If IM is above the TDF one has to question the sanity of those making these choices. If IM is off the list, one has to question the sanity of those making these choices. OR one has to question the sanity of those who would engage in such debates.

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Frank,
An original Ironman and the Inventor of PowerCranks

What would you rather do? Try and save a penalty goal or do the Tour de France? Which seems harder? But only by one place? I would try and save a penalty goal any day. I think that would mean that it really isn't that hard. And besides, they only stop a penalty goal 50% of the time. Seems more like luck guessing which way the ball is going to go...

Australia - Where wetsuits are no longer needed thanks to the ITU.

I can assure you if I were to TRY to save a penalty kick the success rate (of the kicker) would be much greater than 50% (I think it is already for even the best). It would be like Ivory soap, 99.94% pure success.

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Frank,
An original Ironman and the Inventor of PowerCranks

I saw that. I fail to see how any sport can be harder than finishing the Tour de France. but then again, I can't appreciate some of these other sports since I'm not very well informed about them.

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Tom Demerly
The Tri Shop.com

Did you see number 7? They ranked a running marathon number 7 while the Tour de France was number 8!!

What a joke. I know a lot more people who run marathons than could even do a single stage of the tour de france,

It seems like dumb asses make up these stupid lists. I enjoy David Letterman's top ten lists so much better- they make about the same amount of sense but are a lot more humourous.

I take these lists like a grain of salt. I'll bet that the people making these lists have little clue what it's like to run a marathon or, better yet....complete a stage in the Tour. It's a joke. WHat a freaking joke. These people are the same people who say to me, "so you're a triathlon."...No..sorry, it's triathlete. It's crazy. Some people are so clueless.

Although this has nothing to do with triathlon, when stopping a penalty kick there is a little more than guessing involved. Although you are correct that when the ball is struck the keeper will have already committed as to which side he/she is going to dive toward.

The list is doomed to failure as there are just too many variables.


Does it seem strange to anyone else that "triathlon" is not in the spellcheck dictionary?

OK, yup, you're right... that does it. I'm with bunnyman. This list was written by dumbasses. I've run umptysquat number of marathons, including 5 back-to-back, I don't even know how many I've run. None fast though, but I could no more finish the Tour de France than I can fly to the moon under my own power. USA Today just lost huge credibility points in my book. This is unbelievable. Running a marathon harder than the Tour de France? How the hell do they figure? Oh, I could go on and on about this one. Unbelievable.

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Tom Demerly
The Tri Shop.com

USA today had credibility in the first place? USA today is news for ignorant americans (of which i'm one... uhh... American, not ignorant).

Gee, look at all the pretty pictures.

Yeah, I agree with you. They are stupid. Downhill skiing, Marathoning, whatever. Any idiot can throw skis on and hurdle down a hill. maybe not well, maybe not safely, but it isn't a problem. i learned to ski in Indiana (no kidding) and I was skiing double blacks my first time in colorado a year later no problem. With a moderate amount of training anyone can run a marathon. TDF seems more like running a marathon everyday for three weeks in a row (at a 2:30 pace).

idiots. I don't even take the complementarty USA today copy they give you at hotels anymore.

We all know now how dumb this list is with a marathon falling higher on the list the TdF. Downhill ski racing, and I mean on a real word cup course at top speed is hard, I can barley walk on these courses (no snow), so I think that was an ok choice where it fell.
How pissed is everybody going to be when hitting a 90+ mph fastball is #1 (my guess).

A

It seems to me that USA Today is confusing "difficult" with "tough". It is difficult to stop a penalty shot. It takes great talent. But certainly it isn't very tough. Running a marathon (from experience) is not very difficult, any health person who trains even marginally can expect to be able to finish. But to be able to "tough it out" after twenty miles have gone by is the hard part. Ask people if they think it's tougher to stop a penalty shot or run a marathon and I think the vast majority will say the marathon is thougher. Now, ask which is more difficult and you will find people who will say that stopping a kick is more difficult. As for the TDF, That takes the cake in both difficulty and toughness. Anybody can ride a bike 150 miles with training. But few could hang onto the peleton during 70kph descents. that takes talent, it's difficult. And getting back onto the bike each and every day after the last day of racing, that's tough. I've ridden 150 miles. It's almost as hard as running a marathon. Doing it for three weeks, Now that's tough!

it's clear they are just trying to piss us off. it's along the same lines as the ESPYs a few months back when Tiger Woods beat out Lance as the best male athlete. don't get me wrong...Tiger is great and golf is difficult, but nothing compared to TDF or Lance. And wherever hitting a baseball ends up...I played baseball for years and faced guys who threw nasty stuff in the 90s (and it was difficult, esp to take one in the back), but nothing compared to endurance sports.

my vote for #1 would be something like bowling, bar room billiards/darts. what could be more difficult than trying hit a spare or slice a ball into the side pocket while intoxicated, cigarette in mouth, w/o spilling the beer in the other hand. definitely difficult!!!

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Jeez ... How does simply running a marathon rate higher than the Tour? Oh yeah, a bunch of desk jockeys are compiling this.

Speaking of jockeys, I'll bet those little Gremlins come in ahead of the Tour as well

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No sidewindin bushwackin, hornswaglin, cracker croaker is gonna rouin me bishen cutter!

Though if you read the article, they ARE talking about running a world class marathon, 2 plus hours. Not a 3 1/2, 4 hour jog like we're talking about. I certainly know I couldn't do the Tour OR a 2 hr marathon, but I THINK I would hang in the pack longer from the start of the Tour than I would hang with someone running under 5 minute miles.

I do think we all agree, any of us could be lucky enough to guess right and stop a penalty kick, or hit a baseball(though VERY rarely), but the Tour, win a world class marathon? That's really not human in my book, those guys are just a different species altogether.

"It seems to me that USA Today is confusing "difficult" with "tough".

WWDuey hit it on the head. The title of the series is "The Hardest thing to do in Sports". Hardest can imply difficult as in hitting a 90mph fast ball or toughest as in the TdF. Placing the marathon ahead of the TdF is laughable but I doubt USA Today is trying to punch anybodies buttons. On the other hand reading some of the posts in this thread it appears buttons have been pushed - y'all need to get out and train somemore :-).

Just for arguments sake, what would your top ten "Hardest" things to do in sport be?

The "hardest" things to do? (As in, stuff I have tried or seen but have utterly no aptitude for?) That's easy, as an athlete, I generally suck. I am only moderatley gifted at mindless, repetitive motions in a generally straight line. The only exception is anything with a board (skate, snow, ski...) Anyway, this is the hard stuff in my book:

1. Golf. How do they get it to go where they want?
2. Tennis. Same as above.(Anna Kournikova is the only saving grace).
3. Baseball. A guy hurling a 90 m.p.h. hardball at me? Where I come from I'm allowed to return fire for that...
4. Ski jumping. Enough said...
5. Driving a race car at full speed. Way harder than it looks.
6. Swimming fast. I suck.
7. Football. I must not be manly enough. Can't through the darn ball.
8. Basketball. See above.
9. Hockey. Can't even ice skate, let alone with a bunch of other guys firing frozen projectiles at each other. Basically anything I have to wear armor over my genitals to participate in: Count me out.
10. Aerobics. Not that this is a sport per se, but even though I play the drums I have an utter inability to coordinate bodily manipulations with aural stimulous. My dance interpretations are legendary for their dementia.

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Tom Demerly
The Tri Shop.com

Well there you go Frank. Here I am listening to NZ Ironman live. The guys are just finishing a marathon run, yet I haven't seen it on the list. Marathon made it. Cameron Brown did a 2.47 marathon. Not bad!I guess there is one spot to go. Will Ironman make it? Probably not. Marathon is harder. Apparently...

do it? I bet you could, thats about 50 miles per day.

Can you run a 4 hour marathon? thats the equivalent of an 8 week tour, half the speed of the WR............

Lets compare like with like, if you marathon PR is 3 hours that it 50% slower than the WR, could you ride the tour in 32 days? ho hum I'm thinking you might be able to............

So before we all get bent out of shape that we cant ride the tour but we can run the marathon lets level the playing field and realize just how fast the marathon WR is and how fast the Tour is and why we could do neither at that standard but at another standard you might very well be able to compete both..........

For the record though you want a really good illustration of the marathon WR go to the track and run 1/4 leaving on 75 seconds and when you get to number 101 leave on 68 which is what KK did when he set the record in Chicago.........