ENDURANCE ANIMALisms of 2013
the idea of a top ten list to end the year, highly original as it is, came to me as i was running through the stinking hot, humid, hilly, somewhat polluted and hung-over streets of san-fernando, trinidad, on boxing day.
my mind drifted towards kona, as it often does; kona, that elusive bit of un-obtanium in my brain, my holy grail...i was thinking about whether the heat there is anything like trinidad, and my mind drifted to an interview with rinny in which she used textural metaphors of the heat sticking to her and feeling like she was running through a wall of heat...and then i just thought of this idea...a top ten list for my blog.
of course, there were self-doubting thoughts immediately afterwards; like who cares what i think about the world of endurance? who would be interested or even mildly entertained by such an indulgence? then my narcissism kicked in, and i committed to it. i decided that being who i am, there was no choice but to make it personal.
so, here it is. my final entry of 2013. no order. maybe not even ten. just some endurance performances that moved me this year and either symbolize or capture in some way why i am more devoted than ever to this lifestyle.
BIG SEXY, del CORRAL, the 2-4 and 2-2:
canadian readers may be thinking that these two gentlemen each consumed a case of beer by themselves in one night. as stunning an accomplishment as that may be, i suspect that most canadians are acquainted with someone who has done it. and i don't mean just rob ford.
but i am not talking about beer, i am talking iron mans. two ironman victories in four weeks, no less. simply, fucking, amazing. what could top that? how about two ironman wins in two weeks. the odds that one person would have such a streak more than once per decade are low. but two athletes in one year? stunning.
and do not even consider lessening the monstrous nature of these achievements by criticizing the depth of the fields. in Tahoe, athletes were greeted with snow on their bikes in transition, compare that to the heat and humidity of louisville, only a few weeks earlier...so how tough is the big sexy? he is a stud, pure and simple. and to top it off, the man looks more like he should be working as a bouncer at a bon Jovi concert than running a marathon. never, ever judge a book by its cover.
there are no words to describe del corral's combined sub-8 double victories, running from behind, two weeks apart. i could do without the bright green kit (and i could doubly do without green race wheels to match); years from now, when his image is iconized he (and indeed we all) may regret his wardrobe choice. come to think of it, luke mckenzie also met his greatest moment of glory wearing green; seems to be a popular colour choice in 2013. and, if you are a green lantern fan...and you ever wondered how your favourite super-hero would look on an ironman course, here you are:
TREVOR WURTELE'S BREAKTHROUGH:
more proof that 2013 was the year of green
as unhappy as i was that 30 years of history was tossed in the bin when ironman canada moved from penticton to whistler, i was overjoyed that a canadian won the inaugural event, and more so, that it was trevor wurtele. he just seems to be a nice guy. and, having watched his career at an oblique angle, he symbolizes, to me anyways, that hard, steady work can pay off, especially if you decide to leave normal life behind, ridding yourself of all obligations and possessions other than those directly related to training, and devote yourself to the sport completely...and he has the funniest race reports i have ever seen.
KERGER'S 13:
while in cozumel, i met a most amazing man, Peter Kerger. i am willing to wager that your average ironman fan has never heard of him, but he personifies the sport for me. nice, good looking and personable guy who you could easily have dinner with every night, successful career, 3 kids, a long and successful marriage and in cozumel, he completed his 13th ironman race. i should also mention that his aerobars broke the day before the race so he completed the bike with a wobbly arm-pad. Peter Kerger, is an inspiration to me. a true endurance animal, and hopefully, life long friend. Hey Peter, i will always remember that hug in transition the morning of the race as we both stank of sunscreen.
ROB FORD:
why oh why would i put an overweight, sedentary mayor with a probable drug and alcohol problem on a top ten list of endurance animals? well, quite simply it takes guts and fortitude bordering on (or perhaps crossing the line into) audacity, to ride out the heat, media hype and pressure to step down and keep going to work. maybe this kind've stick to-it-ness is the result of un-reflective narcissism bordering on sociopathy,maybe just plain stupidity, or maybe a kind of sage-like, care not what people think attitude. in some ways, it doesn't matter. the man can obviously ride out the waves of adversity and keep going, and going. and besides, he has made toronto both famous and notorious all at once.
leave it to me to find inspiration where most are simply disgusted. but just like milton's devil in paradise lost, rob ford can be seen as a kind of anti-hero with some desirable qualities that we all could use. rob ford is most definitely an endurance animal.
PETE JACOBS IN KONA:
sure i thought that luke mckenzie's breakthrough race in kona was great, and if nothing else, it showed everyone what losing 10 pounds can do. but, i was actually most inspired by pete jacob's un-race. i still don't really know what happened, nor do i care. what matters to me is that he showed huge balls by storming to the front of the race, right away (maybe not smart, but definitely courageous) and when his race went sour, when he must have been thinking of pulling a chris mccormack style mechanical/injury/or i just can't finish this, he stuck it out, and smiled his way to a finish that must have been morally crushing and embarrassing in a way that dropping out for some feigned reason would not have. the man has guts, and, yes, ample arrogance, that perhaps contributes to his stick-to-it-ness (sound familiar), but his performance in kona inspired me in weird ways that it never would have if he had won the race again.
THE BATTLE AT KRAICHGAU:
in this era of corporate expansion, in which the whole concept and ideology of ironman has been successfully hegemonized by a corporate entity, it was nice to see the challenge family and local leaders in germany topple the giant. will it make a difference in the war? is there even a war? i don't know. but it was refreshing and encouraging even that the WTC and "ironman" did not get their evil way for once.
i met a lot of europeans while i was in cozumel and they taught me that the ironman spirit is alive and well and flourishing even, outside of the "ironman label". the battle at kraichgau underlines that point.
MIRINDA CARFRAE'S REPEAT:
students of the sport will have noted that amazing ironman athletes, dave scott aside (but "the man" is obviously something more than human) tend to peak and then fade away, often quite quickly, never to recover the form that vaulted them to the top of the sport for a while. i would be lying if i said i didn't ask myself through the year; "where is rinny?", "why are her results so mediocre?", "is this it for her?". it is humbling to consider that her marathon in kona was better than van lierde's. this woman is a stud. and i mean that in the best of possible ways. rinny seems to have mastered the art of simultaneously re-inventing and re-discovering herself. her return to the top spot in kona is proof that this woman may be small, but as far as endurance animals go, she is most def queen of the jungle (and narrowly misses being king too).
MY ENCOUNTER WITH ENEKO LLANOS:
yes, i am a giant kid. so, when i found myself getting off the bus that brought me to the new and revised swim start in cozumel this year, i was tickled to find myself right behind eneko llanos. i have always been a fan of this guy. his early season alone, winning melbourne and frankfurt, would put him on a best of 2013 list for anyone. to be honest, i really wanted kona for him this year, and i really felt for him that he failed to get it done there, yet again. and he is coached by my hero.
but, it is none of those things that makes the list for me this year. it is a personal, pathetically brief meeting with him, minutes before the race, in cozumel. it was a humid, breezy and overcast morning, filled with that palpable tension that results when thousands of people are on the threshold of a serious self-challenge. we couldn't have been more than 20 minutes from the pro start, and there was eneko, walking ahead of me, getting off the same bus that humble age groupers rode, and strolling his way to the start of the race. he was more than gracious when i invaded his personal space to meet him. and it was fun to see him later on the run, and watch him smile and groove to the local rock band that was playing guns n roses, as we ran by. all of this confirmed for me, not only that i really like eneko llanos, and wish him a kona victory in 2014, but what is one of the great things about this sport. where else can a middle aged, life-time athlete like me get the buzz of racing on the same course, at the same time, with the best in the business? i hope this never changes. it is one of the coolest things about what we do.
VINCENZO NIBALI:
the month of may for me, was ramping up the cycling volume and late nights glued to the PVR, watching the giro and drinking italian wine. not only did nibali dominate the race completely, braving snow storms and treacherous, wet, snaking descents, but he went on to take 2nd in the vuelta and then crash and ride back to the front of the race in the world championships. nibali is not only a cool name that sounds kind've dirty. he is one of my new heroes who truly outperformed his rivals in 2013.
CYCLOCROSS WORLDS IN LOUISVILLE:
last winter i discovered just how cool cyclocross is. ok, so i am a bit dense and delayed.
i kinda relish the idea that my next IM race will be in the same city where cyclocross legends braved some harsh, muddy, snowy, floody, truly cyclocross worthy conditions the year before.
and sven nys, is not only the ultimate cyclocross stud; he is a persona that motivated and drove me to push myself and my limits on ride after ride, on the cross bike, on the tri-bike, all year. thanks sven, for being who you are. endurance animal.
well, i guess that's it. a full ten items that captured my endurance imagination in 2013. hope you enjoyed it. and wishing everyone a great year in 2014! push yourself, do things you thought were disgusting, not do-able, or just unusual, and no matter, what, keep on keepin'
my mind drifted towards kona, as it often does; kona, that elusive bit of un-obtanium in my brain, my holy grail...i was thinking about whether the heat there is anything like trinidad, and my mind drifted to an interview with rinny in which she used textural metaphors of the heat sticking to her and feeling like she was running through a wall of heat...and then i just thought of this idea...a top ten list for my blog.
of course, there were self-doubting thoughts immediately afterwards; like who cares what i think about the world of endurance? who would be interested or even mildly entertained by such an indulgence? then my narcissism kicked in, and i committed to it. i decided that being who i am, there was no choice but to make it personal.
so, here it is. my final entry of 2013. no order. maybe not even ten. just some endurance performances that moved me this year and either symbolize or capture in some way why i am more devoted than ever to this lifestyle.
BIG SEXY, del CORRAL, the 2-4 and 2-2:
canadian readers may be thinking that these two gentlemen each consumed a case of beer by themselves in one night. as stunning an accomplishment as that may be, i suspect that most canadians are acquainted with someone who has done it. and i don't mean just rob ford.
but i am not talking about beer, i am talking iron mans. two ironman victories in four weeks, no less. simply, fucking, amazing. what could top that? how about two ironman wins in two weeks. the odds that one person would have such a streak more than once per decade are low. but two athletes in one year? stunning.
and do not even consider lessening the monstrous nature of these achievements by criticizing the depth of the fields. in Tahoe, athletes were greeted with snow on their bikes in transition, compare that to the heat and humidity of louisville, only a few weeks earlier...so how tough is the big sexy? he is a stud, pure and simple. and to top it off, the man looks more like he should be working as a bouncer at a bon Jovi concert than running a marathon. never, ever judge a book by its cover.
there are no words to describe del corral's combined sub-8 double victories, running from behind, two weeks apart. i could do without the bright green kit (and i could doubly do without green race wheels to match); years from now, when his image is iconized he (and indeed we all) may regret his wardrobe choice. come to think of it, luke mckenzie also met his greatest moment of glory wearing green; seems to be a popular colour choice in 2013. and, if you are a green lantern fan...and you ever wondered how your favourite super-hero would look on an ironman course, here you are:
 |
| "no, i am the green lantern" |
 |
| "i am the green lantern" |
TREVOR WURTELE'S BREAKTHROUGH:
more proof that 2013 was the year of green
 |
| at a distance, cause i love the crowd shot and i can't stand another green close-up |
as unhappy as i was that 30 years of history was tossed in the bin when ironman canada moved from penticton to whistler, i was overjoyed that a canadian won the inaugural event, and more so, that it was trevor wurtele. he just seems to be a nice guy. and, having watched his career at an oblique angle, he symbolizes, to me anyways, that hard, steady work can pay off, especially if you decide to leave normal life behind, ridding yourself of all obligations and possessions other than those directly related to training, and devote yourself to the sport completely...and he has the funniest race reports i have ever seen.
KERGER'S 13:
while in cozumel, i met a most amazing man, Peter Kerger. i am willing to wager that your average ironman fan has never heard of him, but he personifies the sport for me. nice, good looking and personable guy who you could easily have dinner with every night, successful career, 3 kids, a long and successful marriage and in cozumel, he completed his 13th ironman race. i should also mention that his aerobars broke the day before the race so he completed the bike with a wobbly arm-pad. Peter Kerger, is an inspiration to me. a true endurance animal, and hopefully, life long friend. Hey Peter, i will always remember that hug in transition the morning of the race as we both stank of sunscreen.
ROB FORD:
why oh why would i put an overweight, sedentary mayor with a probable drug and alcohol problem on a top ten list of endurance animals? well, quite simply it takes guts and fortitude bordering on (or perhaps crossing the line into) audacity, to ride out the heat, media hype and pressure to step down and keep going to work. maybe this kind've stick to-it-ness is the result of un-reflective narcissism bordering on sociopathy,maybe just plain stupidity, or maybe a kind of sage-like, care not what people think attitude. in some ways, it doesn't matter. the man can obviously ride out the waves of adversity and keep going, and going. and besides, he has made toronto both famous and notorious all at once.
leave it to me to find inspiration where most are simply disgusted. but just like milton's devil in paradise lost, rob ford can be seen as a kind of anti-hero with some desirable qualities that we all could use. rob ford is most definitely an endurance animal.
 |
| he won't toe the line at Ironman, but he got endurance |
PETE JACOBS IN KONA:
sure i thought that luke mckenzie's breakthrough race in kona was great, and if nothing else, it showed everyone what losing 10 pounds can do. but, i was actually most inspired by pete jacob's un-race. i still don't really know what happened, nor do i care. what matters to me is that he showed huge balls by storming to the front of the race, right away (maybe not smart, but definitely courageous) and when his race went sour, when he must have been thinking of pulling a chris mccormack style mechanical/injury/or i just can't finish this, he stuck it out, and smiled his way to a finish that must have been morally crushing and embarrassing in a way that dropping out for some feigned reason would not have. the man has guts, and, yes, ample arrogance, that perhaps contributes to his stick-to-it-ness (sound familiar), but his performance in kona inspired me in weird ways that it never would have if he had won the race again.
THE BATTLE AT KRAICHGAU:
in this era of corporate expansion, in which the whole concept and ideology of ironman has been successfully hegemonized by a corporate entity, it was nice to see the challenge family and local leaders in germany topple the giant. will it make a difference in the war? is there even a war? i don't know. but it was refreshing and encouraging even that the WTC and "ironman" did not get their evil way for once.
i met a lot of europeans while i was in cozumel and they taught me that the ironman spirit is alive and well and flourishing even, outside of the "ironman label". the battle at kraichgau underlines that point.
MIRINDA CARFRAE'S REPEAT:
students of the sport will have noted that amazing ironman athletes, dave scott aside (but "the man" is obviously something more than human) tend to peak and then fade away, often quite quickly, never to recover the form that vaulted them to the top of the sport for a while. i would be lying if i said i didn't ask myself through the year; "where is rinny?", "why are her results so mediocre?", "is this it for her?". it is humbling to consider that her marathon in kona was better than van lierde's. this woman is a stud. and i mean that in the best of possible ways. rinny seems to have mastered the art of simultaneously re-inventing and re-discovering herself. her return to the top spot in kona is proof that this woman may be small, but as far as endurance animals go, she is most def queen of the jungle (and narrowly misses being king too).
MY ENCOUNTER WITH ENEKO LLANOS:
yes, i am a giant kid. so, when i found myself getting off the bus that brought me to the new and revised swim start in cozumel this year, i was tickled to find myself right behind eneko llanos. i have always been a fan of this guy. his early season alone, winning melbourne and frankfurt, would put him on a best of 2013 list for anyone. to be honest, i really wanted kona for him this year, and i really felt for him that he failed to get it done there, yet again. and he is coached by my hero.
but, it is none of those things that makes the list for me this year. it is a personal, pathetically brief meeting with him, minutes before the race, in cozumel. it was a humid, breezy and overcast morning, filled with that palpable tension that results when thousands of people are on the threshold of a serious self-challenge. we couldn't have been more than 20 minutes from the pro start, and there was eneko, walking ahead of me, getting off the same bus that humble age groupers rode, and strolling his way to the start of the race. he was more than gracious when i invaded his personal space to meet him. and it was fun to see him later on the run, and watch him smile and groove to the local rock band that was playing guns n roses, as we ran by. all of this confirmed for me, not only that i really like eneko llanos, and wish him a kona victory in 2014, but what is one of the great things about this sport. where else can a middle aged, life-time athlete like me get the buzz of racing on the same course, at the same time, with the best in the business? i hope this never changes. it is one of the coolest things about what we do.
VINCENZO NIBALI:
the month of may for me, was ramping up the cycling volume and late nights glued to the PVR, watching the giro and drinking italian wine. not only did nibali dominate the race completely, braving snow storms and treacherous, wet, snaking descents, but he went on to take 2nd in the vuelta and then crash and ride back to the front of the race in the world championships. nibali is not only a cool name that sounds kind've dirty. he is one of my new heroes who truly outperformed his rivals in 2013.
CYCLOCROSS WORLDS IN LOUISVILLE:
last winter i discovered just how cool cyclocross is. ok, so i am a bit dense and delayed.
i kinda relish the idea that my next IM race will be in the same city where cyclocross legends braved some harsh, muddy, snowy, floody, truly cyclocross worthy conditions the year before.
and sven nys, is not only the ultimate cyclocross stud; he is a persona that motivated and drove me to push myself and my limits on ride after ride, on the cross bike, on the tri-bike, all year. thanks sven, for being who you are. endurance animal.
well, i guess that's it. a full ten items that captured my endurance imagination in 2013. hope you enjoyed it. and wishing everyone a great year in 2014! push yourself, do things you thought were disgusting, not do-able, or just unusual, and no matter, what, keep on keepin'
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