Ironman events are somewhat unique in sports. You get to share the starting line with, and compete against the best triathletes in the world. Imagine tipping off against LeBron James, being on the Vikings offensive line with Brett Favre, or feeding a breakaway pass to Sidney Crosby. You get the idea.
This Saturday, in Kona, where the Ironman World Championship takes place, much of the focus will be on the pros and past winners Craig Alexander, Chris McCormack, Chrissie Wellington, and challengers like Eneko Llanos and Tereza Macel. Alongside the pros, about 1500 Age Groupers. And among them – a veritable pro among Age Groupers, Naples resident Joe Bonness.
Consider a few of his stats:
- 54 years old
- Competitive triathlete since 1987
- 58 Ultra Distance Triathlons (2.4 mile swim, 112 mile ride, 26.2 mile run)
- 4 overall wins, 48 Age Group wins
- 3 Age Group wins at Kona
- 2008 – 50-54 Ironman Age Group World Record 9:12:41
- 2007 – Ironman World Championship First, Men 50-54
- 2007 – Great Floridian Ultra Distance – First Overall 4-Time Champion
- 2007 – Ironman Wisconsin – First, Men 50-54
- 2007 – The above 3 Ironman distance events took place within 5 weeks
- Ironman Florida – Top 4 times for Men 50-54
In short, here is an athlete who, at 54 years of age with 22 years of competitive experience in triathlons is completely redefining the limits of potential for Age Group triathletes. As he did when he was between 45 and 49, and before that in the 40-44 Age Group. Next year he ages up, and assuming he stays active in the sport, he will likely set a series of new Age Group and possibly World Records for 55-59 year olds.
The Joe Bonness Effect, then, is the phenomenon where the level of competition and fitness is so strong among Age Groupers, they can be expected to eclipse old records, and as they age up, set faster times and performance standards in successive Age Groups. Along the way, these athletes, like Bonness, are setting new benchmarks for what an Age Group triathlete is capable of.
Somewhere out there, there’s another Age Grouper with their sites set on Joe’s ultra-impressive records. Maybe they’re in their early 30’s now, but with another 20 years of competition at this level, we’ll be looking at an entirely new set of Age Group standards and performance metrics. In the meantime, Joe Bonness is the gold standard.
I don’t know Joe, but when I line up alongside him, and the 1700 other competitors at the Ironman Florida next month, I know he will likely cross the finish line around an hour and a half ahead of me. And of course I’m ok with that – he’s an inspiration and has about 20 years more invested in the sport than me! But I’ll be looking to see if he sets a new record for 50-54 year old men, before he starts crushing the records for the 55-59′ers in 2010.
