I have never done a triathlon. I have little dreams about someday, somehow, doing an IM. I suppose I might be one of those people for whom it is a maybe-once-before-I-die kind of thing rather than a love of triathlons, since I have never done one yet!

But, I think the organizers should respect their own stated time limits for the integrity of the event.

I know that if I am EVER to pull off an IM finish someday, I will have to substantially improve my athleticism and speed, not just my endurance. I am stubborn enough to believe (although you Ironpeople out there might shake your heads at my silliness) that given enough sheer TIME and training hours, I could somehow FINISH the distance if there was no time limit.

But, given that my whole Shasta ride took longer than Wahine's entire IM, I know that as I am now, I am NO WHERE NEAR the fast athlete I would have to be to do the 17 hour limit.

So, to me, the time limit represents something much more amazing than just finishing (although I don't mean to downplay finishing the distance...inasmuch as I have never done it, maybe I am naive to think I could do the distance no matter how long I had).