Why I didn’t tell anyone I was doing a triathlon

Technically it was a half-ironman, a 70.3 mile triathlon not the 140.6 mile race. If you rolled your eyes or scoffed at that, you’re part of the reason why I didn’t tell anyone I was going to do an ironman.

You see, I’ve spent the last four years of my life participating in triathlon, racing in collegiate conferences as an undergraduate and graduate student, and now, having graduated, am continuing to train for and participate in events that I thoroughly enjoy. I’ve been a member of many social groups revolving around fitness, from competition focused clubs to casual, friendly groups.

In these four short years, I’ve probably experienced the full range of triathletes, from the hopeful first timer more focused on weight loss than performance, to the pro-triathlete who is so deep in training that it consumes every second of life. Introverts and extroverts, hard-core and casual, fun-loving and goal-oriented; these are all apt descriptions of the diversity of triathlete personalities. Despite the diversity of personalities, there’s one thing I’m pretty sure they have in common: they love talking about triathlon.

“How do you know someone is a triathlete?”
“They tell you all about it.”

Yes this joke is not limited to marathoners, crossfitters, Domers, doctors, etc. And this is the start of the reason why I didn’t tell anyone.

The joke works because people get told about something they didn’t ask about or that they don’t care about. I get it, people outside a certain group don’t often want to hear every detail of life inside that group. In fact, I’ve found that group outsiders care so little about the details of triathlon, that I can say nothing about the event and satisfy another person’s curiosity.

“What are you doing this weekend?”
“A triathlon”
“Cool”

That’s all the exchange has to be. And yet, time after time, being known by friends and family as a semi-serious triathlete, I’ve been told about encounters that go vastly differently.

While participating in a sprint-distance triathlon relay, a friend of mine was chatting with someone who unrequitedly divulged all of her training details for her upcoming 140.6, fully loaded with heroic tales of long workouts, diet restrictions that could bore even a dietician, and belittling of people who’ve only done sprint (~16 mile) and Olympic (~30 mile) triathlons.

The vibe I get is that people who accomplish a 140.6 mile triathlon feel entitled and more accomplished than people who haven’t. Yes, training to finish a 140.6 mile event involves much more training than a sixteen or thirty mile event. But does that makes that person somehow better athletically or otherwise than anyone else?

Nope. It’s merely a different accomplishment than someone training for those short course races. Put Brownlee versus Macca in their respective events and the Olympic athlete will always win his race, and the ironman athlete will always win his race. They’re just different athletes.

I don’t want to sound like I am berating people who are clearly passionate about what they do, I am merely reporting an encounter that seems to be the norm with iron-distance triathletes. They, more than others seem to wear their over-trained heart on their sleeve, wear their ironman event gear at every opportunity, make sure their m-dot tattoo is clearly visible, and talk incessantly about their lives as triathletes. While this sort of self-presentation is not inherently unbecoming, I’ve never been told about or experienced encounters with these types of folks that have been more positive than negative.

But maybe I shouldn’t be surprised. After all, the 140.6 mile triathlon was created by people who wanted to know if swimmers, cyclists, or runners were most fit. So in a way, bragging rights are inherent to the sport. They certainly seem like the main reason why people do the events. I’d happily be proven wrong about this.

So if you’re reading this and you’re a triathlete, why are you doing it? Are you a pro doing it for money? Are you doing it for love of competition? Are you doing it for fitness? Are you doing it for personal accomplishment? Are you doing it for, dare I say, fun?

Unless the answer is “so I have something to tell people about” then there shouldn’t be so many encounters with triathletes that end in one person feeling great about themselves, and the other person thinking “ugh, triathletes…”

So that’s why I didn’t tell anyone I was doing a 70.3 triathlon: I was afraid of being a person that turns others away from a sport that I hold near and dear. I didn’t want to be a person that gets complained about in conversations about triathletes. I just wanted to be a person that was doing a triathlon because he loves the sport.