I have stopped watching the IM Hawaii for the same reason. I want to watch the best race, not the one who happens to be famous or has overcome some insurmountable issue to race, while soft music plays in the background.

It is a race where the best from around the world compete and we are stuck with an Oprah like atmosphere. For once I wish they would gear the coverage to those actually interested in the sport and not towards those who have no interest but tune into to have a good cry. That's what soap operas are for.

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You sir, are my new hero! - Trifan 11/13/2008

Casey, you are a wise man - blueraider_mike 11/13/2008

Casey, This is an astute observation. - Slowbern 11/17/2008

Hey Dev---

You think the awards banquet was bad this year? You shoulda been there in '98, when we were all "treated" to Scott Tinley playing the guitar and singing his own marvellous composition, "October Day". *shudder* That one is etched painfully into my memory.

That's very funny.

Which begs the question, has anyone actually read an entire "Tinley Talks" column?

Not just Kona...ALL Ironman events!!!!!!

But:

1) Gotta pay the bills

2) Gotta make sponsors happy

3) Gotta make people warm and fuzzy

4) Gotta make the "families" happy

5) Gotta stay true the original intent of the Ironman

More the reason to change the venue and the classification of "World Championships".....

an excellent report. i appreciate your perspective, except that i would call myself an athlete first, and a fan second, a distant second.

but more to the point: the list of companies that have a nearly worthless strategic vision is very long indeed. heck, all the US car companies (including, ironically, the IM title sponsor, Ford) fit into that category nicely and their sea of red ink proves it far better than my words ever can.

when consumers have few alternatives, companies with no vision can still survive, even with disappointed customers. but once viable alternatives appear, watch out ... !

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Where would you want to swim ?

Kind of of topic, but not entirely...

How deep does prize money go at Kona? Whats Stadler take home? It seems like the respect of the competition at the front end is somewhat in relation to the lack of money being paid out.

How many times had Fenanda Keller finished in the Top 3? The Top 5? Or the Top 10? How many times has she actually been shown racing on TV, not including seeing her back as she passes somebody who is on the ground throwing up or crawling?

Rarely do any of the racers get any coverage. It has almost always been about the human interest story. I quot watching it a few years ago. I track it religiously on the internet while it is going on, but I no longer watch it on TV.

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"Remember: a bicycle is an elegant and efficient tool designed for seeking out and defeating people who aren't as good as you."

--BikeSnobNYC

My take on my 13th IMHI awards show.

I found it, overall,one of the best. The "entertainment" was by far the best yet. I know its just filler while we eat, but it is high quality. The food wasn't too bad either.

Yes, the Janus stuff goes on too long. I've heard the "talk" so many times, its just plain boring. But the Athletes DID earn nearly 2 million dollars. They deserve some spotight. At least Bob Babbit didn't tell the same old "newspaper" story.

Over the years a lot of the Thank You's have been trimmed down. The voulunteer videos are much les time consuming and ARE important. Do athletes have any idea of the work tha goes on behind the scenes for them? And NO you don't pay for it, these people to it for YOU! How about a little respect?

I don't remember any time given to "special stories" at dinner last night. Sister won the "Determination Award". Some people were mentioned, but no real time spent on it, other than Bob Babbits short speach.

If anyone gets short changed, its the AGers, who are shuttled on and off stage as quickly as possible. I do believe, without the AG base there would be no Ironman. There are a lot of great AG athletes and not enough time cover them all too.

I know many on this forum are big fans of the Pros. Both winners gave long interesting speaches. I don't think they got short changed. If you recognize past athletes, you'd have to do them all. Who decides which ones to recgnize? We all have our favorites. Ken Glah who completed his 23rd IMH in a row sat with the rest of us in the general seating.

Even if its not for you, many people believe that IM is much more than just "best of the best" Everyone has personal struggles to get to Hawaii, even the Pros have backstories. The tradition of IM is to bring us together on one stage, not seperate us.

Isn't that the Mystic of Hawaii. The one that makes thousands try to qualify to get here every year. For some its their life long dream. The fact that anyone can toe the line with the best?

Great race Dev I looked for you after the finish. Did you come in duringthe rain? (9:47? Are you stealing Joe's time? Can he trade up too?)

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Support Crew
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Yeah, Ironman has it all wrong, of course my friend just called me from Lava Java and said she sat next to two Ironman/ WTC staffers. Apparently they said that Louisville is going to close today, something like 80 spots left.

i don't know about you guys, but it seems to me they are doing something right.



now off to active.com to register.



later.



JB

Hey, speaking of that: Was that ridiculous fake lava rock with the Ford Explorer on top of it floating out there in Kailua Bay at the start again this year? I nearly wet myself even before getting in the water last year when I saw that thing--- how much cheesier could it get??

:D

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TriBaby
"The rule is, jam yesterday, and jam tomorrow, but NEVER jam today." ---The White Queen

Yes it is all relative...you sound like one of those jerks that picks up his award for 30-34 in the local tri then leaves or talks loudly while the 60 yr old lady is getting hers in front of 3 people...;-) You don't do that, do you dev?

It is all relative and this isn't an open world championship with only one class of competitor. So while the first across the line are the pro winners, there are other categories as well, and yes, the charity category is as legitimate for this race as the others, given its relative airtime.

Certainly the IM "club" is a bit annoying as they talk about the same stuff each month....(read threads about Frank Farrar...think anyone from the outside really finds seeing him run/lurch attactive?)

Ever been to the Academy Awards? (6 hours long...that is why the Red Carpet Walk is at 4, while you are waiting for the Best Actress at 10 PM) Or how about the Opening and closing ceremonies of the Olympics? (~4 hours each, not including 2hours to queue up beforehand)...name any sport where they don't have to ask other racers to be "quiet in the back" when they are handing out the awards or where you would get as great a percentage of participants sticking around.

I would have loved to hear more discussion between the top folks myself. However it is about the same as any big event; lots of constituents and not enough time. The real sportsmen stick around for the awards and clap for the last person to get any recognition. See how often people do that at the next local tri you go to, then compare it to Kona awards.

Hi Reggie, no, I am there at the local tris even pacing in the last finisher and never leave till everyone gets their award. If you read my first post, I like all that stuff at other events, I just feel that the World Championships can have a different focus :-)

SC, no fear of Joe's times, I'm an hour slower than him!

Gotta make the "families" happy

That's why we have finish line photos.

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You sir, are my new hero! - Trifan 11/13/2008

Casey, you are a wise man - blueraider_mike 11/13/2008

Casey, This is an astute observation. - Slowbern 11/17/2008

No doubt you are one of the real sports in the sport, my man..it IS a bit of a bummer when you see that Kona is pretty much like the other IM's (except that us in the "top 5" in IMNA's get our butts kicked so bad at this one ;-)

I agree. It goes on way too long. I saw many dazed eyes in the crowd and children trying to stay awake.

My thoughts on why it doesn't change:

1) They know they have a captive audience.

2) There is plenty o' Internet coverage to find out all you want to know about the pros and how their races went. A laptop is nearly essential now to get the full IM experience. :)

I would have loved to hear more discussion between the top folks myself. However it is about the same as any big event; lots of constituents and not enough time.

Without knowing you better (or at all for that matter), I think you seriously misunderstood Devs' post. I quoted two sentences from your post as they seem to capture the essence of the topic. Kona is suppose to be the World Championship, and therefore is not suppose to be like any of the other big events. It should be a step above, a quantum step, and this was Devs' point.

From what I can see and read, Kona has become the only true world championship race in triathlon. The Worlds that USAT "sends" people to consists of mostly tourists from the U.S. Last year, when the qualifying race was cancelled, just how many people from each age group were eligible?

Kona, on the other hand, now results in 50-54 year old males finishing faster than Dave Scotts' initial Kona overall victories in the early 80s. Dev is in the 40-44 yr AG, finishes in 10:20 and is 550 th overall! If I remember correctly, in 1984 or 1983, an 11:00 hr finish was good for 85th overall.

So, yes virtually everyone there is an amazing athlete. I agree with Dev, that the post race presentation should focus on the top finishers, both pro and Agers. Definitely a good idea to move the Charity presentation to the pre-race dinner. Sitting through a very similar presentation at IMoo last month is just to hard to do a day after an IM. Streamline the presentation a bit, refocus, but also definitely keep the race participant and volunteer DVD presentations! (Do they even do that at Kona?)

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Behold the turtle! He makes progess only when he sticks his neck out. (James Bryant Conant)
GET OFF THE F*%KING WALL!!!!!!! (Doug Stern)
Brevity is the soul of wit. (William Shakespeare)

Good post, I agree and I also wish that for a world championship they:

Make it less "Go USA" and more World.

Why is there a US military category?

Why is janus only doing it for US non-profits?

and there were other things they did but I think i made my point...

I did not count how many US athletes were in the top ten or in the top 5 of the age groups but I do know they are the largest group of athletes here (probably because of location). Don't you think they should make a better attempt to appreciate other countries that compete?

Just an impression I had...



Scott

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Scott McMillan, M.Sc
Twitter@Factor9Coaching | Factor9Coaching.com | Facebook

The TV coverage of Hawaii over the last few years IMHO does not show nearly enough of the race.

I thought last year's show was over 50% race ... much more than the previous year. Enough racing to please most fans, enough human interest to make the eyes water.

Be interesting the see if that trend continues.

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Each evening offers judgement. --