Comments

I totally agree, and I'll take it a bit farther too, it's time to leave all the technology behind; no more fancy time trial bikes, aero helmets, watt meters, and put a minimal weight limit on bikes. Level the gear playing filed so we see what everyone is made of physically not financially.

The author and the one person who commented on the article are both nuts! I do agree, that a triathlon is supposed to be challenging and are typically designed to push your personal limits, but most people, however, do not train in absolutely horrendous conditions, which is what people were racing in this past Saturday. These races are surely no where near worth dying for. And many people could have if they hadn't called this event. I'm willing to bet that having a near death experience is not what most first-timer's signed up for, especially when it's supposed to be fun for people who aren't getting paid to be there. If you're a pro/elite athlete, then yes, you should definitely tough it out, but the majority of people need special training for those types of conditions.

these are my sentiments exactly. in south africa where we dont sue for nothing we race regardless unless their is direct danger for eg the one race had an aircraft crash on the course and so the course had to be changed slightly. weather conditions - no way!!! i once did a triathlon in australia that had 3m high waves. granted it was only a 300m swim but we did it. sorry otis but if the avergae joe cant hack the conditions then they need to toughen up or stay at home. ive raced professionally and if you doing ironman for fun you doing it for the wrong reasons. whether age grouper or pro we do the sport regardless of the distance becuase it is a challenge, because we get bragging rights, a sense of accomplishment and because we want to learn something about ourselves and others when the going gets tough. you dont need special training for tough conditions you need a special toough mindset for it. so toughen up and tough it out. if you cant then find a more sedentary sport that wont challenge you mentally and physically.

Otis, thanks for the compliment. One man’s nuts is another man’s normal. The group I train with DO train in absolutely horrendous conditions (and on beautiful days, too). Making the move from sedentary to fit to super fit allows us to do that. We enjoy it. And when we pony up the cash to travel to a race, pay for a multi-night hotel stay, cough up an entry fee, etc., we do it because we’re prepared and eager to race in any conditions. There are people who went to Muncie recently because they wanted it HOT, hotter than hot, using it as prep for Kona. I’m a firm believer that, in a sport that loves to talk about extreme this and epic that, a race should go off as advertised in any conditions. If that scares people away, so be it. They can (and probably should) stay home. But if I pay for, enter, and most importantly, get in shape for a specific race, then that’s the race I deserve…regardless of my own success or failure (I’ve had plenty of both). Is it worth dying for? Of course not. But if we’re not willing to get in shape (first-timer or old-timer) for the race we registered for, then we’ve let down our sport and ourselves.

I feel bad that your temper tantrum amuses me. But one man's tough is another woman's weak. It's a cancellation. Deal with it. Read your refund policy, take you deferred entry, realize that the world simply doesn't run on the basis of your personal need to test your own toughness, shut your yap and go home. Enjoy the fact that you will race another day...for your sake, I hope it's a hot one.

Wow! That was the biggest misdirected temper tanrum (or bytchassedness) I have ever read. Soooo, the Race Director cancels or shortens a race and its the fault of the people you percieve as punks? Seriously. If the RD didn't make the change the I'd put my money on it that just about everybody would have showed up and raced (perhaps DNF, fell out or died) but they would have showed up. Nobody puts all that money & training out to just jump for joy when a race is cancelled or changed. What you needed to do with all the pent up rage & whining is direct it at the RD that made the change. Tell them to "have some pride" & "nut up". Instead you directed your rant in the wrong direction and came off as a petulant child. Now now, it's okay...but if it's not...I'm with Mylah...take you refund/deferred entry or do the shortened race and WIN the damn OR shut your yap and go home.

I think if we take all of the perceived negative views about everyones post and talk simply about facts I think there really is a middle ground that can be respected by all. I'm new to triathlons but really excited about the sport. After my first race I had to do research on the history which was interesting. My family thinks I'm crazy so I always have to be ready for questions.. You know.. WHY WHY WHY?????.. ONE BRIEF FACT: The first IronMan was created to find out which discipline (swimmer, cyclist, or runner) had the fittest athlete. The chosen course had a lot to due with the conditions.. Rough Water (swim), High Winds (bike), and Excessive Heat (run).. Basically to find the best of the best by putting them all through the toughest conditions.. (very interesting stuff if care to look it up)... Now we have a debate over whether or not a race should be shortened, cancelled/rescheduled? This maybe a stretch but let's say that a competitor has commonsense and that the RD (Race Director) or RO (Race Organizer) has made the appropriate arrangements for the conditions of the race (Medical Tent, Ice, Water, Heat, etc......) I don't want to go into too much detail about that but do some research and you will find all kinds of good information.. If those two things are in place than IMO a race should not be shortened or cancelled.. A competitor with commonsense would retire(DNF) or decide not to compete(DNS) if they are not ready for the conditions. However if they decide to race than I hope they would have an idea of when to pull out before killing themselves unless that's what they want to do.. It's scary when you can actually push yourself to death literally (not figuratively --- like most of us joke about). Just recently a guy pushed himself to heat exhaustion with an internal body heat over 100 degrees.. Needless to say he had a long hospital stay.. It could have been fatal. I would love to ask him a few "why's" myself... His simple answer could be "Because I could".. I could go into detail about why certain races should be cancelled due to the conditions and it's mainly due to the RD or RO not being properly prepared. One simple reason would be when a race starts to affect the local area rescue service which actually happened. I guess I'm a nut because I actually agree with both of the nuts. I could speak on the physical/financial comment with some facts. I just think that if facts were stated about both than this discussion would have been a little different.. I could be wrong.. I could say so much more... this was long winded enough.. :-)...

I am going to try to remove emotion from this discussion and offer [what I feel, anyways] is a very logic-driven response to both the original post, as well as the broader situation. For starters, yes, the author's tone and the fact that he directed his apparent anger at participants for "not hardening up" is misguided. The "you" in the article ought to be directed at WTC and the race director. The participants had nothing to do with the shortening of this event, so 1) don't blame them and 2) if you are going to offer your opinion in a public forum, there are certainly ways to do so without offending or speaking down to folks. All of that said, I really could not agree more with the overall theme of this article, assuming that the "overall theme" is that the event should not have been shortened, nor should future events in similar conditions. I am afraid that the sport is catering to the lowest common denominator at these races, but at the expense (both figuratively and literally) of the opposite end of the field. I would much rather see WTC ofter folks that do not feel prepared for the event a refund, versus shortening the course. To say that it is dangerous because of the heat is kind of funny, since swimming 1.2 miles, biking 56, and running 13.1 miles is quite dangerous regardless of temperatures for someone that is unprepared, be it physically, or for what often turns out to be even more of a risk, in terms of bike handling skills. It is absurd to penalize those that are well prepared to protect the bottom half of the field. There must be some personal responsibility on the part of the participant, WTC can't simply protect everyone; it is up to an adult (last time I checked must be over 18 or have guardian sign off to participate) to make a desicion about their capabilities, and suffer the consequences of that desicion. Local gyms don't ban treadmills, yet it is pretty easy for anyone to hop on a treadmill and seriously inure themselves if they are unprepared for the speed and incline they set the machine to.

I agree with the author 100%! I am new to the sport and am progressing in it. I'll be doing my first 1/2 iron in a couple months and would like to progress from there. I can't imagine anything worse than putting in 20 hours a week training and then told it was all for naught. I'm training right now in the 90/90 of the south: 90's heat in 90% humidity. I think that maybe some of those Muncie participants need to initiate a lawsuit of their own to make sure this never happens again to any other Ironman participants! If the organizers think that the conditions are too tough for some, throw out a few extra bouys, add a few early turnarounds on the bike and run course, and throw up a different finish line for those that want to do a half ironman or olympic tri or the 50m/1.5mi/.5mi tri my kid is doing this weekend! For those that want to attempt to be ironmen, let them! Make them sign another waiver if need be and throw a few extra medical personnel on the course to help out. When I'm ready to do a full ironman, during my training my biggest fear will no longer be that I overdo it or injure myself, or the airline I've scheduled to fly to the event goes on strike, no, it will be that the organizers do this to the event for fear of lawsuits. It's the same litigious crap that makes it damn near impossible to find a pool deeper than 5 feet! And don't even get me started on that!