What a load of crap. The same could be said about someone into restoring cars or gardening. How is that bettering society rather than fulfilling their own self interests in a different way. Some people crave competition and some just like the fitness aspect. Tell me any competitive sport that is any different?

Yeah, that's as pointless an argument as any I've seen. I wonder what the author does with his spare time?

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The point is, ladies and gentleman, that speed, for lack of a better word, is good. Speed is right, Speed works. Speed clarifies, cuts through, and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit.

Sure it is!
We see it on the forum all the time "how can I train 15h a week with 2 small babies". The problem is the extent of the training. there is a huge difference between running 3-4 h a week and then doing Ironman. You hope to have an understanding wife etc. and the need for her to be understanding implies being selfish.
Its the same as playing computer, some games you can just drop in and play 15 minutes here and there when you have time, while others require 1h dedicated time.

Ain’t no time to read that, got training to do. Did you know I do Ironman?

While I don't necessarily agree with the logic and argument tossed out there by the author, triathlon is an extremely selfish and ego driven pursuit.

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IMO - any sport when one is trying to go up the ranks or level of competition is selfish and egocentric. I will admit that I was a complete jerk back when I was trying to climb the ranks (in a different sport) and I won't go into a lot of the details, but I ended up in divorce. I no longer compete in anything because of a wake up call in 1993 when I went too far crossing lines that could have cost me life and freedom.

That said I've met a lot of triathletes and cyclists that just enter competition as a personal goal and have life and training somewhat balanced. They may be BOP or MOP or potentially consistent winners on lesser training and they are nice people IMO. It is hard not to be selfish when it gets toward the top of almost any sport.

No reason to just single out Triathlon as the only sport where this might occur.

Did not read

I’m too important

I’m a triathlete

I don't know how you read it but as I was born in Dublin (but don't really consider myself Orish) I found the article hilarious. You have to have the accent and the rhythm in your head, soak up the slower pace of that particular country, along with the craic, the who-the-feck-do-you-tink-you-r, you have to imagine that you're at a stand-up comedy show and then it makes more sense.

Like many good jokes, he goes to the extreme to comment on the average.

And he has some valid points. If you're offended then maybe you should be.

SteveMc

I partially agree with you, but I feel his point was made to be lost on his confusion about the difference between triathlon and Ironmanâ„¢ or any long-distance tri. It's clear as water that he thinks triathlon is the same as Ironmanâ„¢ or HIM, and that schews his perception of the sport. But if you guys want to be honest, you have to admit that long-distance triathlon training requires an insane volume of activities that are more in line with the life of a pro athlete, not average joes and janes like us.
I think he means that regular folks, like you and me, spend way too much time training for LD triathlons, and since most of us don't have (or won't ever have) a professional license + a gourgeous sponsorship, we have to work to pay our dues and, on top of that, reserve some time for family matters. Those who train for LD triathlons are definitely pulling double shifts, and comparing them with professional athletes is pointless because their daily routines are very different from each other. And I don't think that it gets more selfish as one rises through the ranks, quite the contrary. You can't get to the top on your own, and the better you get, the less "yours" the goals become.

Don't be fooled, we triathletes are selfish and egocentric because we are so, not because our sport is an individual one. Just take a look at runners or swimmers and see if you can spot the same nasty behaviour. I won't comment about cyclists because they might be the supreme prime donne of the endurance sports world.

Damn right my triathlon/endurance hobby is selfish, egocentric and largely a misallocation of my personal energy.

People have often asked me "what cause are you racing for". My general answer to that has been

"No cause. I don't tie my selfish triathlon stuff and white wash it with a cause. That's just me because I did sport before fundraising got tied in and the only reason to do it was to challenge yourself and compete against others. It's more a selfish need to self actualize. Almost no CEO or senior executive is going that for their so called family....they are doing senior jobs for the selfish self actualization needs"

Usually that shuts the conversation down.

On a plus side for 15 years, biking and riding everywhere I avoided buying cars, so I could use the "excuse" that it was to save money, but really that was just an excuse to train more. I can't help myself.

Last night the Hawaii IM 2017 was replaying on NBC. My wife asked me if I can overcome my injuries/disc/nerve challenges if I would want to do that again even if it means walking the run. To which I replied, "if I can walk and jog normally then for sure...but if I cannot, I will stick to swimming and bike touring". She gets that I have this selfish need (she's been part of all 31 but eitiher puts up with it, or understands why I have to do this selfish stuff).

OK now I have to go do stuff at my tech startup, where, ironically, I am the CEO earning nothing YET for my family (so pretty well like triathlon doing stuff for no $$$ for family) , and spending our money hiring other people LOL (http://www.bluwave-ai.com). Hopefully pretty soon we're generating more revenue and pulling in larger investors :-)

Messick has been going cha-ching for years capitalizing on our collective egos.

Of course it is.

I don't mean to pick on you, devashish_paul, but the above is PRECISELY the reason why people perceive us as selfish and egocentric, not because they suppose we have to Ashley Horner our ways into amassing money to charity while shamelessly self-promoting ourselves. We have a nagging tendency of making EVERYTHING about our training, our injuries, our family struggles and our glories when - frankly - it doesn't matter to anyone else but ourselves (and maybe our significant others), but still we try so fucking hard to shove our self-importance down other people's throats that it gets really annoying pretty quickly.

We should be more aware of our tendency to be dicks.

I like the dry humor of the article but I don't necessarily agree with the author.

However.

I think the writer is noticing an interesting and troubling trend that seems visible in most (at least usa) triathlons, but this trend seems much more heavily skewed toward IM and 70.3 events. The trend being that the average level of preparation of most participants seems to be visibly decreasing over time. In other words, the average level of preparation of most participants was pretty good in the 1980s, with a bit of a decrease in the 1990s, and then has further decreased with every decade since.

If this observation is actually correct, then this is not a great trend.

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Probably because there are more events, so the participants are less "hardcore" than they were when it was more of a fringe sport.

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Triathlon is undoubtedly selfish and egocentric. Of course, so are many other hobbies.

I think the relevant interesting question is whether triathlon is any more selfish and egocentric than other hobbies.

It seems to me triathlon is more selfish than hobbies with significant charitable elements or community involvement.

Also seems that triathlon is obviously less selfish than anything actively self-destructive, like substance abuse.

I would also argue that triathlon, which gets you in better physical shape and generally keeps you healthier than you would be otherwise, albeit with some risk of (possibly severe) injury, is less selfish than hobbies like watching TV or movies or playing video games.

I would group triathlon with other competitive sports and outdoor activities (hiking, skiing, surfing, kayaking, etc.), and say they are largely equivalent in selfishness to things like playing a musical instrument or reading. Each of these involves some level of enrichment and self-improvement, and each can have varying degrees of social interaction. I would say that the exact degree of selfishness or egocentricity would depend on the time devoted to the pursuit and how much it takes away from other responsibilities, coupled with the degree of enrichment and social and community interaction.

A rigorous analysis would have to precisely define selfishness and egocentricity, notoriously elusive concepts. Any act, no matter how traditionally selfless, can be construed as a selfish one if we consider the desire to be and to think of yourself as a "good person" to be a selfish desire. And any act, no matter how traditionally selfish, can be construed as a selfless one if you hold that its purpose is to make you happier, more fulfilled, and able to better complete your responsibilities to the people around you.

The trend being that the average level of preparation of most participants seems to be visibly decreasing over time.


Good thing we have Ashley Horner to change that trend.

The same can be said about any hobby or pastime. I left my first wife because she made me choose between triathlons or her, best choice I ever made.

I think its totally fair to ask the question what greater good could be done with the time we all devote to triathlon. The authors point is fair, you can stay in shape on 3-4 hours of exercise a week, could you be doing something better with the other 8 -12 hours or should you be doing something more?

I have done some volunteer work like running my towns finance committee for 12 years and I can tell you that there is tremendous need in our communities for competent people to take on projects for the greater good, where you wont get paid but you have to devote significant time and attention.

Sorry to get political but I feel that you could take an average middle manager from any company that 80% of the typical 47 YO triathletes work for and they would be more competent than 90% of our elected officials. They have more organizational skills and are probably more effective people. They choose to maximize their personal gain for working for a business or whatever.

There is a massive amount of selfishness that maybe people should think about a little.

That's pretty shitty...but it's hard to expect anything from a guy who writes about horse racing.

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Washed up footy player turned Triathlete.

[/quote]I think its totally fair to ask the question what greater good could be done with the time we all devote to triathlon. The authors point is fair, you can stay in shape on 3-4 hours of exercise a week, could you be doing something better with the other 8 -12 hours or should you be doing something more?
.[/quote]
The same could be said about the person who volunteers all his time to the community yet neglects his family and children. Or how about the person who works 60 hours a week to provide a good living for his family, yet has no time for them.

Balance is the key.

Plus, 3-4 hours a week of exercise will get you no where with the American eating habits. You will still be overweight, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and die younger. So that extra few hours a week of training just added many years to your life that you can spend with your family.

I am 50 years old, I am on NO medications, no hospital visits, perfect bill of health every time. It's all due to my active lifestyle, while my sedentary friends are dead, disabled or overweight and on many medications.

Really, he writes about horse racing ?!

Wow, that makes this article priceless !

WTF, horse racing ...
Speaking of a COMPLETE waste of time (and a cruel one at that) ...

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I didn't read the article, but it's difficult for me to imagine athletes being drawn to an athletic enterprise for reasons other than 1) compatible with their natural abilities and 2) money. And triathlon is certainly not the most lucrative professional sport. Having said that, I'm incredibly selfish and egocentric, and I love triathlon. So maybe he's correct.

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Plus, 3-4 hours a week of exercise will get you no where with the American eating habits.

But you could change your eating habits and then, 3-4 hours per week is more than enough to stay healthy.

The problem is that people justify poor eating habits by exercising more which takes a lot of time and isn't healthy. What you eat is far more important to your overall health than how much you exercise, particularly when you're talking about aerobic exercise.