I am not sure if this year is abnormal or not, but it feels as if there have been more unexpected challenges this year with athletes at races then most others. I don’t have any statistics to back it up, so maybe it is just a feeling, but the list of challenges for many athletes this year seems rather long. This year the Boston marathon had, what some are calling its worst weather ever, with temps hovering around at 40 degrees, 20 mph head winds, and rain, which all caused many runners to drop out due to hypothermia as well as it was the slowest race for men and women in the past 20-30+ years. 70.3 Stealhead had water so rough there were report of 150 swimmers being pulled from the swim as well as it being really hot and humid for those who made it to the run. 70.3 Wilmington was cancelled, Ironman Louisville swim was shortened due to currents so strong many age group swimmers swam the shortened distance of 1 mile in 16-18 minutes not to mention it was abnormally cold that athletes could not open their nutrition on the bike or tie their shoes in T2. Then Florida was moved to Haines City because the Hurricane came through and decimated Panama City.
From these races’ themes emerged that I would like to address. The first is all the negative comments and complaining that resulted due to these challenge. The 2nd are all of those who failed to look ahead and prepare.
Tom Hanks stars in a movie called “Bridge of Spies.” In the movie he asks a spy who has a very calm demeanor and is at risk of being killed at any time if he ever worries. The Spies response? “Why, would it help?” This line is something we can all learn from. Why? In speaking with athletes and friends who were at all the races I mentioned above, something that always comes out are all those who complained about the situation. Many of these challenges are out of everyone’s control. No one can control the weather or stop hurricanes. Yet you could find Facebook and social media with athletes all up in arms about it. One athlete who was scheduled to race Ironman Florida asked if anyone had gone to the media about the race being moved to Haines City, despite the fact the city could not reasonably host an event due to the city being torn apart. The city needs to take care of the people that live that and have all its resources go to those who need the help, not a race. Extremely hot and humid conditions or an unseasonably cold race also brings out the negative talk. I am not saying we shouldn’t raise a stink about races that put athletes in harm’s way or let others know about a bad race environment due to poor race direction. What I am saying is, all the things that are out of your control, even a poorly run race, will worrying about it help? Control what you can. Don’t let it effect your race. Do the best with the situation that has been presented to you.
The second topic I want to address is preparation. As athletes we train to get ready for a race, but many athletes don’t actually plan for what will happen on race day. With all the technology available to us to predict weather, even in race venues in a different state, or country, there should be no reason to be unprepared. When we area planning for race day athletes should be doing everything in their power to put themselves in the best possible situation to have a great race. If it will be overly hot, then make sure you plan to carry extra fluids. If it will be cold, make sure to bring extra clothing to wear. You should be plan for the worst, but hope for the best. It is better to be overly prepared then under prepared. The best example I can think of is the Boston Marathon this past year. There maybe several things that you may never think of, it may not cross your mind. Mostly because you simple lack the experience. An example: I was lucky my wife had run Boston before and if some pretty bad weather. She suggested I bring a pare of old shoes to throw away and put on my race shoes right before the start. I would never have thought of this and it was extremely helpful as the ground was saturated and if I did not have a throw away pare of shoes, I would have been racing in muddy and wet shoes. However, what everyone did know is that it was going to be wet and cold. I brought several layers of throw away cloths to try and stay warm before the race and even decided to buy more when I got there. Many athletes did not. There was one athlete who stood behind me in line when waiting for the porta potty who only had his running shorts, run singlet, and a very thin poncho on. He was freezing and looked miserable. There was no reason he should have put himself in that situation. As athletes we need to think ahead, plan ahead, and be prepared
The best advice I think I can give is the advice that has been given to me. Control what you can control and ignore the negative people. Will worrying about it help? No. Simply try do your best to tune out the noise. Finally, learn from the Boy Scouts motto, “Be prepared!” Do not set yourself up for failure, but rather, set yourself up for success.
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