Am I A Triathlete?

Sorry to hear about the DNF.

FWIW, Chris McCormack DNF'd yesterday. He's still a triathlete. 

Label yourself. You put in the time, blood, sweat & tears, and raced, and only a mechanical kept you from finishing. Many others train in all 3 disciplines, but never race, so is that a stretch for them to label themselves if they never compete? A runner can run, never enter a race and still be called a runner. Same with a swimmer and cyclist. So triathlete? You make your own call. 

If a total stranger's opinion really means anything to you - I vote "not until you finish one".

Could be worse - I could vote, "not until you finish Kona". 

But then again, I only race duathlons, so what do I know...

You trained.  You paid the entry fee. You entered the race.  I say just because you got knocked out by the angry bicycle gods it all still counts to you being able to call yourself a triathlete.

Is someone who competes but DNFs in a marathon called a marathoner?

Is someone who competes but DNFs in a 140.6 called an Ironman?

Better luck next time!

Bear, I gotta go with you on this.  

Whatever you do, keep competing.

Have you succumbed to the lifestyle?  As long as you sign yourself up for another race and keep training, you can be a triathlete now, when you finish the next one, or whenever you want.  I would still feel weird calling myself one before having completed a race though....... but after a year of training and 6 triathlons I still feel weird calling myself a triathlete.... so don't listen to me. 

Oh.... time to start carrying a spare tube, tire levers, and a mini pump or CO2!!

Go with some sort of coffee label.  Call yourself a half-triath. 

To be honest, after handful of races and 1.5 years of this, I don't call myself a triathlete.  To me it's just a label.  I do this stuff so that I have a goal to work towards, and that helps me stay in decent shape and keep the fat off.  If someone wants to call me a triathlete, that's up to them.

My opinion is that someone who has trained, made sacrifices, fought through the "I can'ts", summoned the guts to sign up and toed the starting line on race morning is a triathlete. What happens in the next few hours is icing on the cake.

Sure, you won't feel completely right no matter what we say until you complete one. But you have adopted the lifestyle and paid the dues like anyone else and you should be proud.

X2 - and for what it's worth, I didn't consider myself a Triathlete until after I completed my first season (this year).  Just didn't feel like I'd the earned the title until I had done a few races.  But that's just me.

Are you a triathlete? No. However, I am sure you have your next race planned and you will soon be a triathlete.

Good Luck!

Good Idea!

x2

I agree with wings, however ride the rim next time, you can get the wheel trued.  

You're a triathlete (you train 3 sports, right?). You just have to finish your first race, but that doesn't detract from being someone who trains 3 sports. Is a runner who has never "raced" not a runner? I think once you get into the specifics, like "I am an Ironman" you have to finish the event. But as to your question, I think because you train 3 events you can call yourself a triathlete.

But I think the underlying emotion in your question was "WTF just happened in this race? You have go to be kidding me!" :-)

hmmm so all those olympians are only triathletes whilst racing???

if you complete a race you have done a triathlon.

if you continue to compete you are a triathlete.  If you stop (whatever the distance) you are a former triathlete.

If you need a label, call yourself a triathlete.  But, IMHO, we all need to get away from labeling each other and ourselves.  There is a great George Carlin routine on labels (must be on youtube).  You are a dediclated multisport athlete who will finish a triathlon and be better for it.  For me, I'm just a fat guy who found out that running, swiming and biking make me less fat and are not as boring as doing only one.