The Selfishness of Triathlon…or Not?

Is triathlon a selfish sport…or not? One of my clients who is training for Ironman Arizona on November emailed me the other day regarding his struggle with the "selfishness" of the sport:

I have been struggling lately when I realize that the sport we are involved in can be selfish. I train a lot and hence don't give back as often as I should. I took a group of church kids to the Comcast center yesterday afternoon and then to a church service. There were leaders on the trip that volunteer all the time. They ask me about my training and its make me reflect on how self focused I become especially in season. I would love to hear your perspective.

I responded:

Sure, I can talk about my perspective on the "selfishness of the sport." Real quickly, it reminds me of the Proverb: “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.”

Perhaps when you talked about your training and training, you inspired one of the volunteers or, more importantly, one of the children to start exercising. Maybe if you hadn't talk to that child, he would have gone home and played video games. Instead, inspired by YOU, he goes home and rides his bike, remains a healthy weight as he grows up and one day becomes the next Lance Armstrong. That's an extreme example, but you might be surprised on what kind of difference you can make by living a healthy lifestyle and chasing your dreams.

Lead by example. You may inspire dozens or 100's or even 1000's of people over your lifetime. How is that selfish?

My client responded with a great deal of insight:

You're right!!! One of our newest employees (23 college grad) ran the half marathon this weekend in Baltimore. He has never run before and worked hard on setting and following his 12 week plan. He was so excited to accomplish it.

As I think about your words, its seems to me that the real magic is when people engage each other in 'real' conversation and really connect with one another. I know this is exactly how I started my Ironman training. Someone else planted the idea in my head and 'inspired me' and believed in me. In business, there are so many people that are just wishing to be noticed and appreciated and valued. I think the modeling and leading by example is great but maybe the icing on the cake is when you actually get off the bike and go engage someone in conversation with an ear and attitude to listen and help if asked.

What I know is true is that most people are going through their own private Ironman competitions. As you did, when you were sick. Maybe it's studying for their PhD or struggling with a bad marriage. I was reminded this weekend while walking the dog in a hotel parking lot that triathletes are really nice people. They are humble and not arrogant and they really like to help others especially newbies to the sport. This was from a complete stranger (from Pittsburgh) that I introduced myself to because I saw him packing his bike on the car. He had just done the sprint tri in Cape Henlopen.

I think the world is a much better place because of triathletes!! So my take away is that when I am not training, I should be looking for opportunities to engage with others. It's easy to do it when someone comes to me as our new employee did; and its easy to do with a stranger triathlete because of the common bond….but it's not so easy to deliberately seek others out……ironically, it really does not take a lot of time.

Live life richly and boldly!

David

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David B. Glover
Author of Full Time and Sub-Nine: Fitting Iron Distance Training into Every Day Life
© 2009 David B. Glover