How the 1% Runs an Ironman | Hacker News Reader

How the 1% Runs an Ironman

nytimes.com

10 pointsgeorgecmu8 comments

It's kind of a strange level of snark to focus on the "1%." I would guess that many of the lifestyle articles in the NYT could include the same disclaimer in the headline.

Did you read the article?

My favorite HN retort. :)

Triathlon is an expensive sport, especially at the Ironman level. You need a lot of free time to train for three different sports. Pool time adds up, and so do gym memberships. While you can use any bicycle, when you're pushing yourself to the very limits of your ability, you'll need any advantage you can take. Bicycle prices go up very quickly to shave weight. Many will require coaching to reach that extreme level of fitness.

Ironman triathletes are well aware that it's a sport for wealthy people. The Ironman magazine ads feature luxury cars and watches. They know their target demographic.

I was proud to complete Ironman, but it took up 100% of my life for close to two years. Compared to that my yearly marathon is dirt cheap: a few hundred bucks for shoes, plus another hundred or so for the race.

> he concluded that if he kept cycling Ironman distances on open roads — 112 miles for the bike leg, which in the race is sandwiched between a 2.4-mile swim and a full marathon — there was a 100 percent chance he would be killed.

I'd love to see the math on this one, I'm highly skeptical.

As someone in the tri community… literally everyone knows people who have died while biking. A guy at our local club, another guy down the road. Not to mention the 30 people that have been hit but not killed (some minor, some life altering).

To go out there and bike 200+ miles a week for many months is toying with disaster. There’s a reason almost all pros only cycle indoor..,

I won't debate that it's dangerous, I know motivated amateurs with serious road hours who have been in accidents. I know someone whose constant frustration is that he'll never get to his pre-accident performance.

But I question the 100% death number. I also know a bike commuter who likes to claim that the increased lifespan by way of fitness outweighs the risk of death (which I only say as an interesting anecdote; there are too many factors for that to be anywhere near a universal truth).

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