Originally Posted by
SBRDude
I have real mixed feelings about the boom in the number of people doing IM races. I did shorter triathlons for years and gradually did longer races until I felt like I could really "race" at that distance. Not saying I was a pro or anything like that, but I did qualify for Hawaii in my age group (at the time 26-30) and then raced in Kona 8 weeks after my qualifying IM in Canada. So, I guess I feel like I really earned it and I do get annoyed when someone who makes much less of an effort and just wants to finish ends up riding a slow bike ride and walking half of the marathon and then brags about being an Ironman. I'm glad for them on one level, but on another I think people like that undermine the essence of what the event is (or was) supposed to be.
Good post and nice to hear.
the essence of what the event is is different for everyone that enters it. for some people, its a victory to be able to cross the finish line, for others its a failure if they dont cross it before anyone else. who are you do decide? stop being such an elitist. not everyone is there to beat the other competitors, some are there to crush their own goals.