in the heat of battle.

“Sam and I have had this endurance-activity partnership for a bunch of years now,” said Tebbutt, 38, who first encountered Skrocke in a duel to the finish line of the Lake Tahoe Marathon back in 2000.

They got to talking about rock climbing afterward, and they've been friends ever since.

Call them partners in adventure, having skied around Lake Tahoe in 2007 “because it needed to be done,” even the way they did it, continuously until completing the giant loop in 62 hours.

“Everything I do,” Skrocke said, “whether it's climbing, running or biking, there always seems to be one thing in common — that I just want to take it further and see what my boundaries are.”

This helps explain why Skrocke, 33, who's never raced in a triathlon, and Tebbutt, a novice triathlete, together will enter the Nevada Silverman ironman-distance triathlon on Sunday.

“It's the toughest (triathlon) in the country, if not the world,” said Skrocke. “Well, that's what they say, anyway. So that definitely had some appeal to me.”

The Nevada Silverman begins with a 2.4-mile swim in Lake Mead, followed by a 112-mile bike ride and a 26.2-mile run to the finish line in Henderson.

Both Skrocke and Tebbutt are animals when it comes to running and biking — not so much when it comes to swimming. But they both have improved lately in that regard, enough so to want to tackle an event such as the Nevada Silverman.

Neither knows for sure what to expect.

“It's getting close, so I'm a little nervous about it,” Skrocke said. But I just think it's going to be fun.”

Tebbutt hopes to finish in about 12 hours. But really, he's not even sure if that's a realistic goal.

“I figure the earlier I'm done with it, the earlier I can drink beer and have it behind me,” he said. “But it's going to be kind of intense.”

“I feel pretty good about it,” Skrocke said. “We'll see what happens.”