This past week I read an article written by professional triathlete, Chris (Macca) McCormack, entitled "Why I Race." You can read the article here -
"Why I Race" - it's a great read and I recommend it. In it he discusses his personal reasons to why he participates in triathlons. The discussion arises due to a conversation he had with a few young athletes at an Olympic Distance race in California. The kids share their aspirations of completing an Ironman. At first that sounds great, they are motivated and aspiring to do bigger and better things, but then Macca begins talking to the young athletes about why they aspire to complete an Ironman Triathlon. The kids reply with a simple response, similar to the fact that you are not a true triathlete unless you complete an Ironman. The kids also share their feelings about a World Triathlon Corporation, who own the rights to Ironman, and other races of the same distance. They felt that a 140.6 mile triathlon that isn't trademarked with "Ironman" isn't official. They felt as though no other race matters, regardless of the distance or name. Even when Macca talks about half Ironman distance races (a 70.3 triathlon), the kids write off the idea of doing a non "Ironman," 70.3 mile distance triathlon. It leaves Macca dumbfounded. He then shares his passion for the sport of triathlon and the variety of races that he has competed in over the years. Many of them were not owned by the WTC and were not Ironman branded races.
I have been a part of a similar debate on Facebook. I am a member of a group on Facebook dedicated to the sharing of the infamous M-dot tattoos. Within the group, someone posed the question of whether or not it was acceptable to get an M-dot tattoo for a non WTC triathlon. In other words if someone were to complete a non-Ironman branded, 140.6 mile triathlon, would it be acceptable in the triathlon community for that person to get the M-dot tattoo to commemorate the accomplishment? It's an interesting question. Personally, I think it would be foolish to get the M-dot tattoo for a non-Ironman race. The M-dot tattoo represents a brand, just as the swoosh is to Nike, the Golden Arches are to McDonald's, the M-dot is to Ironman. I understand the idea, though, the M-dot is a world wide symbol for a 140.6 race, it's synonymous for the ultra distance triathlon. Most people (especially those in the active community) know that the M-dot tattoo, means you completed the ultra triathlon. But, in my opinion, getting the M-dot tattoo to represent a non-Ironman race would be like getting a swoosh tattoo, to represent your love and devotion of basketball shoes, even though you opt to wear Adidas shoes. Instead of getting the Adidas logo, you opt to get the Nike swoosh since it is more widely recognized. It just doesn't make sense.
The heart of the matter for both Macca's article and the question posed in the Facebook group is the stronghold that Ironman has on the sport of triathlon. Is it right? Is it fair? Personally, I'm not here to say whether or not the World Triathlon Corporation is good or bad for the sport of triathlon. But, I would like to offer my feelings on Ironman, the WTC, and why I chose to race a WTC race.
Honestly, as I become more and more involved with triathlon, I was much like the aspiring triathletes that had talks with Chris McCormack. I thought and truly believed that you were not a triathlete unless you finished an Ironman. In my eyes, it verified you as a triathlete. For what ever reason, if you hadn't completed an Ironman, you were just another "wanna-be." On top of that all, just like the kids in Macca's article, It had to be an Ironman as well. For some reason, an Ironman was different from any other 140.6 distance race. Don't ask me why, it's just how I felt. Before I ever signed up for my first IM, I new that it was going to be an Ironman branded race. It definitely helped that Madison was home to one of the more popular IM races in the USA and is only a short 2 hour drive from my hometown. But, if given the choice of traveling to an out-of-state 140.6 non-IM race and an IM branded race, I'm choosing the IM race, 10 times out of 10. I don't know why and I'm not even going to speculate why that is the case. But I do know that I am not alone with those feelings either.
Yes, the Ironman World Championship in Kona, HI, has been, currently is, and probably will always be the pinnacle of the sport of triathlon. It's the supreme goal of so many athletes (myself included). It's the Super Bowl of Triathlon, the Daytona 500, the Indy 500, I can go on and on, but I'm sure you probably get the idea. But, does the fact that it is an Ironman branded race make it the prestigious race it has become? According to Macca, not at all. I tend to agree. Ironman has a stronghold on the 140.6 and 70.3 distance races throughout the world. Frankly, I don't see that changing. Sadly, I wish our sport used a more generic term for the 70.3 and 140.6 distance races. Much like a Sprint or Olympic distance are not brand specific, I wish we used something such as Long Course for a 70.3 and an Ultra distance for a 140.6 race. That way, Ironman would be just a brand of triathlons, just like Rev3 is a brand that puts on numerous triathlon races across the country (including 70.3 distances). Doing this would potentially rid us of the idea that only Ironman races matter. In fact there are thousands of races that are not put on by Ironman throughout the country that offer so many great things to the sport of triathlon. If you have read Chris McCormack's article, he gives quite the list of races to look into.
The root of this debate is each persons' reasons for racing in the sport of triathlon. If you are one who thinks you are not a triathlete until you finish an Ironman, more than likely, you have a very materialistic view of triathlon. Think of it this way, is a runner not a "runner" until they finish a 50k, 50 mile, or 100 mile ultramarathon? At what point did our sport find the need to solidify individuals' existences within the community based on distances finished? The fact of the matter is, you are a triathlete whether you finish a sprint distance race or multiple Ironman distance races. We are a community of committed, driven, and motivated people from a variety of backgrounds. At any start line at any given triathlon, you'll find a diverse population, with an even more diverse reason for being there. You'll find triathletes looking to win and triathletes that are just looking to finish. There will be recovering addicts who found a new addiction in exercise, you'll see individuals who have lost insane amounts of weight to reclaim their health through their dedicated training that brought them to the start line, and there will be first timers and athletes who have raced literally hundreds of triathlons. Each person's reason for toeing the start line at a triathlon is as unique as the individual with the reason for being there. I realized this first hand when I went to support my friend Bob and his wife at the Fox Cities Half Marathon this past September. It was the first time I had been a part of a race as a spectator in a long while. I saw a different side of the race. Not only did I see the leaders, who had a fire in their eye to win the race, then there were the runners who had other goals, goals that were not tied to a time or a placing. Their goals may have been just finishing the race or even as simple as just having fun.
Macca's article about the commercialization of the sport of triathlon and his reasons for being drawn to the sport of triathlon had me thinking about my love of the sport. After reading his article, I asked myself, "why do I race?" What is it that gets my butt out of bed at 4:00am to train on weekends? Why do I go out for 3 hour runs in sub zero temperatures in January? Why am I willing to sacrifice so much to train and race. Why do I race?
It's a profound question. I race for the love of the challenge. That's it, it's that simple. I race to compete against myself. Regardless of the distance, or who puts on the race, every race offers a new and different challenge. Even the same race offers new challenges each and every year. No race is ever the same, no matter how identical they may appear on paper. I love pushing myself to find new limits and then finding ways to push past those limits to reach newer and higher limits. It's and on-going cycle, I am never satisfied with accomplishments, because anyway you look at it, there is always room for improvement. There is always something that could have been done better. This applies to any race distance.
I do not race for social approval. I do not race to impress friends, family or co-workers. I do not race to gain social acceptance. There is no need for that. I am who I am, and frankly I am happy with myself. I race to promote health and fitness. I want to show that there are benefits to be had by living a healthy and active lifestyle. I want to show that a little work goes a long way. One of the most common statements I've heard since training for and finishing an Ironman has been something to the effect of, "I could never do that!" The truth is pretty much anybody (within reason) could finish an Ironman. It doesn't require you to have a lower body fat percentage, it doesn't require a certain body type, you don't have to young, hell you don't even need to a super endurance athlete. It does require an insane amount of work and dedication. It requires a lot of sacrifices. If you are willing to make it happen, you too can become and Ironman. The same thing applies to a marathon, half marathon, 10k, or even a 5k. If you are willing to put in the work, I guarantee you can accomplish anything.
Ultimately, that is why I race. I race for my kids. I race for my health. I race for the love of the sport. I race to inspire. I race to have fun. I race for the challenge. I race to find new limits and then to find a way to exceed those limits. Oh yea....I also race to drink beer! :)
