If I had done well at Kona this year- I would be less negative about it.
BUT ALSO less likely to do it again within the next 3 years.

I agree that not everybody cares about Kona (and I don't really care if people care about it). But the general triathlon public cares about Kona maybe 1000x more than any other race (except the olympics). I don't see how getting rid of the only race that large numbers of people care about is really going to help the sport. And I don't see anything "malignant" about that.

I also don't see how Kona being extremely grueling is a good argument for it being "malignant." I think it's a better argument that it's what makes it special. Wasn't the possibility of catastrophic failure one of the most exciting aspects doing your first Ironman? Kona, brings that scary (and exciting) element back for every competitor, even the professionals. Half the time people on here are complaining that Ironman is getting too easy. Then those same people are whining and crying that Kona is too hard.

It seems there are 3 general categories of people:

1. people who love kona, or at least love the challenge of it (either as a fan or to try to qualify)
2. people who don't really care-- (good for them- it sounds like you are one of them, which I 100% respect)
3. people who are "angry" at Kona (it's too popular? people there post too many pictures on social media? or, most ridiculously, it's too hard?)

I have trouble understanding group 3. I would hazard a guess that most of group 3 are probably cynical and negative about many things in life. They might even fall into the category of person known as a "whiny pussy." And too many whiny pussies on slowtwitch IS a malignant force in triathlon!

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Coach of TriForce Triathlon Team

Brings up a good point about Hoffman. If it is so mental, why did he put out so much physically beforehand with huge training? Was his training to fool himself into thinking he was ultra-fit & really more ready, without realizing he could have been cooking himself? Or did during the race, he think, "Crap, I shouldn't have cooked myself the past few months!" Was that his mental downfall that took the day away from him? So on one hand, train a lot to fool yourself into being so physically ready, but while racing, you finally recognize you did the opposite of what you were trying to do because, damn, you've got that beat up feeling in your legs & lungs. Maybe he will train less next year to try to trick himself into being well rested, but then explode when he realizes OR just believes he didn't do enough--which is a mental crumbling of confidence, thereby fooling himself into feeling more tired than he actually is. Maybe he should shoot for the middle of those two.

Yes! that sums it up. I think it was 2014 when I told you to never let me take a slot (EVER AGAIN), yet I returned twice for more punishment. Basically I've developed some variation of Stockholm Syndrome with this race.

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Are you ready to do an Ultraman? | How I calculate Ironman race fueling | Strength Training for Athletes |

Awesome retread of the original, and so much more to the point. Some want the bunny hill and some want Everest. Kona is the best, toughest and most telling of what it takes. One could make similar comparisons to the Olympics when they don't do well. It's easy to bash something you don't do well instead of conquer.

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Gary Geiger
http://www.geigerphoto.com Professional photographer

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Like: "variation of stockholm syndrome with this race"

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2024: Bevoman, Galveston, Alcatraz, Marble Falls, Santa Cruz

Meh, you're mostly entirely wrong here.