GreenEye Wire

Heather. Still standing after the Rockwall Tri, 2008.

Of course, I always purchase the party pics from the photographers assigned to take pictures at the event. I haven’t found my bicycle shot, but My bicycle shot is here. And, I was thrilled that there were two photos of my run. And, they show an interesting story that happened at the end of the race.

In picture one, you’ll see me at the end of the race. Look how happy I am.

In the next picture, you’ll see me looking not so happy, and I’m sort of twisting my body. You’ll see the guy behind me is sort of looking to the camera’s right side.

Here’s what happened. As I was running into the home stretch, there were some people to my left (camera’s right) who said “Great job.” I replied with a smile and a “Thanks!” thinking they were talking to me. (That’s when picture one was taken.) In actuality, they were talking to the guy behind me. I know this because I heard them say “NOW GIT HER!”

My reply to this was “F$CK THAT!” and I dug in and sprinted to the end of the line. The picture number two was taken right when I dug in to take my first big step.

To the delight of the crowd, he and I both raced the last 30 yards to the end of the finish line.

And, by a hair, I came in before him. (If the distance had been even 5 more yards, he would have beat me.)

[added later] Oh WOW! Bill just pointed out to me that the man running behind me in the photo has the same bib number that I had last year. TRIPPY![/added later]

The cool thing about a triathlon, though, is that everyone is supportive of everyone else. At the end of the race, we shook hands and congratulated each other on a great race.

And I think that is why I like triathlons. It’s a great race if you finish.

There is a saying in the tri world that really explains the overall spirit of a triathlon:

DFL > DNF > DNS

‘Dead F*cking Last” is better than

“Did Not Finish” is better than

“Did Not Start”.

People cheer as loud for the last person to come over the line as they do for the first person. On the runs, everyone is saying “Good race” and encouraging those who appear to struggle by saying “You’re almost there, you CAN DO IT.”

It is the most helpful, most caring atmosphere of physical contest I’ve ever witnessed. And you don’t have to be a size 2 to do it. I’ve seen men and women who appear to struggle with their weight giving it their best. And nobody, I mean *nobody* makes fun of them for the sheer and simple reason that they gave it a shot.

I’ve also seen people of all ages compete. There was a 9 year old boy who finished in this race, and I was passed on the run by a 77 year old woman. (Let me tell you, she looked no more than 55 AT THE MOST.) Last year, I racked my bicycle across from an 86 year old man. When he crossed the line, they played the theme from “Rocky”. He said he decided to do triathlons in 1987 when his doctor told him to get more exercise. (He was 66 for his first tri.)

The overall attitude is “Hey, DFL is *still finishing*”. You can crawl over that line and people will cheer. And I love that.

In the Iron Girl Triathlon in Irving last year, I learned of a very cool tradition that has evolved over the last several years. The winner of the Iron Girl goes back to the end of the race when she’s done and runs the last half mile with the last person and encourages her along. Sometimes, she does this for more than one person if she sees someone really struggling. You just don’t see that in other sports.

I wish I knew about the spirit of triathlons years ago. I’ve avoided contests of physical ability simply because I always hated PE class where someone got picked last — usually me — and for that reason, picked on. I had no idea that there were contests of sport where someone didn’t get humiliated.

In fact, you don’t often see a contest in general that doesn’t result in humiliation for someone.

I think that is why I will continue in this sport for the rest of my life. Not for the exercise or the fact it will do me good, but simply to experience the spirit of the sport.

[added a little later] Here is a link to my 2007 race results.
2008 race results