"Real" Triathlon: A Modest Proposal
to return the sport to its roots
Once upon a time, a bunch of insanely fit guys on Oahu regularly gathered for, um, fluid replenishment.
These rehydration sessions were sometimes marked by vigorous debate. Just who among them was fittest: the swimmers, the cyclists or the road runners?
Partisans of each sport entered into evidence local races renowned for arduous conditions; but which was the most arduous?
Was it the 2.4 mile Waikiki Roughwater (!) Swim? The 112 mile Around-Oahu Bike Race? Or the Honolulu Marathon, usually run in crushing heat and humidity?
'Twas the proverbial comparison of apples to oranges. (And since there are three sports in question, and we're in Hawaii, I'll add "to pineapples.")
Then one of their number, John Collins, had a flash of genius: Let's race 'em all, one after the other! Thus Ironman was born.
Let's stop here a moment. Would you try to settle this argument by means of a race where (much rounding follows) elites swim for 1 hour, cycle for 5 hours and run sub-3 hours?
Don't these numbers seem a bit unbalanced to you? They sure do to me.
How might we rectify this?
Consider:
- A world class men's 10K open water swim time is 2 hours.
- A world class men's road cyclist might go 88K in a 2 hour time trial.
- The current men's world record marathon time translates into a 2 hour 40K.
What say we specify a standard ultradistance triathlon @ 10K swim / 88K bike / 40K run?
Let's race long course @ 5K swim / 44K bike / 20K run.
Let's race "international distance" @ 2.5K swim / 22K bike / 10K run.
Finally, let's sprint @ 1K swim / 10K bike / 5K run.
What do you think?
