Only doing this for a few years,please inform. Dave Scott always seems to get more respect than Mark Allen. Both won 6 times right? When Mark A won in 89 it was Dave S best time right? Also did not Mark Allen own all the other distances (Nice ect…) Beleive me…I bow to both. Just curious because Mr.Scot always seems to be given more respect. Are there age differences? Or just the personalities? Thanks all Kenney
I think the difference comes down to the two different personalites of the guys invovled.
I prefer Scott Molina, primarily because he’s a great athlete (like the other 2) but seems to have a great handle on this life thing.
Kenney,
I believe Dave peaked a few years earlier… However, when they raced head to head at Ironman and had that epic struggle (Dave had beat him the previous years… but Mark struggled to finish those years). Mark dropped him in the last part of the marathon… I believe even though Dave finished second in that race… It was his best ever Hawaii time. I think that’s when Mark’s run of wins started.
I believe part of the answer has to do with charisma. Don’t get me wrong, they both appear to to very respectful individuals. Dave just seems to have a bit more of an outgoing way about him. Mark has more of a zen like “inner peace” type of personality. Probably part of the reason Peter Reid went to him when he was having struggles.
Both legends though… Both unique, yet amazing… both of them
Kind of like how Babe Ruth still gets more “respect” in many ways than Hammerin’ Hank ever has. Babe was the “original.” In this case, Dave was the “original.” I don’t think anyone argues that either Dave or Mark was necessarily “better” than the other from a total career perspective. Dave’s the “grand old man” of the sport’s “royalty.” It will take someone really special to see him off that pedestal.
I believe Dave is seen as “The Man” above all others simply because he set the standard for all others to follow. Even Mark Allen was trying to beat him for years before 1989. What is truly amazing about Dave Scott is that he was not only the best, but he absolutely dominated and blew away the competition. True, Scott Tinley had a run down with him in one IM but for the most part he could have showered, shaved and read the newspaper with a coffee before second place came in. When you think about it…his times were truly incredible when you consider he had to discover and define the optimal training program for the new sport of triathlon - to top it off, there were no aero bars!
Now I get it. He was the first. Funny,Lance goes for one race and is nailed. Dave Scott focused on one and is revered…but the reason is now clear…He defined it. Set the bar,dictated the training,and no one could follow,or should I say one had to “follow”. Thanks for the responses. Yeah…He’s The Man
I think a lot of that respect was earned when Dave came back and almost won the thing again at age 40 (finishing 2nd in 1994). And then he came back again to finish 5th in 1996 (age 42).
Haim
I’m not sure I’d agree that Dave gets more respect than Mark. It seems to me they are both revered. Dave was the ground breaking champion who showed the world you could truly “race” an Ironman as opposed to just survive one. Mark then built on that theme and really put down the fastest and most consistent series of performances ever witnessed. Dave has gone on to be more the Science minded guy of Ironman while Mark has done amazing things with opening up the mind game and written very eloquently about that subject. I think the two compliment each other and any time they talk we should listen.
Dave Scott essentially invented how to train for and race an Ironman.
Regardless of how the earlier parts of his season went, he would show up in Kona completely focused and ready to win. And he most often did: Aside from his DNF at age 47, his 10 finishes yielded 6 first place finishes, three 2nd places, and a 5th (which he says was his most satisfying finish, given that he felt flat on the bike that day & brought it back with a 2:45 marathon – at age 42).
That consistency and focus on what has become the most important event on the triathlon calendar is what has made him a legend in the sport, above everyone else.
I am not sure what you mean by respect. Both men are considered true greats in the sport of triathlon. Dave Scott peaked and had a better run of performances at IMH a bit earlier than Mark Allan. At his peak Mark Allan had great range, beating the best in the world at all distances whereas Dave Scott tended to focus on the longer races and IMH in particular.
I have met both men several times in their retirement years, and they are both very approachable and out going. They are both very involved in the sport at a few different levels - coaching, advising, TV commentary and other things.
Their epic battle in 1989 at IMH gets a fair amount of press - It was indeed epic, as they were never more than a few metres apart for 8 hours until the final 2 miles of the run when Allan put in a slight surge and Scott could not respond. I think that for the first time after the '89 race, people looked at an Ironman race as a real race - not just a survivor-thon!
Is there anywhere to get the 89 race on tape or DVD? Last time I checked they didnt have it at ironmanlive.
Is there anywhere to get the 89 race on tape or DVD? Last time I checked they didnt have it at ironmanlive.
I have it on VHS (along with some footage of the epic TdF final TT of that year). I’d be willing to make one copy for cost reimbursement and then the person who gets it can make a copy for the next, etc…
Funny, but since 89, I can’t recall an IMH race with the two top contenders racing toe to toe like that. Typically, there is significant speed differential on the run between the top contenders. Either someone is being passed or someone is doing the passing but no toe to toe running. Probably the closest thing we have had was Reid being chased by deBoom in 2000.
Well, I was there in '89 competing as well and when I was heading out to the turn-around on the run(this was the really old run course - almost a straight out and back run on the Queen K HWY way out past the airport. The turn around point was a huge inflatable Bud Light Beer Can!!) Mark and Dave were running back into town, shoulder to shoulder. Everyone heading out of town was cheering them on. It was an awesome site. Humbling to realize that at that point I was over an hour behind them.
Dave Scott also had great range, although he often struggled early in the season. Scott Tinley writes about Dave and says that when he was in shape in shorter races he dominated the field. Another difference between the Dave and Mark is that Dave managed his career completely on his own. He was his own coach and invented much of what we take for granted in triathlon racing. I remember getting his training book in 1987 and being amazed at the depth of analysis. Mark had a coach and an agent and nice endorsement contracts during the salad days of the late 80s. He carefully planned his race schedule to peak in Hawaii (If I recall, in 1989 or 90 he won 10 races in a row including Hawaii, which has to be the best string of race wins that any triathlete has ever put together).
Dave Scott was the first “true” triathlete to train for and win IM. Before him it was just a collection of fit guys that just went out and did the race. I"m certainly not taking anything away from the others before Dave Scott but “The Man” was pretty much in a league of his own early on.
From a personal perspective, back in the late 1980s I admired Dave Scott tremendously because he typified the ideal triathlete/endurance athlete. Looking back, I think that his training book had a huge influence on my views and opinions of him. Its not that I did not respect/admire Mark Allen, its just that I looked at Dave Scott as the ideal.
Did Mark Allen have training book out around then? I bet every triathlete around the world had Dave Scott’s book when Dave was at racing at his peak.
I think his nickname of “The Man” sums it all up.
David K.
“I remember getting his training book in 1987 and being amazed at the depth of analysis.”
Damn right! I remember reading it back then when it was the only book on triathlon training and I was blown away with the detail that is not even replicated in todays literature - overkill perhaps for the lay person but it definitely worked for him. He could be writing about building a rocket for NASA. Truly brilliant mind…I wish I could afford to go to Boulder and have him train me 
.
Indeed, Dave really did set the standards, in terms of performance, that are in some respects still being chased today. He was the first to really see the race as a whole - not just swim, then bike , then run.
Although he does feel that it is all about the marathon at IMH.