Ironman or Non Ironman

Had an arguement last night with some friends about completing the distance of an ironman and if it only counted if it was actually an ironman branded event.

my arguement was that its the journey / event that makes the difference and covering that distance in the 17hrs is all that matters - to be able to call yourself an ironman.

I also said that its where you come from - not being able to swim, dont run etc. or in my case being massively chubby that drives the goal - not just to be able to call myself an ironman. (which clearly i will - can you change your middle name to it)

they claimed that you could only be called an ironman if you had completed an ironman branded event - any other was a cheaper copy and a 'fake'. you would become a 'forestman' or an 'outlaw' not an ironman.

after much wine they wouldnt comprehend the fact that when i do the outlaw next year i will be an ironman and not 'just' an outlaw.

am i insane or do i have stupid friends?

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(i assume this must have come up before, but i couldnt find a thread - so sorry if this is a repeat)

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Comments

  • You have Stupid friends image

  • Yep you resect the distance not the bling. image

  • I agree with Dave & Will.  If you complete an IronMan distance, you are an IronMan.  One suspects your friends will never complete an IronMan or a 'Non IronMan'

     

    Good luck

  • M..o.useM..o.use ✭✭✭

    Just to spin this on its head, what's wrong with being an Outlaw? I quite like the differentiation. 

  • I'm an Ironman, an Outlaw and a Big Woody. image

  • But conversely, I have completed an Ironman sanction race, so can I call myself an Outlaw?????

  • I can see the right and wrong in both camps. 

    Ironman is a brand as such the brand is copyright.  Ironman has become a collective term the same way that Hoover or Coke is.  As such a pureist could argue that completing Outlaw doesnt make you an 'Ironman' but it does mean youve completed the same distance as an 'Ironman' event.  You could also argue that Outlaw isnt governed under all the same rules as WTC events.

    On the flipside I dont have any issue with someone calling themselves an Ironman if theyve completed Outlaw or any other similar distance event.  For me its about putting the effort in, the achievement and im not going to split hairs over the fact someone had the foresight to copyright a distance and make lots of money from it.

    I bet the Greeks are wishing they copywrote Marathon as a distance.

  • WilkieWilkie ✭✭✭

    Why do you want to call yourself an ironman rather than an Outlaw, or Frostman?  

    You seem to think it is somehow "better", or you'd be happy to be an Outlaw.

  • Ironman is a brand and ironman is a distnce and Iron man is a bloke in a tin suit image

  • WilkieWilkie ✭✭✭

    Oh, and I'd guess your friends were enjoying winding you up!

  • peopel recognise ironman as the distance.......I always tend to say i completed an ironman distance race.

    but to me its just the brand name and can happily call all of them as an ironman...image

  • Quote from a Triathlete Europe interview with Macca

    " And there’s all this talk about Ironman and Challenge and this brand and that brand but the experience of endurance racing is mine to own. It’s not Ironman’s or Challenge’s. They provide the canvas but I paint my own pictures. Same with Norseman. I’m like ‘that sounds fascinating’.

    I just wrote an article for Triathlete Europe about a conversation that I had with a bunch of college guys in California. I was chatting to them and asked if they were ready and they said ‘it doesn’t count – it’s not a real race if it’s not an Ironman – nobody cares if it’s not an Ironman’. And I spoke to them and said ‘its not whether people care – it’s about whether you care, whether you’re out challenging yourself and want to have fun.’

    I asked them where they were from and they said California so I told them about Wildflower – the biggest half in the world. But they said ‘that’s not an Ironman 70.3 is it? If I’m going to do a 70.3 it needs to count.’ And I said ‘what do you mean it needs to count? It counts more than any other race!’ And I was thinking ‘this sport has changed!’ It’s more about the stamp now. I’m trying to get my head around why that is the case – maybe that’s because Ironman are so good at marketing. But I feel that people have missed the whole reason they’re here. Is it just to tick a box and move on to the next thing? If so you’re here for the wrong reasons."

  • just been reading that earlier and thats what i have said all along Trogs 

    I doubt i will ever be an "ironman", i dont give a shit, i dont really want to pay twice as much for a very similar race and dont want a fecking M dot tattoo ( the pirate one is so much better ). 

    I did the distance because i thought i couldnt do it when i was a fat git and it didnt matter who laid out the course. i did double the distance because it was another big push for me, i like to push myself, not a brand.

  • cheers for the responses - interesting opinions.

    I believe anyone who puts themselves through the distance, training, pain and suffering is deserving of being labelled an ironman, regardless of it being branded or not.

    My goal is to complete outlaw next year and i will consider that as bigger achievement as competing any ironman event.

    plus i like the fact that everyone thinks i have stupid friends image - the rest of them think i am mad to even think about doing it - most think i am dumb for doing a 10k!

  • As usual Macca is right on the money. There'll always be people who just don't understand. My very first long distance race was in what used to be East Germany but it was an IM distance race and I feel perfectly justified in calling myself an Ironman - or in my case Ironwoman! In fact it was a harder race than any of the actual IMs I've done, lots of cobblestones on the bike course, many potholes on the run course, and the route lit by cars with the headlights on  when it got dark!

  • My colleagues have taken to calling me a tinman, I'm happy with that and am in the Macca campimage

  • I'm a challenge




    and an ironman - if you've done the distance you can call yourself what you like.  image

  • Was the original iron dristance race in the UK called , the longest day or something like that. Anyone claim to be a "Long Man"   image

  • dont people call you Bin Man

  • Bud,

    Just throught of the perfect way to answer your mates if they came again your not a inroman.

    "Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die."

    Just keep saying that til they ever bet you round the head with a shovel or shut up. image

  • technically this is a futile debate as i havent even done a HIM yet.

    Shall i just call myself an olympic distance bimbler instead?

  • Nar mate just say you’re a good bloke whose pushing themselves to see to be all they can be. It’s just a race and you will be the same bloke you where before once you have done it just will a really cool medal, a big smile on your face and some stories. image

  • Being an "Ironman" isn't all that. WTC events are not any harder than other  lond distance triathlons. I would prefer to be a Norseman than an Ironman. Maybe some day!

  • Cake wrote (see)

    Nar mate just say you’re a good bloke whose pushing themselves to see to be all they can be. It’s just a race and you will be the same bloke you where before once you have done it just will a really cool medal, a big smile on your face and some stories. image

     

    and i assume in a boat load of pain image

  • Hell yes don't you love the pain? You will be walking like John Wayne and feeling like a god.  imageimage

  • Cake wrote (see)

    Hell yes don't you love the pain? You will be walking like John Wayne and feeling like a god.  imageimage

     

    sounds like a walk of shame on a sunday morning image

  • same friends round last night and they still wouldnt have it - even showed them this thread!

    shit - i really need new friends image

  • Nar just sounds like your mates have the IQ of a glass or water. Keep'um and then you will alway's be the smartest kid in the room. image

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