IM Versus I’m not

There has been a lot of chatter recently on some of the discussion forums and Facebook pages over iron distance triathlons. There has always been debate over the use of the word “ironman” since it is a branded copyrighted term owned by the World Triathlon Corporation. Having raced a few of said “ironman” events, as well as other branded events such as “Challenge” and independently owned iron distance events, I felt urged to comment on a recent Facebook post regarding the Challenge Atlantic City event.

Does anyone feel it’s an issue of the accomplishment being devalued? I don’t. I think WTC purists are just a little hung up about using the branded name so universally. Ironman is ironman. Challenge is Challenge. Beach to Battleship is Beach to Battleship. Great Floridian is Great Floridian. They are all iron distance races. They are all 140.6 miles and should be treated as such…with respect.

My personal opinion is that one should not get the MDot logo tattoo if they didn’t do an MDot race. Not because any one race is more, less, better, or worse. They are just different. It’s the same reason you don’t get a REV3 tattoo after completing  a TriROCK race. They are just different entities. My $.02. Stand tall, walk proud. You’ve earned it. Be proud, but be humble.