Friday, July 02, 2010
What’s the Point
I was in the wine store the other day supporting my other hobby other than triathlon when I ran into a guy who also did the Wycoff Triathlon two weeks ago. We got to talking about the good points and not so good points of our races. He asked me where I finished in my age group and I asked him where he finished in his. He ended up winning the men’s 55-59 which is no small feat. I can only hope I’m in the same shape as he is when I’m in that age bracket. I commented that is was nice of the organizers to do the awards in reverse order working from oldest to youngest. He agreed and told me that the previous year the awards had been handed out the traditional way and he had to wait a while for his award. He said by the time they got to his age group there were almost no spectators left, and he felt a little slighted by the lack of appreciation. What I think he lost sight of is that besides him and the two other award winners in his age group, there were perhaps a dozen other athletes in his age group who didn’t win any awards. They simply finished their race, cleaned up their transition area and went home. To me, there’s nothing wrong with that.
Since I’ve started doing triathlons I’ve never been in it for the awards. Yes, at most of the races I do I win an award whether it’s an age group award or an overall award, but so what? As my fiancé will attest, after any race the award becomes just another trinket on the book shelf that needs to be dusted regularly.
To me doing this sport for recognition completely defeats the purpose of doing it in the first place. Some of my best race experiences have come in races where I’m no where near the top of the age group. To me the gratification comes from how I feel I did in the race. If I set a new PR at a particular distance, or my average speed is faster in certain part of the race, then to me that’s a success. It doesn’t matter if I finish first in my age group or last. As long as I improved some aspect of my race that’s a success.
For the ninety nine percent of us who do this sport as a hobby, the reward should be personal. Whether your goal is to improve your time, become more fit, or just tackle a new challenge, the real reward is just crossing the finish line. Even if you’re the last one to cross the line, I guarantee there will be plenty of people there cheering who appreciate the effort you put in to get there.
-Athlete Ian
Posted by Athlete Ian on 07/02/10 at 04:32 PM
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