Why Do Distance Runners Hate Triathletes?

"What an attitude.... I bet you are a real top notch coach."

Thanks the women I coach run between 16:19 and 16:55 for 5K and 33:51 and 34:43(road never done it on the track) for 10K. Not many non-funded post NCAA programs in the area have three women that fast that train together. I like the possitive feedback.

On the triathlon. I'm poor. I built my bike over 3 years. It is the only bike I will ever use. Everything on it was bought at a discount or with money won racing. My other friend has an old cannondale with a triple. He rides a 54 min 40K on this $1000 bike. He got a sponsor and now has a free bike and rides a 52 min 40K on that.

As far as my comments they don't include the pros. Last I checked the high school and NCAA athletes were not pro. I'm talking about the general athletic potential of the age group athletes. Sorry not trying to be elitest but triathletes have a hang up thinking what they do is hard. It's not. I would know I do them every other weekend and my training looks like this:

Friday: swim 4000, run 12 miles at 7:10 pace

Saturday: bike 80 miles

Sunday: Race olympic distanc

Monday: run 8 miles, swim 4000, bike 40 miles

Tuesday (today :) run 1:45, swim 4000 yds

get the idea, its not hard not an accomplishment just takes time. We all do the best we can. Triathlon has a lot of people do it just to say they do it and not be competitive. Same problem with Marathon running. Exactly the same problem. Look at the Boston 1979 vs today thread. It is the same thing. Sorry if this offends you. I respect your feelings even though they are different from mine ...

I started out as just a runner (also played baseball & even boxed as a lightweight), but liked the additional challenge of triathlon after trying it. After I did Boston several times & numerous marathons & road races, I just wanted to do something new that offered variety. Plus most of the marathon runners have no upper body at all(including me when I was strictly marathon training) and by adding the the swimming & cycling (& a little weight training)I added a lot of upper body development & felt & looked a lot better. I still run with the running club guys as do several of the triathletes in my area and find no resentment. It's just something I like to do, while some the other guys like to stick to running.

cool - let's see the results.. how did you do in the race?

Doesn't offend me at all. We just don't agree. I don't have any hangups of thinking what I do is any harder than the training your 33 min 10k girls do. (BTW- those are serious fast times for the women you coach. ) I certainly don't present that kind of attitude to anyone; and none of my training partners do either. I just don't see that in the scene I'm in. Maybe you've met some people that rubbed you the wrong way, but shit, there are runners that act like what they do is hard.

I've believe and have told my peers the following: Most healthy people can do an Ironman or a marathon if they wanted to. They just have to be able to do the training. For most people, that IS the hard part. I would guess many people would think your last 5 days of training were hard especially when you factor in time contraints the average person has as part of life. What's hard or not hard is relative and depends on the person. I dont' necessarily think any of it's hard in the grand scheme of things b/c I love training.

You made comments about the high school and college athletes being better in comparison to IM hawaii athletes (unless I'm mistaken). I'll stand by my earlier comments that I don't think it's a comparison you can really make. 2 different sports. Plus, I didn't say anything about HS guys being pro. Those HS and NCAA runners aren't pro just like the majority of the competitors at Kona. They are as amatuer as your runners you are talking about.

That's great that you built your bike over 3 years with race winnings. I don't knock that, What I still don't get is why someone's spending big money on a bike matters to anyone other than the person doing the buying. I just think deep down people get jealous of others(not saying you). What someone can/ can't afford or how they choose to spend their money makes no difference in my eyes. Like Lance says, it's not about the bike. To me, your friends time in a 40k time trail isn't more or less impressive b/c of the price of the bike he rode it on. Not saying you do this, but there are people that make a big deal about pointing out/bragging that they are faster on thier POS (piece of shit) bike than some guy on a lightspeed as if to say that person on the lightspeed isnt' worthy of riding it b/c they aren't fast enough. I think a lot of people enjoy that satisfaction. I think it's just as tacky of an attitude to have as someone who falls on the other side of the spectrum that rides a $5k bike and scoffs at you. I have an entry level cannondale r600 and a $4k P3. I have the luxury of being able to afford it. To each his own.

At least we are in agreement on one thing: 'Triathlon has a lot of people do it just to say they do it and not be competitive. Same problem with Marathon running.'

not to say it's wrong or right- it's just not me and personally, I think they are missing out in a great lifestyle.

Peace

Kevin....Kevin Moats??????

haha- no I'm not Kevin Moats. I do know 'of' him though-

A fine example of a great runner that turned into top triathlete though.

Moats won ATL mara like 10 times, has run under 30 on the road not the track, transitioned to multisport in the late 80s simply because he was tired of just running. even after he started doing ironmans he STILL won the ATL mara granted he could do it running in the 2;30 range which is not world class but how many of the posters here can boast of winning a mara outright.

good example of a REAL runner who became a REAL triathlete.

Triathlete's outfits are very strange, and man-bra is probably a great description, so making fun of them for that is cool. But, to say that triathlon's elite are not as good as any other sport's elite is a little closed minded.

Triathlon is an Olympic Sport. Hundredss of thousands (if not millions) of people have completed a triathlon in the US over the last 20 years. In countries like Australia and New Zealand, triathlon is their number 4 or 5 sport (behind soccer and rugby, far ahead of running).

Triathlon is not a mainstream sport yet, but really neither is running. There aren't many club running teams for little kids. Not many track meets for 10&unders. While swimming on the other hand has kids swimming 5 days a week at 5 years old. I'd be willing to bet that at age 8, most elite triathletes were on a club swim team swimming 5-6 days a week. That gives them a 5 year aerobic advantage on the majority of runners, that really don't run every day until 12-13 years old.

Speaking of swimming, didn't the US have a triathlete in the Olympics that was ranked in the top-8 in the world in the 400IM in the 1990's (and the reason he didn't make the Olympics was that the US had the world ranked 1 and 3 in that event)? That sounds like an elite athlete to me.

Ok so there are a few exceptional triathletes out there, some are pretty nice too, and some are normal people.

Anyways, the few loosers still represent all of the previously mentioned, sorry. Queers.

Rocky Man wrote: most of the marathon runners have no upper body at all(including me when I was strictly marathon training) and by adding the the swimming & cycling (& a little weight training)I added a lot of upper body development & felt & looked a lot better.

HUH?!?! How did cycling help you "add a lot of upper body development" ??? Sorry, that does not make much sense. Swimming might.....and of course lifting will, but who said you can't lift if you are a runner?? Have you looked at Alan Webb?? So you didn't need to become a triathlete to improve your upper body.

And dude you said boxed as a "lightweight", meaning you are puny little guy. Sure, you might have had some definition, and sure, you probably could throw a punch, but if you are/were a lightweight, I doubt you have much of an upper body to speak of.

Sounds like you were/are built for marathoning. Should have stuck with that. Don't try and be something you are not.

I make fun of runners all the time. Look at their skinny little arms. You call that a bicep?

better question--

why do distance runners hate EVERYONE?

Answer:

Inferiority complex.

While it might not be true for all of us, look at how many distance runners "hate" big weight lifters, football players, lacrosse players, "lazy" baseball players, etc, etc...

Nobody really cares about distance running in the U.S. outside of a relatively small community. This, compounded with the fact that runners are by necessity skinny folks who dart around streets and trails in the shortest of shorts, makes a lot of runners hate the world.

Runners probably are jealous of triathletes, and, should one add, with good reason too:

Runners have

- More injuries

- Are generally mediocre in their sport (for most of letsrun.com the word generally can be replaced with "with very few exceptions")

- Only have shoes to talk about

- Are technically bad at all other sports

Triathletes don´t hate runners, but then ofcourse there is no reason to hate anyone just because they are feeble, cannot afford a bike because they are unemployed (and therefore spending time on letsrun.com bashing those who have a job AND train)

So runners, instead of sitting with letsrun.com in front of you, why not go out for a run. Just be sure to be back in an hour - your knees can´t take more...

i just started doing triathlons last year and it is not fair how triathletes can have such an advantage over others because they get the best bikes, wet suits. that is one thing that makes it stupid. i run/swim and college and got no money to go buy all the bike shit.

a journalist wrote:

TRIing wrote:

I own a Nissan Xterra! THat's the only vehicle that will fit all of my gear! Plus, Nissan gave me a $500 discount because I finished 3rd in my age group at a local Mini-Tri(45-49). So, in reality, I am "Sponsored" by Nissan!

Can any of you fag-runners say that you are sponsored by Nissan?!?! ....Probably not!

Actually, Nissan gives $500 for being a college graduate, among other deals. Car companies give away money all the time because they build in such a huge profit margin to their products.

Nissan suckered you into buying an over-priced gas-hog vehicle and you brag about it.

OK....this thread went a bit to far and now I have to make a confession.

I am a slightly overweight middle-aged man. I have always wanted to be a good runner but have never been able to crack 25:00 for the 5K. I was always embarrassed with my times. I decided that being a "Triathlete" would give me some clout with my buddies. Just finishing a "tri" is a big deal for most people - and I can definitely do that! I do have some pretty good endurance and my "extra" weight keeps me buoyant in the water, which helps my swimming.

I am quite proud of a recent "tri" I did. It was organized by my son's little league committee to raise money for the league. I actually finished 3rd in my age-division!(42nd overall) I even have a medal to prove it. (I can take a pic of it and post it if anyone doesn’t believe me). The sponsorship deal I got from Nissan is also true, even though alot of you runners probably don't believe it. They also gave me a bunch of stickers, which are now on my new Nissan. It's a real achievement to get a sponsorship deal at my age. Something I could have NEVER done in running.

I am enjoying what I am doing and I think I am a fairly decent triathlete. Isnt this all that matters anyway?

Because distance runners are gay and can only do one thing - have but sex and then run as fast as they can.

Because they go three ways when there are only two genders. Talk about a confused bunch of individuals. I'd write a book about them, but they're not worth it.

Besides. Swimming isn't a sport.

Dr. Ruth wrote:

Because they go three ways when there are only two genders.

There are actually 3, idiot! Havent you ever seen a Tranny?

Re: Runners - why do they hate us on letsrun? WTF? [Francois] [In reply to] Can't Post

many of america's best young runners opted for tri or du instead of running. quite a few HS 2-millers from 8:45 to 9:00 went to tri after running paid for their college. tri is just more fun.

Dan Empfield

aka Slowman

This was taken from

Enjoy.