I didnt come out of that movie with any type of feeling of "What it takes" to be the best. I got the impression they suffer (but who doesnt). I wasnt really impressed.

They should have called it the Peter Reid Story....it was borderline depressing...definitely did not make me feel better about the sport....

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I ride a Cervelo...get over it....

I really liked it - it's a painting not a diagram and I can appreciate that for hardcore triathletes it might be a bit detail-lite but I thought it did an excellent job of stripping away any misconceptions I, and others, might have about what life as a top pro is like. I thought the contrast between the personalities was good as well - I thought everyone came across well but the film left the question open as to whether, to truly be one of the greats like Peter Reid, you need to be as introspective and driven as he seemed to be. To me that's a more interesting question - and more suited to a documentary, than how many sets of what they all do in training.

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"Are you sure we're going fast enough?" - Emil Zatopek

I thought it was interesting, but not great.

I was a little disappointed with the movie too. I had hoped that I could use it as a tool to motivate me to train and it did not do that.

I love it.....i wasnt interested to know his trianing program....i know it already.... wanted to know the mental aspect and how hard thing can get....i think they show it.... when you need to drop down to race weight and go to bed hungry with a headache ....you get a new meaning of what it takes to make it to the top...... it s not the trianing that is hard.... so many athlete can train hard like the top pro.... it s the choice in life that make it hard.... to eat right...be in bed a 9pm ............ it sounds easy but if you really stick to all this.....you get the idea of the amount of work required....

the hard training is often the easy part...... no need to show it...

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Jonathan Caron / Professional Coach / ironman champions / age group world champions
Jonnyo Coaching
Instargram

  same here.. saw it at a movie theater. A little Peter Reid top heavy yet his camera time seemed more "day in the life of" as apposed to the others just being interviewed. I did get a kick out of the fact that Peter only shopped for food for that particular day so he wouldn't be tempted to over eat.

Oh.. I do have a personal cameo appearance in the movie. I'm a "timing strap replacement person on the exit of the swim at LP.. you can see Heather coming out of the water to get peeled and I'm standing there in a yellow (everyone else is wearing blue) volunteer t-shirt. White visor, grey shorts! :-)

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I liked it a lot. It gave you a real sense of what the athletes were like as people as well as competitors. Showing up to swim in the early a.m. only to find the pool is closed and then rather than going back to bed like I would have, going for a long mountain bike ride in the snow. Loved it, and respected it. Going to bed with a headache because his race weight diet left him hungry all the time. Yeesh! Excited to win paycheque at a race so they can have a little (very little) spending money to get home with only to learn the cheque was in the mail! Great stories.

I wasn't looking for a trainig video and for melodrama I can watch NBC's coverage of Kona.

Grant

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Grant

Interesting take...thanks Jon

I really enjoyed watching the movie, but I also agree that it wasn't very detailed about the hardcore training life of a pro triathlete. If I want a little training motivation I'll rewatch Kona... Just hearing the "voice over guy" makes me wanna go hammer out a little SBR !

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"Obsessed" A word the unmotivated use to describe the dedicated.

Good perspective. I am going to watch it again and see if I can enjoy it more looking at it from that perspective.

Bed at 9 pm, you stay up late. I am in bed at 7:45

Dave

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Dave Campbell | Facebook | @DaveECampbell | h2ofun@h2ofun.net

Boom Nutrition code 19F4Y3 $5 off 24 pack box | Bionic Runner | PowerCranks | Velotron | Spruzzamist

Lions don't lose sleep worrying about the sheep

I think they went with what made the most compelling 'story'. I have a feeling that it didn't go how they expected with Lori Bowden getting pregnant, etc. The movie rightfully focuses on Reid's slow march to retirement and even implies that Bowden's announcement had a pretty serious effect on him that led him to his decision.

Through the Peter Reid storyline, they presented the pro lifestyle as filled with sacrifice and pretty much lonely... Definitely not going down the motivation/inspiration route...

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I totally disagree with the OP and agree with Jon - I didn't think the movie was going to be about the training programs. First of all, why would any professional athlete want to give that bit of information away? Secondly, you can get training tips and info on how professional triathletes train all over the place.

Without a doubt, I think the hardest part of training for a professional athlete are the mental challenges one faces. That's really what I thought was interesting about it - the mental roller-coaster an athlete faces during training and racing, especially with dissapointment after training for something for so long and not being able to pull through during the race. The tidbits about Heather Fuhr's struggles as a young pro and Luke Bell's issues with being away from his family and Reid's dedication to losing weight were worth the price of admission (or the cost of the DVD).

If you're looking for training tips, read a book or go on the internet. If you're looking to see what it takes mentally to be a professional athlete, I think the movie is where you want to go.

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Existence precedes Essence.

It was OK. My favorite part was the high school pictures of Heather and Roch. Those were hilarious.

Peter seems a bit cuckoo-crazy, but I thought the others came off as pretty grounded. It made me wonder how much better he would do/feel if he ate healthfully instead of going to bed hungry. I can't imagine any coach recommending that sort of routine, well maybe a high school wrestling coach. Peter should hire Lauren as his life coach/nutritionist and become a happier more well fed guy. ;-)

Unfortunately this is the problem with sports movies/documentaries. You go into too much depth and you lose your audience, make it too fluffy and you reach a larger audience but disappoint those looking for more.

I thought it was pretty decent - its really hard to keep things interesting but it did. I honestly never thought about the fact that they never showed him working "hard". I guess the assumption is also that you've seen Reid race. Also, isn't one of things about watching pros is that they "make it look so easy"? Watching the swim team practice or track team run it boggles my mind how fluid and easy they make it look. They're working hard but it definitely don't look that way.

What I learned from the movie was that Reid was a nut. He was slowly realizing everything that he gave up or lost and it was eating at him. I realize Vancouver isn't as cold as Montreal but damn I'm not riding 3 hours in snow and minus degree weather. I know I'd never be able to give up that much. It makes you appreciate all that you have and why I don't have to win races ;)

Last but not least, do you honestly think Reid, or any athlete for that matter would give up their secrets to success?

I also thought it was very weak. Peter's whining just about drove me as nuts as he is. I also feel he's an exception as far as elites. I seriously though he should have been getting therapy, as he is so depressive. It also dealt way too much on him. I suppose the glossing over of Lori was due to the unexpected????pregnency, which really must have thrown a monkey wrench into the producer's ideas. I bet the best stuff is on the cutting room floor. I also felt they could have picked much better examples to highlight, which would give us a much better view of the sacrifices. Peter's issues were not necessarily triathlon related, but life issues he couldn't handle. I like(d) him a lot and respected him, but this movie sure took my opinion down a notch. I've been around tons of elites, and they handle life much better than many selected here. I also think Roch and Heather didn't get more time, because they are pretty normal, and have a very healthy relationship and life...in all, a very poor movie.

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

TEAM KiWAMi NORTH AMERICA http://www.kiwamitri.com, Rudy Project http://www.rudyprojectusa.com, GU https://guenergy.com/shop/ ; Salming World Ambassador; https://www.shopsalming.com

I agree, it showed Peter as human, from off in the distance when all you see is pictures and articles in magazines you fail to appreciate that the pro's go through similar crazy periods in their lives that effect them in every aspect of who they are. I thought it was interesting.

I'm glad they didnt make it look like everything was great and everyone is happy all the time.


I hope for more movies like it.

I completely agree with jonnyo. We all know what it feels like to hurt on the bike. Or come to the wall in the pool spitting and hacking. But, to lose a major life relationship, or to personally suffer pain, loss and grief to make it to the top. That is truly "what it takes". The sweat and effort are the easy part, anyone can do that.

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Fit matters most. None of that aero sh*$ means beans if you are monkey humping the bike up and down the road… anonymous
51Speed Shop fitter and consultant

I would have liked to see more detail as well, but what I took from it was all the mental issues that the athletes went through. Being injured and not being able to train, feeling like your falling behind and losing fitness, etc. Plus the fact that being a pro triathlete isn't always roses and sunshine. The quote that talked about having to get up every morning and face the training as being hard to swallow, made a lot of sense. It is a very regimented life.

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Mat Steinmetz

51-SPEEDSHOP.com - instagram - @matsteinmetz - facebook

I thought it was a little weak. The stuff on Heather Fuhr and Bell were the highlights, they gave me a feel for "what it takes" from a long time champion to an aspiring up and comer. I think Peter Reid needs therapy. And am I the only one or did Bowden's pregnancy seem to be a major inconvenience? She repeatedly made references to how anxious she was to get back training, fair enough, but it seemed waaaaaaay more important to her than the impending birth of her child!

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Thanks to Euro-Sports for my H3Cs.

http://www.euro-sports.ca

"when you need to drop down to race weight and go to bed hungry with a headache ....you get a new meaning of what it takes to make it to the top......"

I have a question about that. First, I'm not being a smartass (which is unusual for me) and I'm not criticizing the movie (which I haven't seen) and I'm definitely not a training and nutrition expert. My question is just curiosity and an interest in learning more about the sport. So... is cutting calories to the point of being hungry all of the time and going to bed with headaches to achieve a desired race weight really beneficial at the end of the day? What I mean is, is shaving those last few pounds of more benefit to performance than being well fueled and feeling strong? I'm talking within reason of course, I don't mean being 10 lbs. over what you could be at without starving because a week of large meatlover pizzas makes you feel well fueled or anything like that.

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"A bucket...if you haven't puked in it you could be going harder."
- Lazy Ben

In making a movie, the director shoots a lot of film and then takes very small pieces of it to construct the story that he wants to tell, in this case four different stories about 4 athletes in one short movie. In doing so you can count on the director to select the parts that will generate the most attention.

Suggesting that Peter Reid needs therapy or that Bowden cared way more about her training than about her unborn child based on a few snippets of film (out of probably hours and hours of filming) is judgemental and foolish in the extreme.

Grant

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Grant

Yeah, I'm with you on this one. Obviously it worked for Peter, but when I'm on this type of diet, my strength for training and for life is so much less than when I'm well-fuelded. I've got to think that my performance is better as a result, even if I'm slightly heavier.

Maybe it has to do with timing, or maybe it has to do with individual people?

-Brian