Fun Runners vs. No Hopers
RunFatBoyRun
Posts: 1
in General Chat
Just finished reading a bit of a rant about fun runners starting in the wrong start spot which reminded me of something.
What is going on with the people who turn up to the Mazda London to do the Olympic and are getting rescued by the safety canoes before they've made it 100 yards - there were loads of them in '09.
I did the Corporate sprint and I was getting out of the water with people from a Supersprint which started, and I am not kidding, fully 45 minutes before my race - so given my moderate swim time these people had been going for an hour and hadn't managed 400m.
Who exactly thinks, I'm not a very good swimmer, this is open water, in a wet suit, with a mass start - I know I won't train at all I'll just turn up and give it go and I'll do the 1500m swim for a kick off.
There is soemthing to be said for thinning out the gene pool.
What is going on with the people who turn up to the Mazda London to do the Olympic and are getting rescued by the safety canoes before they've made it 100 yards - there were loads of them in '09.
I did the Corporate sprint and I was getting out of the water with people from a Supersprint which started, and I am not kidding, fully 45 minutes before my race - so given my moderate swim time these people had been going for an hour and hadn't managed 400m.
Who exactly thinks, I'm not a very good swimmer, this is open water, in a wet suit, with a mass start - I know I won't train at all I'll just turn up and give it go and I'll do the 1500m swim for a kick off.
There is soemthing to be said for thinning out the gene pool.
0
Comments
The fact is, like many other sports, people from all backgrounds may give it a go. Some may train hard, some may hardly train at all. Those that train hard might be wanting to beat a PB or a pal. Those that don't may be trying the sport or raising money for charity.
If some want to pay the extortionate fees and not complete the tri, that's their decision.
The more that try the better, IMO.
It can only be good for the sport to widen the entry field.
We moan when Chrissie Wellington doesn't get the recognition we feel she deserves, but the truth is the numbers doing tri in this country are miniscule compared to many other, more recognised sports.
If we don't welcome the "no hopers" what hope do we have of ensuring people like Chrissie get greater recognition?
Respect for doing something like, but put some Fing effort in!
I'm starting my season next year and have been teaching myself to swim for a while, it's going slowly and I've got to put many many more hours in and in a large part this is driven by pure fear. When I think about my first OW competitive swim I'm seriously terrified.....but in a great way
i think the tight wet-suit and the adrenaline may not help either? maybe they intended to train but thought the swim would be easy?
but who care's,
travelled over from ireland last year, for this great event, 'the london triathlon'
please, if your anyway interested in competing or just 'giving it a go'
avoid this circus,
i've never felt more like a cow being moved through a market than in the docklands,
expensive, hard to get to, nightmare to get out of, inpersonal, lacking in atmospere, etc.
if your starting in triathlon, find a good, local, club run race & enjoy the day without all the extra stress,
i'm sure this is not typical of the british tri. scene, & it would easily put you of the sport for good.
discuss!
I've been a lifeguard for a lot of years now, and never had so much trouble in my life. I rescued 2 people by dragging them in as our boats were busy, then just about collapsed on the shore exhaused after it.
For those who did make it around the course, which was a bit shortened after one of the bouys broke off it's anchor, times didn't matter. The sense of achievement for those who just got around was huge.
I know I've mentioned the race at Perranporth before, but those who love an open water challenge should definately consider it. Get a big day with surf, and even experienced triathletes will be proud of themselves for just finishing the swim.
You'll also find that it's well set up for all abilities - there's the guns who fly through in 2 hours, right through to the mountain bike riders who take the full 4 hours. Everyone gets cheered in, and I haven't heard anyone yet complain that they got held up by other competitors.
It's the biggest fundraiser that out surf club has got, and it helps to keep lifeguards on the beach over summer. If we didn't have all the muppets at the back of the field, the event would be smaller, the club would struggle even more financially, and the spirit of the race would be lost.
We call it the Surf Challenge Triathlon because to even finish it is a challenge for most people if the conditions are big, so if anyone want's to take on a new challenge and learn a bit about open water it's well worth giving a go.