Fun to see her out there again. Obviously capable or sub 3, but without knowing if she has any drive to "race" or not we are really guessing.

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Team Zoot So Cal

You get a lot of retired athletes doing things like the London marathon, but treating it more like a bit of fun, rather than a race, waving to the cameras, signing autographs etc. So not sure if she's doing this for shits and giggles or actually racing. I kind of think a little bit of her competitive spirit left her in 2011.


I find it strange when athletes retire young, in their prime or when they still have something to offer. Why didn't she switch to 70.3 or OD or the occasional local triathlon? I love to train and race and am very competitive so find it weird when super competitive people like CW simply stop. Maybe she burned out, perhaps she was never that into triathlon like some of us are. Perhaps the training was a chore or maybe it was simply she achieved everything there was to achieve.

A lot of your speculation is answered very honestly in her book. Worth a read, it's one of the more enjoyable athlete autobiographies I've read.

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ZONE3 - We Last Longer

Agree 100%, great book and answers a lot of the recurring questions that often come up. What I took away from her book was that she needed something from IM, and in 2011 it gave her what she needed. A test, and the chance to prove something to herself.

I don't think there is any question of her burning out, she has simply moved on to other challenges outside triathlon (gasp, there is a world outside triathlon ;-) !!) although it is obvious that the last race took an enormous toll on her. But I think to understand why she left triathlon you first need to understand why she was in the sport in the first place.

My own thoughts based on the book, obv.

When I saw her in Bristol a couple of years ago, she still looked ripped as hell and ready to go. Probably not long before she fell pregnant thinking about it. So she was obviously still staying very fit at that point.

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29 years and counting

i think she said she swam 5 k on the day she gave birth.

Agree.

I saw her at the London 2012 Olympics. Turned around and she was standing behind me during the Womens Time Trial. Still looked race fit

her book almost read like Forrest Gump. Pretty incredible life before she even started to race.

Just to round this off.

2h49

Won her age group.

14th Woman to the finish line.


http://results-2017.virginmoneylondonmarathon.com/...amp;search_event=MAS

has it been 2 years or 4 since she last raced, I can't remember

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That is seriously impressive! 14th- same as Gwen in NYC :) If you asked me up front I'd have guessed that there were more than 8 minutes separating Chrissie and Gwen in a marathon, given they are in quite different places of their carreers...!

I liked her book too, it's also very easy to read. It's like +200 pages but I finished it in basically one sitting. Her stories of Tibet and Nepal were the best part.

5-6ish years.

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Group Eleven – Websites for Athletes / mikael.racing / @mstaer

Chrissie was not the 14th OA woman. She was the 14th non-elite woman.

I see what you did there....

Took me a minute....

Yes. At the oly nats we were sitting at a Starbucks and in runs Wellington (literally, she was running) still looking fit as ever. Then two days later who was handing out medals at the finish line? Yep. I sprinted last 1/2 mile and had nothing left and felt loopy, someone took my timing chip, someone else was giving me something wasn't sure what. I looked up and it was her with the medals. Then I walked right past the food and water wondering where the post race food and water were. LOL. Good times.

I was blown away with how much natural ability she had, competing and beating people on an old shitty road bike, whilst they're on state of the art TT bikes.

Let's not forget that Chrissie is 40 years old, well past her prime. Gwen is 10 years her junior and just entering her prime. And bear in mind that the woman's world record for a 40 year old in the marathon is 2:27. Chrissie's performance was very impressive indeed, certainly the best triathlete there ever was.

 Gwen is 10 years her junior and just entering her prime.//

And was pregnant at the time of the race, as long as we are throwing out stuff here in the comparison game.

clickbait or not, there's nothing like a Chrissie W thread to bring ol' jackmott out of ST retirement ...

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She was 6 days pregnant, if that.

And also in Olympic Gold triathlon shape.

40th woman overall from the looks of it, 14th not in the elite wave (all 26 elite wave athletes that finished posted faster times than her). Still super impressive given that she "didn't train" for it...

She didn't enter as a pro, competed in AG 40-44 and won her category. Beast as always.