鐵人三項(xiàng) 富人的運(yùn)動(dòng)
When Marc Blumencranz had an opportunity tocompete in the 2013 Ironman Triathlon World Championships in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, hespared no expense in his preparations to go the distance.
當(dāng)馬克·布魯曼克倫茲(Marc Blumencranz)有機(jī)會(huì)參加2013年夏威夷凱盧阿-科納的鐵人三項(xiàng)世界錦標(biāo)賽(Ironman Triathlon World Championships)時(shí)，他不惜一切代價(jià)去做準(zhǔn)備，力求完成比賽。
His outlays for the race — known simply as “Kona” among triathletes — went far beyond a wetsuit and a new pair of handlebars for his racing bike. To help acclimate to the Hawaiian heat, herented a house on Kailua-Kona’s fashionable Ali’i Drive, as well as a block of hotel rooms forthe 10 days leading up to the race. He also hired a private chef to prepare his meals, then flewto Hawaii and housed not only his wife and daughter, but also his coach, massage therapistand physical therapist.
為了這次比賽(鐵人三項(xiàng)運(yùn)動(dòng)員們都把這項(xiàng)比賽簡稱為科納)，他可遠(yuǎn)不止是購買潛水衣或者給賽車換一對(duì)新車把。為了適應(yīng)夏威夷的炎熱，他在凱盧阿-科納時(shí)髦的阿里大道(Ali’i Drive)租了一個(gè)房子，還在比賽開始前10天在酒店里訂了幾間連在一起的客房。他還雇了一個(gè)私人大廚給他做飯，然后飛到夏威夷，把妻子、女兒以及教練、按摩師和理療師安頓到房子里。
Total estimated cost: $100,000.
他總共花了約10萬美元。
“My first reaction was, ‘You don’t need to do that,’” says Jose L. Lopez of Long Island TriCoach, based in Mineola, who guided Mr. Blumencranz through the intensive, 10-week buildupto Kona. “I said, ‘I can still train you; I don’t need to be in Hawaii.’ He said, ‘I want you to bethere with me.’”
指導(dǎo)布魯曼克倫茲進(jìn)行科納賽前十周集中訓(xùn)練的是米尼奧拉長島鐵人三項(xiàng)培訓(xùn)公司(Long Island Tri Coach)的何塞·L·洛佩斯(Jose L. Lopez)。他說：“我的第一反應(yīng)是‘你不需要那樣做’。我說：‘我不用去夏威夷，依然可以訓(xùn)練你。’他說，‘我想讓你和我一起在那里。’”
Mr. Blumencranz, now 52, is a managing director for BWD, a large, privately held insurancebrokerage and wealth-management firm in Plainview, N.Y. But his career success hardly makeshim an anomaly in the sport. At events like Kona, it is not hard to find affluent competitorswilling and able to put serious dollars behind their long-distance dreams.
52歲的布魯曼克倫茲是紐約州普萊恩維尤市大型私有保險(xiǎn)經(jīng)紀(jì)和財(cái)產(chǎn)管理公司BWD的總經(jīng)理。不過，鐵人三項(xiàng)運(yùn)動(dòng)中不乏事業(yè)成功人士。在科納這樣的賽事上，不難找到富有的參賽者，他們?cè)敢庖灿心芰ν度刖拶Y追求這個(gè)長久的夢(mèng)想。
A 2015 survey conducted for the World Triathlon Corporation — the Tampa, Fla.-basedorganizers of Kona and other Ironman races — found that the average annual householdincome for Ironman participants is $247,000. USA Triathlon, the largest multisport organizationin the world, says the average income for all triathletes, including those at shorter distances, is$126,000.
科納等鐵人三項(xiàng)比賽的主辦方是佛羅里達(dá)州坦帕市的世界鐵人公司(World Triathlon Corporation)。2015年，該公司委托進(jìn)行的一項(xiàng)調(diào)查發(fā)現(xiàn)，鐵人三項(xiàng)比賽選手的年均家庭收入為24.7萬美元。美國鐵人(USATriathlon)是世界上最大的多項(xiàng)戶外運(yùn)動(dòng)組織者。該組織稱，鐵人三項(xiàng)比賽選手(包括參加較短距離比賽的選手)的平均收入為12.6萬美元。
“I don’t know if it’s a rich person’s sport, but it’s certainly an upscale person’s sport,” says Dr.Steven Jonas, a professor of public health at Stony Brook University, a longtime triathlete andthe author of the best-selling book “Triathloning for Ordinary Mortals.” “To run a marathon, youneed a pair of shoes, a pair of shorts and maybe a water bottle. To do a triathlon, you need alot more.”
“我不確定它是富人的運(yùn)動(dòng)，但它肯定是高消費(fèi)階層的運(yùn)動(dòng)，”斯托尼布魯克大學(xué)(Stony Brook University)的公共健康教授史蒂文·喬納斯博士(Steven Jonas)說。他是一名資深鐵人三項(xiàng)運(yùn)動(dòng)員，也是暢銷書《普通人的鐵人三項(xiàng)》(Triathloning for Ordinary Mortals)的作者。“跑馬拉松，你需要一雙鞋、一條短褲，或許還需要一個(gè)水瓶。而進(jìn)行鐵人三項(xiàng)，你需要的多得多。”
Free-spending amateur endurance athletes often pay for more than gear. To gain entry toKona in 2015, Michael Berland, head of the political polling and analytics firm Edelman-Berland,made a winning bid on a charity slot.
揮金如土的業(yè)余耐力運(yùn)動(dòng)員往往付出更大代價(jià)。為了參加2015年的科納賽，政治民意調(diào)查和分析公司愛德曼-伯蘭(Edelman-Berland)的總裁邁克爾·伯蘭(Michael Berland)在慈善拍賣會(huì)上投標(biāo)，贏得了一個(gè)參賽名額。
The Ironman Foundation, the charitable arm of the World Triathlon Corporation, funds anumber of local initiatives, including youth organizations in Hawaii. Each year, the foundationauctions four spots in the race.
世界鐵人公司的慈善分支鐵人基金會(huì)(The Ironman Foundation)資助一些地方活動(dòng)，包括夏威夷的青年組織。每年，該基金會(huì)拍賣這項(xiàng)賽事的四個(gè)名額。
“My wife and I decided this would be our philanthropy for 2015,” says Mr. Berland, 47, wholives in Mt. Kisco, N.Y. To make sure he got in, he made what he called “a pre-emptive bid” of$50,200.
47歲的伯蘭說：“我和妻子認(rèn)為這將是我們2015年的慈善事業(yè)。”他住在紐約州芒特基斯科。為了確保能參賽，他采取了“先發(fā)制人的出價(jià)”方式——直接叫出5.02萬美元的高價(jià)。
“It’s what I wanted to do,” Mr. Berland says of his expenditure. “It helps kids in Hawaii, and itgot me into the race.”
談起這次出價(jià)，伯蘭說：“這是我想做的事。它能幫助夏威夷的孩子們，也能讓我參賽。”
The large portion of successful businesspeople involved in endurance sports isn’t surprising,considering the personality traits they tend to share. These, says Dr. Michael Sachs, a sportpsychologist at Temple University, include “high levels of motivation, goal orientation,mental toughness. They also realize that in order to be successful, they need to maintainphysical and mental health, and one of the best ways to do that is exercise.”
很多成功的商界人士參加耐力比賽并不令人意外，因?yàn)樗麄兊男愿裼幸恍┫嗨浦帯Ｌ蛊諣柎髮W(xué)(TempleUniversity)的運(yùn)動(dòng)心理學(xué)家邁克爾·薩克斯博士(Dr. Michael Sachs)說，他們共有的性格包括“非常積極，目標(biāo)明確，意志堅(jiān)定。他們也知道，要想成功，必須保持身心健康，而實(shí)現(xiàn)這一點(diǎn)的最佳途徑之一是鍛煉。”
In addition, he says, there’s a “coolness” factor. “If you’re wearing a Boston Marathon T-shirtor an Ironman finisher’s jacket, those are credentials you can’t buy. You have to earn it.”
他說，還有一個(gè)因素是“顯酷”。“波士頓馬拉松的T恤或鐵人三項(xiàng)比賽的完賽上衣是你買不來的榮譽(yù)。你必須自己去贏得它。”
Ironman distance triathlons are not the only events that attract Type A endurance athletes. Inthe last five years, Jeff Adams, 56, a retired Morgan Stanley executive living in Elkhorn, Wis.,has run in 20 marathons around the world, including New York, Boston, London, Tokyo andeven Antarctica.
長距離鐵人三項(xiàng)比賽不僅吸引一流耐力運(yùn)動(dòng)員。在過去5年里，住在威斯康星州埃爾克霍恩的56歲摩根·斯坦利(Morgan Stanley)退休高管杰夫·亞當(dāng)斯(Jeff Adams)在世界各地參加了20場(chǎng)馬拉松比賽，包括在紐約、波士頓、倫敦、東京，甚至南極。
Mr. Adams estimates that his pursuit of running and fitness — including the cost of travel tohis various races, his gym memberships and so forth — has cost him $50,000 a year over thelast five years. But he ticks off what he calls his “return on my running investment,” includingimproved health, weight loss and the opportunity for adventurous travel.
亞當(dāng)斯估計(jì)，在過去5年里，他在跑步和健身方面的花費(fèi)每年高達(dá)5萬美元，包括參加各種比賽的旅行費(fèi)用和健身房會(huì)員費(fèi)等。不過他列舉了“跑步投資的回報(bào)”，包括健康改善，體重減輕，有機(jī)會(huì)進(jìn)行冒險(xiǎn)旅行。
Women, even successful women, are less likely to be found jetting around the globe orspending significant amounts of money in pursuit of their training and racing goals. “I don’tknow many women who are high powered and wealthy and who are also endurance athleteswho would go to these extremes,” says the former professional triathlete Lee DiPietro, 57, ofDelray Beach, Fla., and author of “Against the Wind: An Ironwoman’s Race for Her Family’sSurvival.” But she said that could change.
女人，甚至包括成功的女人，不大會(huì)像男人那樣為了訓(xùn)練或比賽在世界各地旅行或花費(fèi)巨資。佛羅里達(dá)州德爾雷比奇市57歲的前職業(yè)鐵人三項(xiàng)運(yùn)動(dòng)員李·迪彼得羅(Lee DiPietro)曾出版《逆風(fēng)：一位鐵人三項(xiàng)女運(yùn)動(dòng)員為了家庭生存而比賽的故事》(Against the Wind: An Ironwoman’s Race for Her Family’s Survival)一書。她說，“我沒見過很多精力充沛、富有、愿意挑戰(zhàn)極限的女性耐力運(yùn)動(dòng)員。”
For his costly 2013 effort, Mr. Blumencranz dutifully did all his training leading up to Kona, thepinnacle of swim-run-bike sport — a one-day 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike ride and 26.2-milemarathon through the island’s torrid, wind-swept lava fields. Qualifying was difficult: Althoughhe had twice completed the Ironman distance race in Lake Placid, N.Y., Mr. Blumencranz is notan elite athlete.
2013年，布魯曼克倫茲為準(zhǔn)備科納鐵人三項(xiàng)比賽花費(fèi)不菲，他盡心盡力完成賽前訓(xùn)練?？萍{賽是游泳—跑步—騎自行車鐵人三項(xiàng)運(yùn)動(dòng)的巔峰——一天要游2.4英里，騎112英里，跑26.2英里，穿過該島酷熱、大風(fēng)肆虐的熔巖區(qū)。要達(dá)到要求非常困難：雖然布魯曼克倫茲兩次在紐約州普萊西德湖完成長距離鐵人三項(xiàng)賽，但他不是頂尖運(yùn)動(dòng)員。
“I never saw myself doing Kona,” he admitted. Until, that is, a business associate dropped aword to a high-ranking executive with one of the race sponsors. Mr. Blumencranz, who lives inOld Brookville, N.Y., was then offered a Kona spot. He was thunderstruck. “I told my golffriends that, for me, getting the opportunity to race at Kona was like playing Augusta duringthe Masters.”
布魯曼克倫茲住在紐約州老布魯克維爾。他承認(rèn)，“我從沒想到自己能去參加科納賽。”直到他的一個(gè)生意伙伴給科納賽一個(gè)贊助公司的高管捎了句話，所以他得到了科納賽的參賽名額，這令他震驚。“我對(duì)一位打高爾夫的朋友說，對(duì)我來說，有機(jī)會(huì)參加科納賽就像有機(jī)會(huì)參加奧古斯塔的高爾夫大師賽。”
On race day, Oct. 12, with his coach cheering him on, Mr. Blumencranz finished in 13 hours 19minutes 56 seconds — far from the professional triathlete Frederik Van Lierde’s winning timeof 8:12:29, but also comfortably removed from the mandatory cutoff time of 17 hours.
在10月12日的比賽日上，在教練的鼓勵(lì)下，布魯曼克倫茲以13小時(shí)19分56秒完成比賽，比職業(yè)鐵人三項(xiàng)運(yùn)動(dòng)員弗雷德里克·范·利爾德(Frederik Van Lierde)的8小時(shí)12分29秒長很多，但是比規(guī)定的最長17小時(shí)的完賽時(shí)間短很多。
He felt that having his friends and support crew on hand made a difference. “It was like havingTeam Marc there,” said Mr. Blumencranz.
布魯曼克倫茲覺得有朋友和支持團(tuán)隊(duì)在身邊起到了作用。他說：“就像那兒有一個(gè)馬克團(tuán)隊(duì)。”
Dr. Jonas applauds Mr. Blumencranz’s generosity and determination in bringing his supportteam to Kona in 2013, but isn’t sure of its effect. “If he’d spoken to me, I would have told him, ‘you’ll probably finish in about the same time without all that.’”
喬納斯博士贊賞布魯曼克倫茲2013年把支持團(tuán)隊(duì)帶到科納的慷慨和決心，但是對(duì)這樣做的效果不太確定。“如果他問過我，我會(huì)對(duì)他說，‘沒有這些，你的完賽時(shí)間可能差不多也是這樣。’”
Besides, money can’t buy the satisfaction of true competition. “You cannot buy a finish,”says Dr. Jonas. “It’s what’s inside you.”
另外，錢買不來真實(shí)競(jìng)賽的滿足感。喬納斯博士說：“你買不來終點(diǎn)線。那要靠你內(nèi)在的力量。”
