Will Ironman (WTC) allow me to compete? (Page 2)

thndrcloud - 2010-11-02 10:25 AM My thirteen year old daughter is friends with a couple kids in her running club who do half and full marathons.  It makes me nervous.  Kids, in general, aren't equipped to handle that kind of stress.  They We don't (know) what theywe're capable of, nor do they we understand our their limitations.  They We don't have the ability to gauge what's happening in our their bodies and make good decisions based on our their current condition as well as the conditions around them us.  Combine that with a sense of invincibility and you can have some really dangerous situations on those long courses where you can go miles without seeing another racer, volunteer or official.

OP, you're 16 right now and you've done some serious events which tells me you're not a typical high school kid.  You know how to work hard and are determined enough to go the distance.  That's great.  It makes me nervous for you anyway.  If you were my kid the only way I'd let you do it would be if you did your training under the supervision of an experienced coach and with a specific race plan focused on finishing more than competing.

You're not my kid though and your parents know you and have a much better idea of what you're capable of than I do.  If they support you doing this it makes sense to call the RD and see if they're willing to budge for you.  Regardless of which event you end up doing I hope you keep us updated on your progress.

McFuzz - 2010-11-02 5:26 PM

As long as we're talking generalizations, I fixed that for you. 

I can dig up a few race reports from around here where even "mature" athletes got themselves trouble in a race.  In my own Ironman experience, I can't say my judgement was good, but that I got lucky with the result.  I have a few people here, whom I respect a lot, end up in an ambulance, the ER, etc. because they pushed on in spite of the warning signs their body was giving them. Unfortunately, it's easy to do when you're in the middle of the day of your most important race where every emotion is amplified and distorted.  It doesn't even have to be a race...look at the threads and blogs and various training injuries and realize the authors are otherwise mature and responsible adults. 

As to the OP.  My guess is the registration process should kick you out if you don't meet the criteria.  I'd also guess that the conversation with the RD will be pretty short.  While 18 is an arbitrary number, it has to be somewhere. 

morey000 - 2010-11-02 8:53 PM

There seems to be a number of posts above that question the ability or the suitability for a young body to perform that level of endurance.  As if it were somehow good for a 40 year old and bad for an 18 year old.

Show me the data that says endurance athletics is somehow more harmful to an 18 year old than a 50 year old?  Granted, for most of us, it does take years to develop this level of endurance- but maybe that's because we didn't start trying until we were in our 40's.

So, if the OP has been training and building up his endurance, and is going to work a training plan- hey, he's got a full year- he'll probably kick at IMAZ.

that said- the 18 year old limit is probably about liability and the ability to sign any contract.  I'll bet he can get around it with the RD if a parent is willing to co-sign the waiver and the registration on his behalf.

natethomas2000 - 2010-11-02 5:33 PM In terms of racing age, you'd be '18' for that calendar year anyway, as it's age as of December 31.

kproudfoot - 2010-11-02 10:08 PM

When I raced at IMKY I had to sign a waiver form.  At the bottom of the form it had a space for legal guardian to sign...  I was wondering why this would be there if you have to be 18 to race??

I would assume it is because they make exceptions.

Call the RD, if they let you race go for it.  I don't think that just because you are 18 you should not do an endurance event.

Contradoublebassman - 2010-11-02 8:13 PM

This was my first thought reading this as well.

As far as they are concerned (as much as I've been told)  the calendar year is what matters not the exact birthdate...  

Rainydaytri - 2010-11-01 12:28 AM Im looking at doing ironman AZ 2011 (the exact date should come out within a few weeks). I know Ironman has a minimum age requirement of 18 years, but for the 2011 AZ race, the date would only be a week, if not mere days from my 18th birthday.(im assuming it stays around the 20-24 of nov.) I know I have other options to do (silverman mainly) but I would really like to do an ironman branded event. I heard that rules can slightly vary with who the course director is, so that is both a bit promising and disconcerting. 

The main question is simply this: Will ironman AZ, 2011, not allow me to compete because I would be a week to young? 

 Just for fun, would you let me compete? I have done marathons, and some sprint and oly distances, incase you wanted some bio info.

Thanks for your assistance, and opinion. 

jdwright56 - 2010-11-03 2:21 AM
I am curious about this as well.  When you register on active you put in your birth date and it actually assigns an age (which I hate before the beginning of May, but don;t have such an issue with after.

 

tjfry - 2010-11-03 4:07 PM

I say go for it. When I was 18 I had already knocked out 3 marathons, a half iron, and a few century's. While mentally I am now totally messed up beyond all repair, physically I'm doing just fine. At 18, you'll recover faster than the rest of us, so if you train properly then I say good luck.

I might also add that at age 12 Michael Phelps was swimming over 100,000 yards per week and at age 13 Lance Armstrong was riding north of 300 miles per week. No Deposit, No Return.