So I finally watched the Ironman World Championships... I don't have cable, so I usually have to make do with finding it on the Internet after the fact. I finally found this guy had created a playlist of the Championships in 10 parts. Hopefully NBC doesn't make him take it down.
It was my first time to watch it, and I was curious to see if it would inspire me to do an Ironman someday. I just started down this triathlon road and have not been able to imagine putting myself through all the torture. The fact that I'm already jumping into a 70.3 in year 2 is a bit surprising.
My reactions: watching Macca battling it out for the win was awesome. Watching the running machine called Mirinda Carfrae was totally inspiring and humbling. Listening to race strategy and seeing poor Lieto's bike lead dwindle down to nothing was instructional. The rest was... ok. Not what I was hoping. I have to echo other comments around the blogosphere that it would have been great to see an age grouper who had worked for years to earn a slot at Kona. Not to say the 80-year old wasn't inspiring; he was. The former convict... very cool to see how he turned his life around. The former soldier with cancer who crossed the line: amazing.
It just seemed like a parade of the fringes, many of whom likely got in via lottery. I wished they'd actually talked about how the vast majority of the athletes actually got there... that this is a WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP for goodness sake, not something to check off on a bucket list. Use a different Ironman to check your box, but keep Kona separate. This coverage was like, sure, anyone and their dog can come and play in the World Series, or Wimbleton, or the World Cup. And I suppose what makes triathlon different -- and cool -- is that age groupers can compete at the same time as the pros. But in my opinion, NBC failed to capture what this race is all about: where the best of the best -- not just the pros, but the athletes who reached the podium in their age groups -- can really test their stuff. And some of these folks -- like the poor cancer survivor who DNFed 2 years in a row -- almost looks exploited for the sake of a good story.
So... suffice it to say, I was disappointed with the coverage. But I was definitely inspired by a couple of the stories, and there is now a glimmer of "hmm... maybe someday I'll work my way up to 140.6." But let me make it to 70.3 first.
Agreed about the coverage. At least they did a decent job following the pros.
I will say this... if you're going to tackle an IM, you better love love love training! :)
Posted by: Michelle Simmons | 12/22/2010 at 10:38 PM
I think the broadcast for years has sent that message that Anything Is Possible. I've had so many athletes come to me after watching the broadcast and believe that they to can do it. For most it's not about Kona and the World Championships, it's about becoming the best that they can become and giving it a tri. NBC and IM Hawaii have had such a huge impact on our sport. I'm so glad they keep doing it each year. :)
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