I was sort of thinking of this at Placid last weekend watching guys still riding into town at ~5pm. WOW thats a long day already and they hadn't yet taken one step of the run

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To me this thread falls into a category withb so many other threads. The writer (and I've been guilty of this in the past) puts their own spin on someone elses life, and comments based on that.

There are lots of reasons why people race IM. there are lots of limitations for us all, many that are not visible.

By the basic premise of this thread, why should anyone not realisically in the hunt for the win, even bother with showing up at the start line?

There are obvious reasons why people start with a likely 16 hour finish time.

Older athletes, those with limited time to train, those with injuries or impediments of some sort, different goals and so forth. I'm a classic example. I'm a 52 year old ex ski pro. I was pretty good (but not great) back in the day. I retired from skiing and drifted into tri. I initially thought I'd be much better than I turned out to be. I could switch to tennis or croquet or whatever, but I'm bitten by the tri bug so I keep doing it. I try to balance tri as PART of my life, I work for a living, I have some not visible impediments (ie broken back in the past) plus heart and breathing 'issues.

I get to the start line knowing I"m not going to win, but if the planets align I might break into the top half overall. I race for me. I don't race for you. I don't race for the win, or a Kona slot. I don't race to impress anyone other than myself and guess what? I achieve most of my goals, crossing the finish line (often in the dark) with my head held high.

I think many of us would do well to keep asking the questions like this thread, but to know in advance that different people have different reasons for competing, finishing etc and that we should allow everyone in the race to judge their success for themselves.

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TriDork

"Happiness is a myth. All you can hope for is to get laid once in a while, drunk once in a while and to eat chocolate every day"

I'm kinda the exact opposite in thought philosophy. I'm finishing my first lap of the run and look to the bike lane for motivation. Sure, I'm suffering but I imagine that those people still on their bikes have a lot harder day than me. It's inspiring in a morbid sort of way. I think that they are badasses and it keeps me running (well, shuffling/ hobbling).

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Take a short break from ST and read my blog:
http://tri-banter.blogspot.com/

Any ideas how you can help the situation? Any insight into why people don't 'respect the distance'? What can you do to help new racers understand the demands of the sport, or at least understand them enough to meet your expectations of them.

Nicely written. I'm not into inspirational quotes, nor a huge Ray Lewis fan, but (1:14) in which he addresses Stanford's basketball team, when he mentions that nobody can judge effort... because effort is between you, and you.

I have a friend who did IMNZ this year. My friend is... not fast (and he's the first to admit that). But he trained like crazy, set himself a goal time (15:30), got the requisite miles in the legs, made contingency plans, dotted the 'i's and crossed the 't's. He finished, within his goal time (I think he finished in 15:10 or something) and left the event tired, happy and wanting to come back the next year and smash his time. There was never any question that he could (given proper execution and no catastrophes) finish the event. This is the way it should be done.

I contrast my friend's attitude to that of a woman I saw being hauled across the line by two friends (at 3 hours) at a half marathon a few months ago. People were clapping and cheering her on. I couldn't believe it. She clearly wasn't prepared for the event. It wasn't heroic, it wasn't laudable, just dangerous. Later I saw her with an IV in the medical tent. (Before anyone jumps, I recognise that even the fittest people can find themselves in all sorts of grief, ala Ryan Shay. But there can be little doubt that being prepared can reduce the risk).

I think as endurance events become more popular (and the marketing around them becomes more "tick the box, brag to your friends, anyone can do it as long as you pay your entry fee and sign the waiver") I can only anticipate this becoming more common.

Not really sure why this is bothering you so much.

I have a couple questions for you?

1. What is your criteria / benchmarks for being properly prepared?
2. What dangers do you foresee or have witnessed "these people" causing to others?
3. Do you think if everyone that started and Ironman finished it nothing would be lost or is it the DNF's, dramatic blow ups, crisis intervention the entire 140.6 that make it somewhat special?

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Dynamic Athlete ProgrammingVIP Endurance Racing | Like us on Facebook Get Your Training Plan Here

Like most people I go out and run my own event. I know when I am going to finish before I start.

I feel bad for the guys who think anyone else cares about their performance.

There should be a "kona" for the rest of us. I'm Kona screwed and proud of it!

i agree with everything above. i tried to make that clear in my post that i think it's completely admirable to finish however you finish and in whatever time.

there just seems to be a handful of athletes that are so undertrained that simply finishing a leg is a struggle. for sure, things can go wrong in a race like this but when everything goes right and it's still a struggle i feel like that's not a good thing for anyone.

This is what I do:

*I race my own race

*Let others race theirs

While I think the wording of this question is horrible I kind of agree, I guess. I couldn't imagine toeing the start line thinking "Man I hope I make the swim cutoff!" But that's me and anyone who signs up and has that mentality has just as much right as me to be there.

That said anyone who can watch the finish line at midnight and not get a warm fuzzy feeling has something wrong.

thanks english is not my first language.

i love watching the videos of midnight finish line.

I worked the flying pig marathon this year in cincy. I was at the start line at 3 AM, was there when the gun went off and then waddled over to the finish. I was at the finish for 8+ hours. We handed over the last medal around 8:20 or so IIRC. I almost broke into tears so many time starting around 6+. Those people were so f'n excited it was hard not share in their emotions and passions. 6 hours after a marathon I've already finished, ate, got home, showered, ate again, took a two hour nap, and probably am thinking about food. So when I think...my god, someone is still out there, those people are awesome. Yea, we have different ambitions and life choices, but I respect anyone who gets out there.

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I don't think the OP is saying anything harsh and I agree that there are many people out there that try these things without truly understanding how hard they are. But if that's the way they want to live their life... That's their choice. The truth is, it's the people you identified that inspire the crowd the most. The average person doesn't really care about that pro crushing the course. They care about that person crawling across the line obviously having left everything on the course.

Would I do something like that? Absolutely not. I'm personally scared of those distances and have a ton of respect for the course. But you have to have some level of respect for those types of people that overcome incredible mental and physical barriers to finish.

I don't feel bad for them. They made a choice. We all did. Maybe they underestimated the event. Maybe they overestimated themselves. Either way, they'll come to a harsh realization. But, I hope for their own sake they don't get discouraged and give up. I hope failing pisses them off enough to want it that much more. I want them to get their shit together, figure out what they are capable of, keep trying, and feel good about themselves.

Failure is a great motivator. I know that all too well. 99% of the population won't even try this stuff, maybe out of fear of failure. At least we try, and when I say "we", that includes them, too. They are on the save wavelength. Like 'em or not, they are part of our weird little community, and if they weren't there, the rest of us would be just a little bit closer to the back of the pack. There's something different about us - we want something and we're going to get it. We've all seen them at races - the ones that don't look like they should be there. I love those people. I'm proud of them for trying.

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Travis Rassat
Vector Cycle Works
Noblesville, IN
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You should come over and do the Honolulu Marathon. The last finishers take anywhere from 12-14 hours to finish...sometimes longer as the finish line doesn't close until the last person that wants to or is capable of finishing does. You could literally run your marathon, go home, shower, eat, take a 2 hour nap, then drive out to McDonalds at mile 20 and see some of the racers in there stopping off for a bite to eat before they walk the last 10k. You would think I'm joking...but I'm not.

They're not ironman triathletes - they're Ironman trihopefuls.

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Remember - It's important to be comfortable in your own skin... because it turns out society frowns on wearing other people's

I think the point was those that were unprepared, not just slower. I find it a little frustrating if only because some of these everyday film up so fast.

I do give then credit for the courage to attempt something that theft are unrelated for or man raw talent to succeed at.

I do think that is harder to do a 16h I'm than a 10h effort at proportional ability

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TrainingBible Coaching
http://www.trainingbible.com

VERY well said. I don't necessarily agree with you in particular or in principal but your post is clear and convincing. And positive. Nice one.

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What are you people, on dope?

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Its called USAT Nats [/pink]

I'd give you 5/10, but because of your user ID, I have lowered it to 3/10.

It exists. It's called Challenge Roth.

I'll always respect anyone who finishes the distance, sure, but I gotta add - the Ironman wasn't designed to be a newbie-friendly event. Not even close. It was supposed to be a gruelingly tough, and long event, and I've always felt it should be respected as such.

I feel the same way about marathons. I won't take away from your novice marathon finish, but it really isn't a great idea nor should it be encouraged to finish a marathon as your first running race, or before you've ever seriously trained even for a 5k or 10k event.

I don't expect everyone to be hella fast elites (heck, I'm GLAD there are people slower than me out there - thanks for being there!) but I do feel that you're not really giving the race enough respect for its difficulty when you tackle such a big endeavor with limited experience and limiting training. Its honestly not much different than a rookie amateur violinist who can barely play at an elementary school standard level, deciding they're going play the fiendishly difficult Tchaikovsky violin concerto just because they want to and it sounds like a great accomplishment - but then play it so slowly and so hacklike that you can't help but cringe when they play it, even if you do applaud their motivation and desire. There's a reason why violin teachers keep their unprepared students away from those monster hi-end pieces, and I don't think it's that unreasonable to not do the IM until you've shown that you're not just making a mess out of finishing it (barely alive.)