An Ironman is not 113km long, it is 226km long

After Ironman Dublin, it seems everyone has done an Ironman. Is it ok to feel a pang of resentment when you hear people say they “did the Ironman”, when what they mean is they did the Dublin half Ironman? Even my wife finds it hard not to correct people. 

Doing a half Ironman is an achievement, as doing a half marathon is. But as 21km is not 42km, as a half Ironman is not a 3.8km swim, 180km bike and 42km run. It is exactly half of this – 113km and not 226km. Although an Ironman event, a half Ironman is not an Ironman. To say you have done an Ironman, do what many Irish triathletes have done. Train for a year, bury yourself in nearly an entire day of suffering and pay through the nose for the pleasure.

If you want to say you have done an Ironman, you have to complete the full miserable distance otherwise every time you say “I did an Ironman” when you mean a half Ironman, every triathlete you meet will look at you oddly, while those who have done the full distance will try hard not to patronise you, but ultimately fail.