Should Macca have finished the race? (Page 2)

No - he didnt race Kona for the experience, he didnt race Kona to prove to himself or others he could finish - he has already done that... he raced to try to win.(and he has already proven he can do that too)

When it became apparent that wasnt that case he decided NOT to but his body under the enormous strain that Ironman racing can cause in order to preserve his long term career which is racing Ironman... cutting his losses in this event for long term gains in the future... thats one less Ironman beat up on his body this year, perhaps it will make a difference further down the track in the form of success. 

Only time will tell - but in the context of his career deciding to pull the plug seems like the smart decision.

I think he should have finished.  Here's my somewhat selfish reason.  Triathlon is not like other mainstream sports.  Whereas football, baseball, etc are supported financially by spectators, huge TV deals, etc, triathlon is not.  Triathlon is completely supported by age group athletes participating in the sport; paying money for race entries, buying equipment, buying coaching, etc.  Like the announcers on Saturday said, the AG'ers are the 'heart and soul' (and money) of triathlon.  The professionals in this sport owe their livelyhood to AG'ers.  So, as an AG'er, I expect the pro triathletes to soldier on in the face of obstacles...just like the AG'ers.  He needs to show some respect for the sport and the AG'ers who make his livelyhood possible.

The only reson he should have quit is a medical reason.

Another thing.  What about the pro that finished say 20th.  Should he have quit when it was apparent he wasn't in the money?  How about the guy that got off the bike 20 minutes down and knew he had absolutely no chance of catching Alexander, Beke, etc.?  Should he have quit?  I guess those not in the top 10 at T2 should just quit? 

"You can quit and they won't care...." so why do we care? I think it's because the word QUIT is one of the most offensive words in a triathletes vocabulary and when the champion does it we are all offended on some level. I always admire the pros who gut it out and pay respect to the rest of us less genetically gifted and finish the dam thing. I guess never having having won an IM I may not understand their thoughts.My goal is to always finish what I start and that includes the IM.  It is a business to them after all, we just don't live it like that. So I guess my vote is, he should have finished. ( Alexander is  a much classier champion anyway).

He could have pulled out his trusty Park multitool and removed the front derailleur. 

I think that's a misconception about sponsorship obligations and I think you are speculating quite a bit. I've heard at least Macca, Alexander, Lessing on interviews and talked directly with others like Karen Smyers, Dede Griesbauer and Richie Cunningham about this. All have stated that while it is important to post good results (winning or a podium finish), it is not the most important thing for them (the sponsor) in particular since most coverage for races in our sport is so little and low quality and the number of people following the sport even among triathletes is rather small. You can ask around this site and others and many probably don’t know more than a few pros.

I'm all for the idea of saving your body for another race to win, rather than continuing on in a losing effort and not being able to race as soon.  It's his job to win races.  I think I remember the winner of IMFL last year pulled out of Kona early due to some issue, so he then still had enough in him to head to FL a week later and win.  The move to IMFL was so unplanned that he had to get a new wetsuit right before the race.

I have zero experience racing an Ironman as a pro so I cannot really presume to say one way or the other what is/was in his (Or His Sponsor's) best interest.

I can say that I had a mechanical that almost knocked me out of my last Ironman. (Broken Deraileur) It took me 45 minutes to get it fixed and finish the race.

I have to say that I feel that crossing the finish line that day was made all that much sweeter (then it would have been otherwise) by the adversity I had to overcome.

A quote from my friend's blog that rang in my head that day that I chanted for the last 30 miles of the bike (Pedaling over hills on a single speed):

"Never F***ing Quit, No Matter What!!!!"

Because a lot of the pros there are up and commers and need the experience of racing in Hawaii for the big one. Another year or 2 and it could be them in the top 10.

Gaining another place or 2 in this race is building the mental toughness that will one day make the difference between coming 1st and 2nd.

Sponsors would also have somethng to say if an epedemic of pull-outs started. Individuals might struggle to get/keep sponsors, and events would not be able to attract the same level of sponsorship. 

Gerrard

It's wrong to pass judgment on Macca's decision to DNF.  He doesn't owe it to the age groupers to finish the race.

Matt Cazalas
Technical Writer

Network Cables

 i disagree--his job is not to finnish but to finnish and get some money.  He got out of the race to because overall it helps his "job" winnings, in the future

Oh exactly, just look at Natasha and at Rutger last year. They followed him all the way to the finish.

There are two types of Pros/elites: Pros are those who make a leaving exclusively from the sport and Triathlons are their full time job. These guys are usually the ones winning at big competitive events like Kona, IMs and 70.3s There are also elites, those who compete in triathlon part time (train as much as they possible can) but also have to work other job(s) to be able to get by. These guys usually win smaller less competitive events and place top 5-20 on competitive events and top 20-50 on championships or very competitive fields.

I stopped using Pro-athletes as role models many years ago. Just shows the difference between someone who gets paid to do it, and all the AG'ers that pay to do it.

An athlete that quits because he isn't or can't win is a true loser. Just my opinion. 

Naw... the more folks that drop out of a given race, the better I look in the overall standings.  

• me: "Whoo hoo-- second place!!"
• someone else: "Yeah, but #3m through #9 all had mysterious flat tires in transiation and DNFed"
• me:  "Whoo hoo -- second place!!"

BTW, Macca had 6 years in which he battled not to win but to finish the race and more than one ocassion he did pushed through and finished by walking. I think back in 2003 he completed the marathon on 4+ hrs.