OH, I HOPE THE POWERS THAT BE READ THIS BLOG...

If you are reading this blog, I assume that means you are a blog reader. An assumption that makes me smarter then a 5th grader (I would so kick butt on that show) One of my favorite blogs is TriGeekdreams.com. The curator of that blog, the Iron Kahuna has ammassed a couple hundred fellow athletes and blogs so it's a deep well of inspiration and community. He recently posted on a dream to compete at Kona, but like most age groupers (myself included) he lacks the speed to secure a spot by racing. He put in for the open lottery and speculated whether there was any weighting in the decision making process or if it was purely random. Ugg. It's random. Here is where I hope Paula Newby Frazier is listening. The great thing about Ironman, in contrast to every other pro sport, is that the joes get to race in the same venue as the pros. I admire the pros for their ability to train and race with a speed and grace I can only fantasize about. But I'm inspired by the everyman story. We all have them, what it took us to hear "Kari Holmes, you are an Ironman!" I think it would be fantastic if they opened a dozen Kona spots to the tri community in a sort of "Kona Idol" format. Let us nominate a group of candidates, read about them, question them, then vote on a dirty dozen to compete. These 12 could then train and blog their way to the big dance, perhaps compiling their own reality documentary along the way. They could be Janus community fund athletes, they could be lung transplants, weight loss miracles. Every so often they could be surprised by some sponsor throwing out some schwag. Now that would be some reality tv I could watch.

Hello, hello! Anybody listening?