Ironman - My Take

As I've stated before, the blogging community is the most vibrant community I have ever come across.  I consider you all my friends.  You are my friends because you've been so damn supportive of me and have never been judgemental.  I hope I have fulfilled that role back to each of you as best I can.

In the last couple of weeks, the World Triathlon Corporation has made a few policy and expansion announcements.  Though I wouldn't say our reaction to these announcements has hurt the community, it's definitely been a hot button issue and has polarized opinion more than other issues I've seen come and go over the last year.

Differences of opinion are good.  Opinions make the world go around.  Opinions are what's supposed to keep a free society in check.  And being able to state an opinion is a basic human right as far as I'm concerned

Still, I'm a little shocked by reactions I have been reading relating to what the WTC is doing.  With respect, I think we all might be taking the changes that a company (who has never denied that it is a for profit business) is implementing in it's own best business judgement too personally.  We are reacting to these changes as if the WTC owes us something or they are reneging on some sort of sacred promise.

I'm sorry to say it, but the WTC doesn't owe us anything.  We all know how the corporate world works - unless you are a shareholder, a company is not beholden to you.  So technically the WTC is not doing anything wrong.

But who cares?  We still hold the best hand.  Because without athletes, there is no WTC.  A handful of professionals competing to get paid does not sustain a business.  We as age groupers sustain the business.  We have all the power.   And if the WTC makes a move in terms of policy or price increase or whatever else, we still get the last vote.

But you have to be willing to cast that vote.  Who told us that the "Ironman" is the most prestigious triathlon event in the world?  The WTC did, with the help of a public relations firm that has probably also tried to convince you that unless you brush your teeth with a certain toothpaste you'll get cavities.  Do you believe the toothpaste argument?  Probably not.  Then why do you believe the WTC?

There is no doubt that the "Ironman" brand has a legacy.  But that legacy was created by the athletes, not Madison Avenue.  All the marketing wonks did was take history and spin it for mass consumption.  Let's be careful not to be sucked in by the spin.  Rather, let's stay accountable to triathlon and to each other.  Which means that any well run race anywhere in the world can become the stage for our moments of personal glory.  Because if the WTC oversteps it's bounds, someone will see the opportunity and step in to fill the void.  As a result the WTC will become less relevant.  Because we will have cast our vote for the racing experience we want.

Then a new legacy will start to build.  And this, by the way, is a legacy that will include us.

Do not fear change, embrace it.  Better yet, do everything in your power to be part of it.

Postscript:  Two minutes after I published this Lesley @ Racingitoff posted a link to the official statement by the WTC rescinding it's "Ironman Access" program which has been hotly contested over the last day.  Here's the link.

The reasons they did this could be numerous, but I can't help but think that they too realize we as athletes have "all the power", and had to immediately self-correct their blunder.  This is a good thing.  They are not obligated to listen to us but they chose to in this case.  Perhaps they've learned a few things about their brand from us today.

Here I go again, thinking too much.

I've been sent two emails since Chris "Macca" McCormack won the Ironman World Championships on Saturday from a PR firm representing Wheaties breakfast cereal.  Saturday night, they sent me a press release saying that Macca will be the first Ironman World Champion to be featured on a Wheaties box.  This morning, they sent it to me again suggesting that I should mention it on my blog.  So I am.  Here is a link to the full press release.

Macca is going to be part of a pretty cool club.  I found this list of athletes that have been featured on the Wheaties box.  Lance Armstrong has been on the there.  So has Red Auerbach.  Chris Everett, Jim Thorpe, Darrell Waltrip and Kristi Yamaguchi have been on there too.  I wonder if there is collector's market for the boxes?

I'm excited for Macca.  He's now part of a long standing tradition, and I'm sure he takes home a bit of cash for the effort.  After all, I'm certainly for triathletes moving up the professional athlete pay-scale.

I have to hand it to General Mills as well.  Eric Heiden and Shawn White are two more that have been on the box. In fact, I was surprised at the number of non baseball/football/basketball athletes that have been featured over the years.  This certainly suggests that progressive thinking has always been the norm in the Wheaties marketing department.

Where I'm not feeling the love is for the World Triathlon Corporation.  In May, they announced a licensing deal with Powerbar for the creation of the Ironman Perform sports drink.  Powerbar is owned by Nestle, and is thus part of the global food machine.  As you know, I am not a big fan of any "global machine".  But more importantly, I don't know too many people who actually use Powerbar products.  Triathletes are a smart and healthy bunch.  We've all done our research.  And my guess is that your research has led you to the same conclusions that mine has - that there are better products available made by smaller companies.

Ditto on Wheaties.  Does anyone who is reading this actually eat Wheaties?  If you do, cool.  I actually like them quite a bit.  But I've done my research and made what I think are smarter choices.

Maybe I'm way off.  But if I'm right and triathletes are generally looking to smaller companies that produce a higher quality product, then this could be the start of a crack of disconnection between triathletes and the holy grail of triathlon - Ironman.

The WTC is a for profit company.  I've got no problem with that.  But I would hate to see the WTC fall into the same trap that many other industries have by making short term financial gains at the expense of alienating their customers.  It happened in the recording industry.  MP3's exploded on the scene in a huge and unstoppable way, but what did the record labels do?  They redoubled their efforts to shove compact discs down the consumer's throat.  Forget the legal arguments about file sharing, the bigger issue was that the gross margins on the sale of a plastic disc is much better than the gross margin on a computer file.  The labels wanted their margins, but the consumers wanted MP3's.  Guess what?  The consumers won, and the recording industry (as we know it) is dead.

Full disclosure, I've never looked at the business model of a for profit triathlon production and marketing company.  But if Ironman events work more or less like events that I am familiar with (concerts, movie theaters), then the races work something like this - Participant race fees cover the cost of event production and profit is made from residual income streams like merchandising and commercial tie-ins.  But the question is, do you take sponsorship money from the company who will write the biggest check regardless of what your customers actually feel about that company's products or do you identify the right emerging companies (just like your customers are doing) and develop a long term relationship with them?

I get the title sponsorships.  Without Ford, Rohto or Foster Grant there would be no Ironman.  But I think it would serve the WTC well to be more discerning when it comes to sport specific product endorsements.  Especially nutrition - because nutrition is on every triathlete's top 5 list of priorities, is potentially a very polarizing subject and gets a lot of day-in day-out attention.

The WTC is also going to catch a lot of heat for the 5150 Olympic distance race series, and this will be a slippery slope for them.  Though the 5150 website is not "co-branded" with an Ironman logo, the word "Ironman" is used a bunch of times in the press release.  Is the WTC is throwing "Ironman" around to attract sponsors (e.g. cash) or athletes?  Well, I doubt you need to say "Ironman" to attract athletes.  I don't think anyone doubts the quality of a WTC produced event and these races will fill up.

The truth is that the WTC and "Ironman" are inseparable at this point.  Long course triathletes who have completed an Ironman event obviously feel a huge connection to the Ironman brand.  The word "Ironman" and the M-Dot logo are badges of honor to them, and I don't blame them for feeling that way.  So I'm not at all surprised to see some resistance to the Olympic races from Ironman long course finishers.  There is a huge difference between 51.5 kilometers and 140.6 miles.  And it's only going to take one Ironman Olympic distance finisher to think they qualify for the M-Dot tattoo and diminish the brand.  Am I being a little snobby?  Perhaps I am by proxy, because I've never done a 140.6.  But snobby or not, it's true.

How do I wrap this post up?  I guess by saying my criticism is coming from a good place because I am still a fan of Ironman.  I want to see the sport continue to thrive and prosper.  And Ironman is obviously a huge part of the success equation.  But the idealist in me would like to see things stay as innocent as possible for as long as possible.  Peace, love and leave it all out on the road....

Party In My Mouth

I love peanut butter. And I love granola. So when my wife brought home a bag of Erin Baker's Premium Protein Granola in peanut butter & honey flavor last night, it was game on.

I could barely sleep last night in anticipation of breakfast. Actually, that's not true, but I did get up earlier. That in and of itself is huge.

When I opened the bag, there was a huge chunk right on top begging for me to reach in and eat it. So I did. And it was awesome. So I poured myself a bowl. And then another. I loved it.

And it just so happens to be the official granola of IRONMAN. How great is it when the stars align like that?

My only complaint is that it's a small bag. I would prefer a bigger bag. But that's about it.

I've already tweeted Erin, the company founder. I'm angling for an endorsement. Forget ten thousand dollar bikes and high tech clothing, they can sort me out $4.99 at a time.

I have not heard back yet. Hopefully I will later.