Is that a shot at me or triathletes in general? I’m assuming the latter

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blog

I admit I have followed this forum for a long time. I find a lot of your views interesting but a notable bias when it comes to “Ironman” in general.


I appreciate that we won’t ageee on kona based on what has already been stated. Shame really - A big part of my life and memories in past 15 years with family friends etc have been a result of the kona pursuit.

I don’t think that exists without it being Kona. For example if it was Arizona would most try, care or give a sh@t aa much ?

Park the World Champ title / I think without that kona would still draw the same crowd. Just like Wimbledon

from browsing your results (thanks obstriathlete.com!) and making some on-paper analyses ... do you feel like you have performed at Kona to your potential?

oh, definitely in general. i am as guilty as anyone, so i'm also pointing the finger at myself. the race i can honestly say is my best performance in terms of being OK with my own fitness and possible execution was Worlds in Chatt. Going 4:52:xx and being perfectly happy with it (b/c it was an accurate representation of my current fitness) is something I am actually really proud of.

For me, yes I think my race this year was just about as good as I could have hoped. I even gave my wife my best race estimates for her to look for me at certain points and I was within a minute of my 9:15 overall goal time. So on that measure, yes it was a great day.

And regarding general potential for Kona in the future, who knows. It would be fun to have more time to train to see if I could improve, but honestly don't care that much...plus I gotta make some $. Speaking of, probably time to get back to work.

ETA: That sounded differently than I meant - I just don't have any interest in making any additional sacrifices/investments/whatever you want to call it in the pursuit of improving my IM potential. But my 70.3 potential....kidding.

Well played sir. :-)

Funniest thing I have read on ST.

A lot of what you wrote could be applied to most folks doing any IM.

Comparison with tennis is interesting. It doesn't have a single WC but multiple events on different surfaces with (somewhat) equivalent prestige. To be considered great in tennis requires wins at all Grand Slam events in a career.

Hosting the Ironman WC on the same course each year is more of a disservice to the pros tbh. The age group competition with so many categories is already such an unusual construct that it doesn't really matter that it's fixed at one location.

not that there's anything wrong with that..

never even attempted Kona, knew it was beyond my powers to qualify..

I like lava fields though, always wanted to ride through them.. and swim in those tropical waters. Maybe in the next life.

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The absurd is born of this confrontation between the human need and the unreasonable silence of the world.
- Camus

respectfully i disagree. I think if you could ask the pros they would and have, made it clear.

Some people on this thread had issue with the "world champ" title. kona would be the same

Perhaps i am arguing against my own point. As in would Kona stay the same if the "world champs" was moved to somewhere else?

I can say with certainty that most pros would focus on kona at it would remain given history

Ha! Agree 100%. The "Hot corner" is just a place for family to gather to watch one crumble and walk up Palani in absolute misery. So why every October do I wonder if maybe I could get back in shape and give it one more go knowing full well what the result would be? Stupid WTC. Stupid triathlete brain.

that's what I have seen at nationals and Oly worlds.. Budapest had a completely flat bike course and even there it was possible to ride clean. The relatively longer swim in Oly distance might play a part in separation too.

But IM, like tennis and golf, also hosts many many events throughout the world. The single best event in golf (and the best sporting spectator event I have ever been to) is held on the same course year in and year out.

And that course favors a specific type of player too.

Horseshit... Scratch handicap golfer and have been playing since I was 6.... Augusta is a fair course and I can't think of one aspect that it would favor one player over another unless you're REALLY looking for something.

The US Open and British Open... those courses definitely favor one type of golfer and they change courses every year.

and yet it is annually one of the most compelling athletic events that exists

I have the same feelings for chasing TeamUSA for a decade, and continue to do. Lots of friends, and great stories. So, some of us can get the same fun with short course worlds racing.

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

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Lions don't lose sleep worrying about the sheep

In all the worlds I have done, never seen massive draft packs. If I did, would probably find something else to do.

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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

Probably a numbers thing I would think - no other world championship starts with 2000 people at the same time - and that is probably the issue here. I know the numbers in Penticton were much smaller than IMC back in the day - making it easier to not have those draft packs.

I think in a town Kona's size, you could replicate 70.3 worlds with two days of racing, in that you could have it happen...but it would be incredibly hard from a race management and volunteer standpoint. Too bad really, as the women's then men's racing was simply awesome at Chattanooga.

Brent

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DFRU - Detta Family Racing Unit...the kids like it and we all get out and after it...gotta keep the fam involved!

Random thoughts, no particular order...

• Not at all comfortable agreeing with you. I'm not sure how I'll handle it if this continues.
• Facgag, Instagag, Twitgag - too redundant
• I think you missed an opportunity to take Dirk Bokel's name and morph it into the term debockle, I would've loved that.
• We are only in control of two things in our life: how we choose to perceive something and how we choose to react to it. This applies to everything including the Ironman World Championships in Kona. Perhaps I need to apply that to my first bullet.
• I've been there as an athlete, coach, etc. etc. Here's my favorite way to still do it: go on someone else's nickle for work on just the Monday & Tuesday before the race. Then just drink in the vibe with a few swims on the course, a few runs, a couple of easy spins and maybe a business meeting or two. On race day, watch the swim start on the web. Go and stand in front of Petco on Makala and just wish them all well at the start of the bike. Then go swim with the dolphins for an hour, nap, and make your way out to the u-turn on the Alii with a poke bowl and wish 'em well again. Then watch the rest of the race on your laptop on the couch surrounded by AC. Fly home the next day. That seems to work.

Ian

You have to be more specific on which one.

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Good post and tons of valid points.

Kona is FULL of douches that take it way too seriously and are complete assholes about it.

I loved the race because I did it as a vacation every year. Drank lots of beer/wine/etc, went down slides with my kid, had damn nice food, and never gave a shit about my actual race except for the day before.

It’s a damn bitch of a spectacle. I just always liked being in Hawaii.

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New Training/Racing Log - http://www.earthdaykid.com/blog --- Old Training/Racing Log - http://colinlaughery.blogspot.com

But it does sound like sour grapes.

Your criticism seems to be boiled down to a few items:

1 -Doing well in Kona professionally is equal to doing well professionally.
2 Its expensive
3 The weather sucks
4 People go overboard trying to get there

It seems to me that points 2 & 3 can be solved by simply rotating the venue.

So we're left with a pro problem and an amateur problem. As an achievement to seek, a KQ can be a good thing, if done appropriately and with the right mindset. In this sense, it's no different than a BQ, just to another level. No different than a desire to climb Everest or any other lofty goal.

To me, growing the sport means dealing with #1. This is the problem. To me, 6 people had success at Kona this year: the two winners and the 4 unexpected podium finishers, but only because they're on their way up. That Kienle had a bad year at 4th speaks volumes about our sport. This might be helped by rotating the WC, but the sport needs intrinsic ncentives for non WC races, including sponsor arrangements and prize money.

My public service for the day. TL;DR translation: Triathlon is hard. Kona is harder. Companies are bad.

Tomorrow, eat the Cheerios before somebody pisses in them and you might be a happier person. For every triathlete you line up who hates Kona and IM and the "corporateness", I'll line up five who love it and admire the crap out of those guys/gals.

Maybe when you get that scary good, you lose joy for the sport. Maybe you forget about enjoying the journey. Maybe you forget that being in the top 0.000005% of all triathletes is damn impressive (even if you underperformed on your big day).

I am a decent athlete. Certainly well above average compared to your average Joe, but average compared to weekend warrior triathletes. I could not have beaten Lange to the finish if I started at mile 25.2 of the marathon. Jan jogged to a 35th place finish (which was only 4.5 hours faster than my IM on a much easier course.) I don't feel sorry him. I am amazed by his performance in his failure.

To me, Jan said it best after Kona:

"It was a downright awful day,” he admitted. "Just when you think you've got this race figured out, it does a 180 on you and I guess it's a tradition of our sport. So many guys out there are still fighting and fighting for a long time and it was my first taste of what some of the age groupers get to feel. Again, my respect for you guys has grown.”

So I think the thing is, there really are 2 different issues. One, I think for professionals, your sport needs to have variety with WC locations. But being that this is a private company and the epicenter of all things triathlon, Kona is easy. Everyone now has their Kona trips down pat as far as companies/athletes, etc. So to shake it up, that likely disrupts the apple cart a little too much.

Do I think people would give less shit if they moved? Hell no, because most people will fall in line. That's human nature...sure we'd bitch about it, and we'd cry about how it sucks, but you know what would happen? Said race would still fill up, I'll put any wager you want to make on that (if it ever happens, I'll be here, you'll know where to find me).

I'm also not saying not have Kona. I'm simply suggesting at some point I would like to see it moved atleast for the professionals, but of course if it's moved; the whole race will be a WC for everyone. I've just been of the mindset that when you have your world championship at the same location, you limit the players who can actually win. Or shall I say you pretty much define who can't win...if you suck at heat/wind, etc you have no shot.

Triathlon to me is very unique in that atleast for LC, the leader of the sport is an private company, not an governing body. I don't know how many sports that is truly the case, where governing bodies essential bow to a private company. That's how powerful it is, and not saying that's bad. I'm just saying that when they have a gravy train like Kona, they have zero incentive to move it. But that's a different discussion than the "fairness" of having WC at same location every year (which is what I was mentioning earlier).

Sorry for long ramble.

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Brooks Doughtie, M.S.
Exercise Physiology
-USAT Level II