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It’s written on page 23 of the bible for Ironman
training, “Going Long” by Gordo Byrn and Joe
Friel. It is also the undeniable truth.
Harvard Graduate Peter Han translates this axiom to film
in his excellent documentary What It Takes. The 96 minute
independent film follows four world class Ironman specialists
for a year while they prepare for the 2005 Ford Ironman
Triathlon World Championship in Kona, Hawaii.
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As a documentary, Han’s What
It Takes is objective and unflinching. It strips
the illusions from professional triathlon and tells it
like it is. The sport is hard, there are disappointments
and setbacks, the athletes wrestle demons both physical
and personal. What It Takes shows us what athletes
go through to get to the finish line at Ironman in the
top 20 places. Han’s film does not explain why they
do it, and if this documentary is deficient at all, it’s
that it falls short as a motivational piece. The truth
about our sport is a tough inconvenient reality that Han
shows well in What It Takes.
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What It Takes is an ambitious documentary
project that unfolds on five continents over the course
of a year. As such, it is subject to the pitfalls of a
project this big executed with an independent film’s
set of (and lack of) resources. I wager the concept for
the script may not have included the fact that the main
characters would be fraught with marital and relationship
discord, get injured, fall short of performance expectations
and generally be human. Those pitfalls may provide the
stark relief that makes the film so real. |
Or perhaps- this is the film’s major
success. I tend to think the latter. If you like good
reality TV, you will love What It Takes. This
is reality, Ironman style.
There has been a lot written recently about the pasteurization
of Ironman: A new culture of frequently under trained
people are entering Ironman and barely finishing, not
finishing- or never beginning at all. This is a similar
argument to the one made by John Krakauer about Mt. Everest
in “Into Thin Air”. People are trying to buy
their way to the top of the sport. In triathlon “Mt.
Everest” is the Ironman. An emerging group of athletes
hit the “Register Now” button on active.com
a year before their Ironman race figuring they will do
the training over the next year and get ready. When the
full gravity of the experience settles on them they either
don’t show up on race day, show up poorly prepared
and wing it for a long and unpleasant day, or don’t
get to the finish line. What It Takes is mandatory
viewing before you hit “Register Now” even
for a back-of-the-packer. What It Takes is the
first real truth about Ironman. The question is can you
handle the truth?
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The authentic nature of What It Takes comes through
in the first scene. You learn the plan is the first casualty
of Ironman training. Ironman World Champion Peter Reid tries
to go on a four hour ride in a blizzard with predictable
results. The opening scene shows Reid up-and-at-’em
for his early swim workout only to learn his town’s
two pools are closed due to bad weather. Welcome to Ironman
training, where it is all about the “Plan B”.
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It is heart breaking and voyeuristic to watch Reid candidly
describe his motivation for the sport like he was on the
therapist’s couch. He openly laments his crumbled
marriage with Ironman Champion Lori Bowden, another character
in the film. Bowden is pregnant with her new boyfriend’s
child after Reid and Bowden’s divorce. It’s
a sad reality for Reid who comes through as a conflicted
but likeable loner who races out of angst. His ex-wife,
Lori Bowden, is shown with new beau Keith and later in the
film with their new little boy. Like friends of yours who
have been through a divorce it is tough to see all the sides
since Han’s film does a fair and accurate job of showing
that each of these characters are real people, likeable
and frail. This part of the film is more than a little sad,
even though Han treats it with dignity and care. You wish
it was a warm and fuzzier story, but this is a documentary
called What It Takes, not a fiction piece about
How It Should Be. Welcome to reality. Welcome to Ironman.
The distance to the finish is measured in more than hours
and miles. |
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The irony of the stories told in What It Takes
is that, while relationships between people are strained
and broken, strained and strengthened, the relationship
with the sport of Ironman and the characters is the most
prevalent one- and the most unshakeable. All other relationships
seem like an accessory. What It Takes is the story
of how top pros integrate their lives into Ironman, and
it tells the true story that shows varying degrees of success
with that integration. While the movie shows Peter Reid
doing his best to keep a stiff upper lip it also shows Roch
Frey and Heather Fuhr in a stable, healthy relationship
with a burgeoning business related to their Ironman involvement.
The take away is that it isn’t training or the race
that determines the level or success within the sport, it
is the person themselves and the choices they make. At Ironman
you can’t let the race own you, you have to own the
race.
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Another contrast to the story of one relationship
ending and another beginning is the story of Luke Bell and
his commitment to his family and fiancée, a story
with quite a different conclusion you’ll see in the
film. I’m glad Han included that part of the story
in the film and I hope you don’t miss that part of
the message.
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Human relationships aside this film is about more than
personal dramas projected onto the screen of Ironman training.
It is also about the unswerving devotion required to make
it to the most difficult line in our sport: The start line.
Ironman as a race is graduation day. Except for the looming
specter of luck, our Ironman experience- whether we’re
a pro or a cut-off time contender- is determined well in
advance of race day. While NBC’s Emmy award winning
coverage is loaded with touching vignettes of personal triumph
shot in alluring sepia tones, What It Takes does
a much better job of showing the reality of the entire Ironman
experience. Ironman is an experience much bigger than 140.6
miles, and What It Takes is a big enough documentary
to show it all like it’s never been shown before.
If you want to know the real Ironman, the inner working
of how athletes make it to the start line you must see What
It Takes.
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