When I first started watching the Kona videos, I used to silently cheer on these people, the ones that are bent over, zig zagging down the road with the medical staff running beside them.
Now however, I’m not so sure. I recently watched the 2009 edition and people at the end of the video kind of make me think… “well you just haven’t trained enough, perhaps you should have more endurance experience behind you before attempting this, perhaps this sport just isn’t for you”
What are your thoughts?
What are your thoughts?
.
2/10. Weak.
So you question really is… do you think that slow folks didn’t train enough or simply lack the athletic talent to have the motor on the bike and skill set on the swim & run.
I recognize the challenge they’ve completed, the metal strength to complete the distance regardless of their level of preparation. Quite frankly, it takes more mental determination to finish a 17hr IM than a 9 hr IM. You have to push yourself harder and longer.
Whether or not some of that suffering is due to less than optimal preparation… I’m not sure that matters. How hard you worked to get to where you at is a personal decision and will only affect how YOU should feel about your achievement.
I tend to give folks the benefit of the doubt that they trained as hard as they were capable of within their own personal limitations (time/ability). Many of us take for granted how relatively easy it is for us to take on a high volume of training and not fall apart.
I’m in off-season/ recovery mode, so I might go for an easy spin a 20 mile ride at maybe 18mph on my road bike. That’s all out effort for some. For those without an athletic background, going for a 1 hour bike ride at any pace is a major effort. 10 years ago when I was out of shape, 200lbs, that ride really tired me out, since it’s a very hilly route. I remember looking at my computer and seeing a HR of 175, going 6-7mph up one of the largest hills. Now, its’ a nice easy spin at 8-9mph.
So where are some of these folks on the fitness curve. IF they are older, and just average athletes to begin with… pretty high really.
In 2013, for Men and Women 75+ there were only 5 finishers (4 men, 1 woman). The fastest was 15:54 and the slowest 16:56. I think these are some of the most phenomenal athletes in the field and these finishes are far more noteworthy than sub 10 hour performances by men in their 30s and 40s. Telling them they haven’t trained enough would be ludicrous when 99.99999999% of their age cohort could not physically cope with the training to begin with.
When I first started watching the Kona videos, I used to silently cheer on these people, the ones that are bent over, zig zagging down the road with the medical staff running beside them.
Now however, I’m not so sure. I recently watched the 2009 edition and people at the end of the video kind of make me think… “well you just haven’t trained enough, perhaps you should have more endurance experience behind you before attempting this, perhaps this sport just isn’t for you”
What are your thoughts?
Yeah, because they didn’t train enough to qualify in the first place.
Weak sauce. 3/10.
John
One thing I learned from getting involved in triathlon is to try not to judge people as much. There are a lot of people of different backgrounds involved with the sport. Not everyone has the same ability, resources or time to commit to training. I think it’s good for the sport to have a variety of people involved. We all have a common goal of leading a healthy lifestyle and the enjoyment of sport.
When I first started watching the Kona videos, I used to silently cheer on these people, the ones that are bent over, zig zagging down the road with the medical staff running beside them.
Now however, I’m not so sure. I recently watched the 2009 edition and people at the end of the video kind of make me think… “well you just haven’t trained enough, perhaps you should have more endurance experience behind you before attempting this, perhaps this sport just isn’t for you”
What are your thoughts?
When I first started watching the Kona videos, I used to silently cheer on these people, the ones that are bent over, zig zagging down the road with the medical staff running beside them.
Now however, I’m not so sure. I recently watched the 2009 edition and people at the end of the video kind of make me think… “well you just haven’t trained enough, perhaps you should have more endurance experience behind you before attempting this, perhaps this sport just isn’t for you”
What are your thoughts?
Yeah, because they didn’t train enough to qualify in the first place.
Weak sauce. 3/10.
John
Not everyone qualifies.
During the course of an ultra distance event a lot of things can go wrong that would lead to just making the cut off or worse. My thought is that you need less experience *watching *endurance events 
When I first started watching the Kona videos, I used to silently cheer on these people, the ones that are bent over, zig zagging down the road with the medical staff running beside them.
Now however, I’m not so sure. I recently watched the 2009 edition and people at the end of the video kind of make me think… “well you just haven’t trained enough, perhaps you should have more endurance experience behind you before attempting this, perhaps this sport just isn’t for you”
What are your thoughts?
Yeah, because they didn’t train enough to qualify in the first place.
Weak sauce. 3/10.
John
FWIM - Some folks at Kona didn’t qualify, there are lottery and charity slots … and you can even buy a slot too. Some were just the only person in their age group to finish… though in the 70+ age groups… that in itself is pretty remarkable anyway.
The 69 y/o woman that I sat with at awards that went 13:16 and beat all the men in the same age group by over 30 minutes… was very remarkable. Although, she was only 5th in her AG at Kona last year.
don’t the lottery / charity / ceo slots still have to validate their entry?
When I first started watching the Kona videos, I used to silently cheer on these people, the ones that are bent over, zig zagging down the road with the medical staff running beside them.
Now however, I’m not so sure. I recently watched the 2009 edition and people at the end of the video kind of make me think… “well you just haven’t trained enough, perhaps you should have more endurance experience behind you before attempting this, perhaps this sport just isn’t for you”
What are your thoughts?
Yeah, because they didn’t train enough to qualify in the first place.
Weak sauce. 3/10.
John
FWIM - Some folks at Kona didn’t qualify, there are lottery and charity slots … and you can even buy a slot too. Some were just the only person in their age group to finish… though in the 70+ age groups… that in itself is pretty remarkable anyway.
The 69 y/o woman that I sat with at awards that went 13:16 and beat all the men in the same age group by over 30 minutes… was very remarkable. Although, she was only 5th in her AG at Kona last year.
Granted. I’d be interested in seeing how many of that segment are in the 16+ hour range (The free/bought group). I still only give it 3/10.
John
. Not everyone has the same ability, resources or time to commit to training. I think it’s good for the sport to have a variety of people involved. We all have a common goal of leading a healthy lifestyle and the enjoyment of sport.
Those are the people that should do an Ironamn - not the world championships. If you are not good enough to finish you should be doing a local event, not be thinking you are part of the amazing crowd that are gifted and dedicated enough to get there in the first place. Reality is that some people commit a massive part of the lives to getting to Kona, and others who buy their way in, get lottery slots when they know they are not fit enough to finish or simply by chance otherwise end up with a slot devalue the sport when they cannot finish.
Kona is an age group and pro world championship - but it is rapidly being devalued by people who cannot finish, let alone commit to the life style necessary to get a recognized slot there.
cool story bro.
those slots have been there forever. nothing is being devalued, its the same as it ever was.
I see that Sister Madonna Buder is on the start list at 84. Any idea how she qualified this year? Also, Lew Hollander is back.
Those are the people that should do an Ironamn - not the world championships. If you are not good enough to finish you should be doing a local event, not be thinking you are part of the amazing crowd that are gifted and dedicated enough to get there in the first place. Reality is that some people commit a massive part of the lives to getting to Kona, and others who buy their way in, get lottery slots when they know they are not fit enough to finish or simply by chance otherwise end up with a slot devalue the sport when they cannot finish.
Kona is an age group and pro world championship - but it is rapidly being devalued by people who cannot finish, let alone commit to the life style necessary to get a recognized slot there.
Jamaica bob sled team. Eddie “The Eagle” - ski jumper for Britain. St. Kitts cycling. Eric Moussambini - Equatorial Guinea swimming (1:52 for the 100).
All of these competed at the bottom rung of the ladder at the Olympics, arguably the highest pinnacle of sport. Do their performances devalue the winner?
John
During the course of an ultra distance event a lot of things can go wrong that would lead to just making the cut off or worse. My thought is that you need less experience *watching *endurance events
Exactly. Who recalls the Swiss runner staggering around the track at the end of the 1984 Women’s Olympic marathon? From wikipedia:
Gabriela (“Gaby”) Andersen-Schiess (born May 20, 1945 in Zürich) is a former Swiss long-distance runner who participated in the first women’s Olympic marathon at the 1984 Summer Olympics. Though living in Idaho and working as a ski instructor at the time, Andersen-Schiess represented Switzerland in the 1984 Los Angeles Games.
Fourteen minutes into the 1984 Olympic marathon, Joan Benoit began to pull away from the rest of the pack. She went on to win in a time of 2 hours, 24 minutes, and 52 seconds. Twenty minutes after Benoit finished, then 39-year-old Andersen-Schiess entered the stadium.
The crowd gasped in horror as she staggered onto the track, her torso twisted, her left arm limp, her right leg mostly seized. She waved away medical personnel who rushed to help her, knowing that, if they touched her, she would be disqualified. The L.A. Coliseum crowd applauded and cheered as she limped around the track in the race’s final 400 meters, occasionally stopping and holding her head.
While the effects of her heat exhaustion were plainly evident, trackside medics saw that she was perspiring, which meant that her body still had some disposable fluids, and let her continue her march to the finish line. At the completion of this final lap—which took Andersen-Schiess five minutes and 44 seconds—she fell across the finish line. She finished 37th, ahead of seven other runners. Medical personnel tended to her immediately and, miraculously, she was released two hours later. Her time of 2:48:45 would have won the gold medal in the first five Olympic marathons.
What are your thoughts?
I think I agree in part. if someone has worked really hard for anything I think they should be lauded. If they haven’t and did it anyway, who cares. Some fat guy who worked his balls off all year to get in before midnight is way better deal than the guy who comes in next to him that didn’t put in the commitment with the tools he / she had available.
I think triathlon results are individual, how you did in comparison to how you could have done if you put in the effort. If you truly earned your achievement then fair play to you, whatever time you cross the line.
Those are the people that should do an Ironamn - not the world championships. If you are not good enough to finish you should be doing a local event, not be thinking you are part of the amazing crowd that are gifted and dedicated enough to get there in the first place. Reality is that some people commit a massive part of the lives to getting to Kona, and others who buy their way in, get lottery slots when they know they are not fit enough to finish or simply by chance otherwise end up with a slot devalue the sport when they cannot finish.
Kona is an age group and pro world championship - but it is rapidly being devalued by people who cannot finish, let alone commit to the life style necessary to get a recognized slot there.
Jamaica bob sled team. Eddie “The Eagle” - ski jumper for Britain. St. Kitts cycling. Eric Moussambini - Equatorial Guinea swimming (1:52 for the 100).
All of these competed at the bottom rung of the ladder at the Olympics, arguably the highest pinnacle of sport. Do their performances devalue the winner?
John
No because they somehow qualified to be there.
There are more than enough opportunities for people to cover that distance and achieve the goal of becoming an Ironman. Thousands do it that way every year. Kona slots sell on ebay for over $40 for a reason. Because there’s a certain amount of extra accomplishment and recognition that comes with doing THAT race. So unless you qualify, or legacy because of your commitment and longevity in the sport those that go for any other reason besides raising money for a cause, do dilute the experience and prestige of THAT race somewhat.
Do I agree with the fluff, maybe not. But I’m fine with it cause it’s not gonna change. Just my opinion.
I think they gave her a slot Eagleman 70.3. If you enter her name you’ll see her time at 8:36, but if you look under the results tracker for women 80 plus it is blank. So I think it must have been past the cut-off but they gave her the slot anyway for TV purposes. Based on her time at Eagleman and her DNF at Challenge Roth this summer (quit early in the run) it’s pretty clear that she has no hope of doing Kona under 17 hours, but I applaud her courage for trying.