prints, drawings, paintings, web development, blog posts, link to etsy shop
Can't Register Unless You Have A Good Story
Yesterday, I completed the registration process for the Foster Grant Ironman 70.3 World Championship in Clearwater, Florida (that's a mouthful!). It took about three hours, two false starts, and I have more gray hair now than I did yesterday morning.
It all starts with a piece of paper. After you pay your registration fee at the qualifying race, you are handed a qualification "letter" with a password and an outline of the registration process (what, I'm not registered completely when I write the check???). After the line "please make certain you do not lose this letter," the bullets on the page explain exactly how and when you are to "complete your registration" and exactly what will happen during the registration process.
Except, what's on the page is not what happened yesterday when I started the registration process on Active.com. Now, I'm not the brightest bulb in the pack, but I'm pretty sure I can follow directions, and my first attempt looked almost entirely unlike what was described in the directions. So I gave up. But because I started already, I deleted my browser cache and cookies just to be sure my first attempt "history" was eradicated.
Then I ate lunch. Before attempting the registration again, I had to be sure my morning swim had not depleted me of more than physical energy.
I made attempt number two. Attempt number two was entirely unlike attempt number one. This time, the Ironman site had a message telling me to login to Active.com (hmmm.. did I miss this the first time? or was it not there?). I decided to login first because I never got the option in the previous attempt. Then I clicked the qualifier link on ironman.com. A-ha! After completing the waiver, the system "found me" and the "continue" button actually showed up on the page this time. I clicked it and proceeded to the registration page. Cool. Name, password, address, emergency contact, USAT number, ... easy enough.
NOT EASY. After the factual details, the registration page requires (yes, REQUIRES) you to tell stories. I tried to submit the form without stories. I got a big red line of text telling me to COMPLETE THE REQUIRED INFORMATION. I closed the browser. I had no stories.
The REQUIRED INFORMATION was none other than what seems to be a request for a "human interest story." I wondered: does everyone have a story to tell? What if I just want to challenge myself? I felt guilty I had nothing to write. And I couldn't remember what I wrote the last time I completed such a form -- perhaps I just typed: "not applicable."
I thought about it. OK, I have a story. I went back to my computer. I made attempt number three. In addition to Education, Occupation, and Employer, I looked at the following three items:
- Significant Personal Achievements
- Interesting facts about you
- Please share significant information relating to your 2010 Foster Grant Ironman World Championship 70.3 training or participation
There it was: "Interesting facts about me." I entered the following:
My nickname is Disaster Magnet because almost every time I enter a race, some kind of natural disaster occurs at the race location.
There it is. And here's the history to back it up:
- Ironman Utah 2002: freak wind creates huge waves during swim, buoys blow away, athlete drowns, swim is canceled, race is reconfigured.
- Ironman Hawaii (Kona): uncharacteristic rain all week, race day rain creates havoc for first few hours of race.
- Whirlpool Steelhead Ironman 70.3 (Benton Harbor, MI) 2008: swim canceled at last minute due to dangerous surf, AFTER athletes already completed warm ups.
- Greater Cleveland Triathlon 2008: Swim canceled due to dangerous surf (in Lake Erie of all places).
- Firmman Half-Iron Triathlon (Narragansett, RI) 2008: Race canceled due to Hurricane Hanna.
- Pittsburgh Marathon: downpour followed by a bomb scare in downtown Pittsburgh.
- Mooseman Ironman 70.3: downpour entire race, and the day before, the Olympic-distance race had to be reconfigured due to early morning severe thunderstorms and road washout.
- (The non-race disaster) In 2003, I was hit by a car while riding my bike - six days before Half-Ironman Utah and couldn't race due to head and neck injuries.
I don't know if being the Disaster Magnet will make me a human interest story, but you never know. Stranger things have happened. And I needed a story.
tags
archive
- May 2021 (1)
- December 2020 (1)
- September 2018 (1)
- September 2017 (2)
- July 2017 (1)
- June 2017 (3)
- May 2017 (1)
- April 2017 (3)
- January 2017 (2)
- November 2016 (1)
- October 2016 (1)
- August 2016 (2)
- July 2016 (5)
- June 2016 (10)
- April 2016 (1)
- March 2016 (1)
- February 2016 (1)
- January 2016 (2)
- December 2015 (1)
- November 2015 (1)
- September 2015 (2)
- June 2015 (1)
- May 2015 (1)
- April 2015 (1)
- March 2015 (2)
- February 2015 (1)
- January 2015 (1)
- December 2014 (1)
- November 2014 (1)
- October 2014 (2)
- September 2014 (2)
- August 2014 (2)
- July 2014 (2)
- June 2014 (1)
- May 2014 (3)
- April 2014 (1)
- March 2014 (1)
- February 2014 (1)
- January 2014 (2)
- November 2013 (3)
- October 2013 (3)
- September 2013 (2)
- August 2013 (2)
- July 2013 (2)
- May 2013 (2)
- March 2013 (2)
- January 2013 (20)
- December 2012 (18)
- November 2012 (28)
- October 2012 (14)
- September 2012 (1)
- August 2012 (2)
- July 2012 (1)
- June 2012 (3)
- May 2012 (2)
- April 2012 (2)
- March 2012 (4)
- February 2012 (2)
- January 2012 (1)
- December 2011 (3)
- November 2011 (3)
- October 2011 (5)
- September 2011 (2)
- August 2011 (3)
- July 2011 (4)
- June 2011 (6)
- May 2011 (5)
- April 2011 (7)
- March 2011 (6)
- February 2011 (5)
- January 2011 (6)
- December 2010 (3)
- November 2010 (4)
- October 2010 (5)
- September 2010 (9)
- August 2010 (5)
- July 2010 (9)
- June 2010 (4)
- May 2010 (4)
- April 2010 (3)
- March 2010 (2)
- February 2010 (4)
- January 2010 (7)
- December 2009 (3)
- November 2009 (1)
- October 2009 (6)
- September 2009 (4)
- August 2009 (6)
- July 2009 (4)
- June 2009 (13)
- May 2009 (7)
- April 2009 (7)
- March 2009 (10)
Add new comment