I Can't Stand the Pretentious of Triathletes

Iden was super impressive. Lionel was also impressive. Their bike splits were impressive as well considering the headwinds we had to deal with on the bike until mile 71ish, and that was after the Gulf of Mexico trying to drown everyone with a pretty stiff current and chop.

I raced hard on the junior elite circuit at the tail end of high school and early in college, and then on the collegiate scene until I burned out hard. The junior elite scene (the draft-legal races) were, at the time, filled with 80-90% super competitive kids that got picked up by one of the regional olympic development teams, and 10-20% kids racing with their parents' money on bikes they had no business riding. College racing was similar. The military academies and a few other random schools had very strong teams full of motivated, fast guys. Never met too many of them that had the arrogant, self-centered attitude found in the 30+ ranks. It was largely guys/girls that trained hard around school and other responsibilities and enjoyed racing hard.

The issue is that most of those people get run off by the a******s when they finish college racing and enter the rest of the amateur ranks. Almost none of the people I raced with are still doing triathlon - they've either moved into mountain biking/cyclocross/gravel racing, or just running. It's mostly that other 10-20% that stuck with triathlon. Which sucks.

I used to read the ST forums a lot. You could find good training advice there at one point, believe it or not. Now you have to go to page 3 to find anything even remotely related to training - it's just a bunch of rich people trying to figure out how to ride a bike faster without applying more power to the pedals.

[quote]NERunner03533 wrote:

I mean, if triathletes are pretentious, what's LRC? Mostly middle aged white dudes who complain about stuff & are occasionally sexist/racist? The triathlete forums are a lot more civil/nicer so make of that what you will. I think there's some truth to triathletes being mostly upper class & that certainly comes with a set of attitudes/beliefs but running is a close second. We act like our sport is acceptable but if you're traveling for a handful of races every year you're dropping some serious money. We just don't have to pay to play as much as you do in triathlon. The athletes are still really good/impressive. Iden just dropped a 2:34 marathon at the end of an Ironman. The elite side of the sport is only getting better.[/quotes

People can make running expensive if they want to, but there is absolutely no need to spend a lot of money traveling to races. Running is essentially free other than the shoes. But yes there are obviously pretentious people in both sports, and There is not much of a reason to think that tri boards are any worse than running boards.

Triathlon doesn’t have to be expensive either it’s just that people feel the need to get the newest gear and equipment because they see the pro’s using it.

You need goggles ($10) for the swim. Swim caps are usually provided by the race. You need a bike and helmet, both of which can be borrowed until you decide to go further into the sport. Then you all you need are your running shoes for the run.

I can race local triathlons for the same price as local marathons and I see plenty of folks out there having a blast on their 10+ year old schwinn 8 speed bike that they may or may not have borrowed.

You sound like a pretentious triathlete.

I don’t think you know what pretension means if you assume that I’m pretentious based off my post.

NERunner03533 wrote:

I mean, if triathletes are pretentious, what's LRC? Mostly middle aged white dudes who complain about stuff & are occasionally sexist/racist? The triathlete forums are a lot more civil/nicer so make of that what you will. I think there's some truth to triathletes being mostly upper class & that certainly comes with a set of attitudes/beliefs but running is a close second. We act like our sport is acceptable but if you're traveling for a handful of races every year you're dropping some serious money. We just don't have to pay to play as much as you do in triathlon. The athletes are still really good/impressive. Iden just dropped a 2:34 marathon at the end of an Ironman. The elite side of the sport is only getting better.

When was the last time you saw SlowTwitch and Sloman feature a black person on their front page? It's more rare than a blue moon. Triathlon has a huge racism problem if you think it's so superior to running where we are actually inclusive and have lots of people of color.

And a 2:34 marathon for a man is not impressive, that's not even sub-sub-elite for a real runner.

once a triathlete wrote:

I used to read the ST forums a lot. You could find good training advice there at one point, believe it or not. Now you have to go to page 3 to find anything even remotely related to training - it's just a bunch of rich people trying to figure out how to ride a bike faster without applying more power to the pedals.

Yup, 90% of the SlowTwitch threads are the pretentious triathletes talking about which $12,000 bike to get that promises imaginary aero gains and that's not even including wheels. Then, they load up a whole grocery trip worth of food and water onto their bike for their race that makes it weigh 40 pounds and they can't even ride a straight line.

You realize that marathon split was after swimming 2.4 miles and biking 112 miles, both in pretty tough conditions?

My favorite triathlete joke:

Q: How can you tell someone does iron mans?

A: Wait for them to tell you.

tri4funsies wrote:

You realize that marathon split was after swimming 2.4 miles and biking 112 miles, both in pretty tough conditions?

Is that supposed to impress me or is triathlon just stupid on the same vein as ultras? Did something happen to your yatch that you had to touch water where the local sewage plant dumps out to?

Is this Shania Twain…Miss “That don’t impress me much”?

What makes you think triathletes are any more well off than marathoners? I’d imagine the annual income for people who have the time to race these events are similar.

I love it - stereotyping ALL triathletes, as if each one is the same as the others. Everyone a unique individual!

Or should I just ask questions as if I'm one of the "us" versus "them" stupid stereotypers? OK, I will:

I ask, why do WE distance runners blow snot rockets, without concern for those around us, while on the run - each and every runner, male and female?

Why do ALL OF THOSE Michigan high school runners, after crossing the line in 2nd place in the state meet with a big PR, drop the f-bomb and earn a disqualification - each and every one, male and female?

Why do ALL OF THOSE homeless San Franciscans poop on the sidewalk?

Why do ALL OF THOSE Democrats want to hug trees and also to bring about the ruination of a nation - each and every one?

Why do ALL OF THOSE Italians talk with their hands - each and every one?

Why do ALL OF THOSE triathletes who agree with the IP think they are exactly the same in their thought patterns as each other triathlete?

Stupid, stupid people stereotype others in this "us" vs "them" world! Let me say that again. STUPID, STUPID PEOPLE! That's worth using "stupid" successively in the same sentence.

Having done that, no doubt someone will start a thread asking, "Why do ALL LRC posters use the same word twice, consecutively, in a sentence?"

tri4funsies wrote:

Is this Shania Twain…Miss “That don’t impress me much”?

What makes you think triathletes are any more well off than marathoners? I’d imagine the annual income for people who have the time to race these events are similar.

Triathletes have to preamble a run with a swim and bike because they are no where good enough to race Kenyans man to man in a marathon. Triathletes make up esoteric combinations of events and distances that prevents the much better athletes but much poorer from East Africa to compete.

The average income for a Kenyan is $2000 right now. Looks at the SlowTwitch threads asking what $12000 bikes to buy and what invogue $5000 "wide rim" wheels to get when these triathletes can't even ride around a corner without crashing. Where do you see on LRC asking about which $12000 shoes and $5000 shorts to buy?

LappedMiler wrote:

I love it - stereotyping ALL triathletes, as if each one is the same as the others. Everyone a unique individual!

Face it, the stereotype that triathletes are pretentious know-it-alls who can't compete with the real elites is highly accurate.

I doubt triathletes were concerned with the Kenyans back in 1970s when the first triathlon took place. You think triathlon was created by marathoners getting their rear end kicked by East Africans to escape the East Africans? Really?

Can the Kenyan making $2000 afford to spend $300 on Nike AlphaFlys? $70 nike shorts? How about airfare to travel to the top marathons with the best prize purse? Every sport has its own financial barriers and there will always be people who can’t afford to cross those barriers.

As I’ve said before, racing a local triathlon is no more expensive than a local marathon and it’s a heck of a lot more fun to do 3 sports for the price of 1. I did my first triathlon on a borrowed bike and wore running clothes for the entire race. Quit buying into the “triathlon is expensive” excuse that folks who aren’t good enough athletes to handle a tri keep feeding you…or maybe you’re one of those people.

tri4funsies wrote:

I doubt triathletes were concerned with the Kenyans back in 1970s when the first triathlon took place. You think triathlon was created by marathoners getting their rear end kicked by East Africans to escape the East Africans? Really?

Can the Kenyan making $2000 afford to spend $300 on Nike AlphaFlys? $70 nike shorts? How about airfare to travel to the top marathons with the best prize purse? Every sport has its own financial barriers and there will always be people who can’t afford to cross those barriers.

Do you even math? A Kenyan making $2000 has enough money for $300 + $70 to buy the highest end running gear in the world for an important race. The Kenyan would not be anywhere able to afford the costs of triathlon with $12000 bike, $5000 wheels, $1000 wetsuit, $2000 swimming pool rentals, higher travel costs to transport the bike and backups, etc.... all on top of running gear. Triathlon is all about paying to win since you are expected to not work a real job in addition to training whereas many elite runners do and they still run faster.

And it's the truth that triathlons were started by a bunch of white folk who weren't good enough at any individual sport, just look up the history.

Dunno. Go on, tell us?

$2000 in what time frame? I know if I’m making $2000 a month, you’d have a hard time getting me to spend $300 on shoes. If we are talking $2000 a week, well then they can easily afford to get into triathlon. $2000 a year…we both know at that point marathoning or triathlon aren’t even on your radar.

You’re being hyperbolic with your numbers. You act like you are REQUIRED to purchase a $12k bike and $5k wheels to compete in triathlon. You can hop into an Ironman on a fixed gear beach cruiser you found on the side of the road.

You sound like a disgruntled age grouper who DNFd at their first sprint triathlon because they couldn’t swim 400 meters. After you were pulled from the swim, you walked into transition and saw an expensive bike and decided that was your issue, these people had expensive toys and you didn’t. “If only I had a fancy bike, then I could compete” you thought. Stop making excuses for people, they don’t need your negativity.