no.

It's just a name.

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My Blog - http://leegoocrap.blogspot.com

Strictly speaking, an "Ironman" race is any race that is marketed under the Ironman brand. So, 70.3 races are Ironman races.

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Steve Perkins

When I tell people IM 70.3 - they think it's really, really long because they don't know the sport. They just hear "Ironman"

No, it doesn't bother me...what does bother me is when IM loans its name to a 3rd party company who puts on a race (NOLA70.3) labeled as if it was put on by WTC.

From my experiences, when people hear "triathlon" they think, "oh you did an ironman?"

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@brooksdoughtie
USAT-L2,Y&J; USAC-L2
http://www.aomultisport.com

I agree "Ironman" is associated with being 140.6 miles, and most people think of Hawaii when they hear Ironman.
Ironman is a brand and I guess they could have an Ironman Tri-A-Tri and still give a finishing shirt. I believe it takes away from the full distance.

Yup, bothers me as well. To many of us IronMan represents a distance much more than a brand, and when someone does a 70.3 "iroman" it feels like they are saying they ran a 13.1 mile "marathon."

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ECMGN Therapy Silicon Valley:
Depression, Neurocognitive problems, Dementias (Testing and Evaluation), Trauma and PTSD, Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)

Why would this bother you? This happens in industry all the time.

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Steve Perkins

Ditto

Then you're going to LOVE this:



http://www.131marathon.com/Home.htm

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Brian Shea
http://www.PersonalBestNutrition.com
Open-Water/Masters Swimming at the Jersey Shore:
Monmouth County NJ Ocean Swim/Masters Workouts

This goes back many many years ago to an agreement between the WTC and the triathlon governing body (as I remember) such that Ironman had complete control over every "Ironman" triathlon event. A race by any other name is under the auspices of someone else. Hence, when WTC wanted to "expand the franchise" the need for "Ironman 70.3" if WTC wants complete control. It is a business/power thing. WTC is a business.

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Frank,
An original Ironman and the Inventor of PowerCranks

What! How else are you going to sell these fine Ironman products if you arent an Ironman!!!!!!!!!!










Yes, the Ironman name and brand have sold out a long time ago!

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HED. Cycling - Twitter @hedcycling - HED Wheel Selector iPhone App

To some - Ironman means a timex watch.

Sweet!! I need all of that bed stuff. All of it. Chicks will surely dig that...

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Do not taunt Happy Fun Ball

Since we're all clearly just involved in this stuff in order to make sure other people understand just how amazingly cool we are for having done something, it definitely bothers me when other people fail to recognize the awesomeness that is the full Ironman distance (as opposed to the mediocrity that is the half ironman/70.3 distance or the absolute pathetic nature of all shorter races/events). It's not like we're doing this stuff because it's healthy or fun - we're clearly doing it for bragging rights - and having laymen lop those who have done shorter events in with those that have done the full is simply unacceptable.

To me, it would only dilute the 140.6 accomplishment if you were doing it to impress someone else.

Edit; mrodaddy was much more poetic than me (I hope I didn't dilute your brand with a similar but lamer post :) )

Chicks will surely dig that...

Wrong!!

Here is what you need to understand about chicks:

While chicks do care about how you smell, they care more about how you articulate how you smell. Therefore, if a chick asks you:

"Baby, why do you smell so good?"

You say: "the perfume is a winning fusion of energetic citrusy aromas united with exotic spices and woody accords. The composition opens with ginger and lime adding violet, nutmeg, rain mist accords, vetiver, patchouli, cedar and moss."

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**All of these words finding themselves together were greatly astonished and delighted for assuredly, they had never met before**

You, sir, nailed it!

Just out of curiosity, is there a reason they don't call them WTC 70.3....and WTC Ironman 140.6....

Oh and BTW, when I tell people I'm doing a 70.3, I make sure they understand it's a HALF Ironman, as to not diminish the accomplishments of others. ;)

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I'm faster in Kilometers!
Wattie Ink Triathlon Team
Powered by Accelerate 3

Brian, i thought you stopped making them ? When can you ship me out one?

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__________________________________________________
Official Polar Ambassador
http://www.google.com/...P7RiWyEVwpunlsc2JtQQ

No. It's growth.

I used to think similarly to how you proposed- I wanted it to stay an exclusive thing- a club, just "us". We were cool, elite. It was our little thing.

I don't think that anymore for a few reasons, some selfish, some selfless:

1. I make a living off this sport. The more the merrier.

2. This sport has made a huge contribution to my life- more so than perhaps any other thing except being able to read and write. If it has meant this much to me I would love for it to create a similar contribution to someone else.

3. New people and new venues and new marketing efforts mean sustainability.

I see a lot of disparaging the Ironman brand here, but they got us going and they have kept us going. Would the spin off racces be there if it wasn't for Ironman? I don't know... Would there be a Honda without a Ford Motor Company? Not sure. Probably I suppose. Sooner or later a "need" gets filled.

I chose to recognize the Ironman organization and legacy for their contributions rather than any perceived drawback. In this case I think it is truly a case of a glass being much more than 1/2 full.

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Tom Demerly
The Tri Shop.com

Tell me that the bed one is fake.

Where's the Ironman baby jogger?

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Tom Demerly
The Tri Shop.com

I know... those colors...bleh. I'd need the whole bedroom suit myself.

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My Blog - http://leegoocrap.blogspot.com