Great ideas can strike at the most unexpected moment, and that was certainly the case with The Royal Gazette Bermuda Triangle Challenge. While taking a shower 13 years ago, Thom Gilligan had a spark of an idea that quickly caught the imagination of others and led to the first three-race combined competition in 2008. As a runner and a marketing partner he had been involved with Bermuda’s growing series of January races since 1979. Over the course of three decades he’d seen the running festival’s popularity peak and then wane. The weekend traces its roots back to Bermuda’s first international marathon in 1975, which attracted seven runners. A year was skipped in 1976, but the marathon returned in 1977 and has since been held every year. A 10K race was added to the race weekend in 1978, followed by mile races in 1989, and then a half-marathon in 1993. By the mid-2000s competitor numbers had tumbled. The time was ripe to try something new, and the spark came in May 2007. “It was one of those epiphanies you get when you are taking a shower. It just popped into my mind — what is unique about the Bermuda race weekend that we could give it an identity?” Gilligan said. “I started thinking about what was unique to Bermuda, and the idea of the Bermuda Triangle popped into my head. We have three events on three days, this is a pretty good idea.” He took the proposal to Bermuda’s governing athletic association.