Quote Originally Posted by divingbiker View Post
Though it doesn't even compare to what you ladies do, this is exactly why I didn't do the Irongirl sprint tri this year. I knew I could do the swim and the bike, and I could walk the run, and I would have finished with a slow time. But I hadn't trained and I thought that it was disrespectful to those who did to just show up and go through the motions.
OK...I am being brave and stepping in with a little different viewpoint, maybe. I DO really respect you marathoners, ironmen, and other athletes participating in this thread. I hope from my other discussions across TE you can tell that. So, I'm respectfully wondering:

I guess I have to ask exactly how, at this sprint distance, your showing up less than really well trained would have disrespected the other participants?

It doesn't sound like you would have had to use SAG-type support resources, or otherwise been a burden on race organizers or other participants.

Perhaps it depends on what you mean, really, by just going through the motions...and why you were drawn to doing it in the first place. Would it have been wrong to just go out and do it for fun, rather than to leave every ounce of yourself out on the course?

What does a person's motivation have to be in order to be considered respectful? For instance, earlier this year, I did a metric century. I did it as a training ride, to test out some things I wanted to use later in the season for my goal event. I didn't have any intention of leaving it all out on the course, or taking it particularly seriously. I knew I wouldn't need SAG or otherwise burden the official ride. I was doing it for my own purposes. I don't feel I was disrespectful to the folks out there who had made that metric or the whole century their big deal for the year.

Please don't misunderstand. I have enormous respect for motivated, trained, successful endurance athletes. I have extreme respect for an Ironman official finisher under 17 hours (as long as that person also has a respect-worthy character, etc.). I don't think people should do events expecting a medal if they don't finish in the time. I don't think people are wise to do difficult events untrained, and put the organization under the strain of dealing with their injuries or whatever.

But, I just kind of wonder what, for instance, would make it wrong or disrespectful for someone to train up to walking a marathon if that was their intended goal and they weren't trying to pretend they ran the whole thing, etc. I just read a book called Marathoning For Mortals by Mr. Bingham which includes a training plan specifically for walking a marathon.

What do a person's goals and motivations have to be in order to be viewed as good enough for you guys, is, I guess, my question?