Take a look HERE.
It generated lots of great feedback and some really interesting comments. The most interesting comment came from Neil who wrote, "this challenge is definitely age discriminating!" and he went on to write,
"My swim distances are twice those of people half my age. Are you serious about that? Let's see, as a 30 year old I swim for 3 miles, but as a 60 year old I swim for 6 miles! Okay, I can swim six miles and still do other things. Wait, run 4 miles - piece of cake, poor person at the end of their decade or just starting a new decade! But, cycle 30 miles as a 30 year old and cycle 60 miles as a 60 year old? Again, age discrimination. Creating a challenge for your b-day is a great idea. But, this formula will not encourage those that need this the most - us older endurance athletes - to take up the challenge. Instead, start with a base of 100. Subtract your age and then use your formula - 60 year old cycles for 40 miles (100 minus 60), runs for 10 miles (okay, decades remain tough!) and swims for 4 miles. Much more reasonable, and not very complicated."
Since I created the B-Fit B-Day Challenge I’ve had dozens of people suggest dozens of different formulas for the Challenge that would best suit their age.
You know...take your age and multiply it by dog years, subtract your street address, add your phone number, divided by your car’s horsepower, and take the number of fish you’ve owned, and subtract the color blue.
But I can't help but feel that these different formulas completely miss the point of the Challenge.
Let me explain to all of the type A triathlete who might be reading this. And of course that would be all of us ;-)
The B-Fit B-Day Challenge, while it may be based on a triathlon, has very little to do with the actual sport of triathlon.
It is not a race, but instead a personal celebration of health and fitness on your birthday.
And best of all since it is not a race you CAN take the challenge and:
Swim, bike, run or
bike, run, swim or
bike, eat, nap, bike, run, run, eat, eat, eat, nap, nap, go to a movie, walk the dog, play with the kids, and swim.
The not so fine point being that you can break it up into as many segments as you want, and just have fun with it.
It is your Birthday after all!
And since transitions don't count, and you have the choice to go for Bronze, Silver, or Gold, the current formula allows for plenty of time to swim, bike, and run your age, plus eat plenty of cake no matter how many candles you have to blow out.
And sure it gets harder as you get older, but hopefully when we get to our golden years we have a bit more time on our hands. I completely agree with Neil, six or even seven miles of swimming may be a lot, but it is certainly doable if you break it up over a week.
I'll be happy to let you know when I get there Neil.
FYI: So far over 130 athletes have signed up to take the Challenge, and almost a dozen athletes have completed it with the youngest being 9-years-old.
We've have some terrific sponsors who are providing some really great premiums to anyone who completes the Challenge.
We've already given away heaps of brand new Rudy Project sunglasses, helmets, and now free Hornet Juice just for joining the growing community at B-Fit B-Day.com.
The rest of the year we'll be giving away great gear from 2XU and really nice hats from Headsweats to the lucky B-Day boys and girls who go for Bronze, Silver or Gold
What are you waiting for?
If not now, when?