It's not just about the race

I love race weekends. I don't have to be racing, spectating or even in the same state as the race; there's something about knowing there's a major race on, that people I know are stepping up and going out to achieve a personal goal, that makes me excited. More then that, it makes my motivation peak all over again.

This weekend was the bookends of 70.3 Busso and IM Australia. A little bittersweet for me as Busso was to be my first HIM, but alas was not to be. It was awesome tracking the event online, keeping tabs on the couple of people I knew racing and hearing the feedback from the day.

A little closer to home was IM Australia today in Port Macquarie. The more I get involved with this sport, the more exposed I become to people's journeys and the more I pay attention to Ironman, the more I realise one thing - it's not just about the race. People may think it's about the race, turn up and cheer about the race and all the preparation is for the race - but the process that is being an ironman triathlete, what it means to race ironman, is not just about the race. Don't get me wrong, the race is the cream on top - it's the outcome for all the hard work. But the race is just the baby; what most people (other than those who live with you) don't see is the hard work, sacrifices, injuries, tears, financial and social sacrifices and strain that leads into that one day - let's call them the labour pains.

Being a long course athlete is about the long days, the early starts, the constant repetitive groundhog day that you spin in for 6-12 months before carefully carving all that work into a perfectly tapered package for race day. It's common to hear people say "I can't believe you do this sport (referring to HIM or IM racing)" after watching one of the races. And it's true, the race itself is an impressive display of human athleticism. But it isn't the race that makes the athlete impressive. It's the dedication, the commitment, the love that the athlete must have to agree to sign up for an event - 12 months out - and then proceed to make many sacrifices non-triathletes would baulk at for a solid 12 months in order to execute a performance for 1 day only. That's 12 months of work, sacrifices and pain for 1 day.

When was the last time you made a year's worth of sacrifices for the opportunity to achieve something for 1 day only? It's pretty crazy when you break it down. Take your job for example - you might work hard for 6 months for a promotion and, if you're lucky, you get promoted. Not for one day, not for 9 hours, but from that point forward. The hard work paid off. Now think about ironman athletes. They work hard like that, for an outcome that is also as important. But they only get that "promotion" for a matter of hours before they go back to real life.

So what is it that drives so many to go on the ironman journey? To endure months and months of labour, to then subject yourself to hours and hours of pain, for fleeting seconds of joy as you cross the line?

There's a million answers to that question. But I think there is one underlying reason that plays a part for everyone - to prove you can. The biggest demographic of ironman entrants is between the age of 30-45, predominantly male. You may have noticed that triathlon is an expensive tipple and Ironman is top shelf - a race entry will set you back close to $800-$900. So not only do you have to be fit, but you also need to be reasonably cashed up. So many of these 'typical majority' will be mid-career, achieved certain milestones and goals, likely to have met the better half, possibly married and maybe with child. Life's looking pretty comfortable. And with comfort comes complacency. And for competitive minded, ambitious types complacency is a dirty word. Complacency can equal laziness and no-one wants to be saddled with that old chestnut. These types want a challenge.

So the search commences. Anyone who owns a tie and works in an office has no doubt heard of or been roped into a corporate triathlon over the years so perhaps this is some people's foot in the door; others may have grown up with the Wide World of Sports and seen Ironman on TV. Heck, maybe its a Google search for "hardest sport in the world". Who knows. But its a common desire of some sort that is bringing these people together, to make these sacrifices, to punish their bodies and their minds for a few seconds of glory.

Cause their friends do it. To beat their best mate. To silence the internal voice that says they can't. To show their children that anything is possible. Crazy? Sort of. Addictive? Absolutely. Tell me you don't want to do one