Ironman

[Riley Skye]

So next year I plan to sign up for Ironman lake Placid for my 2nd go around, finished it the first time!. For those of you who don't know an Ironman is a race consisting of a 2.4 mile swim, a 112 mile bike ride and a 26.2 mile run. I just sent them this letter asking about their policies because quite honestly I have no clue how to go about this. I'm hoping they can accommodate me greatly because I absolutely loved the race and the whole ironman atmosphere, it was amazing. Also I'm curious if I'll be the first ever transgender athlete to actually compete at the distance, that would be so cool! Well here goes nothing and this is the letter I just sent if anyones curious as to my ramblings lol

Hello I'm Eddie, I competed and finished Ironman Lake Placid last year and had a tough but wonderful time. I plan this year to volunteer so I can sign up for the 2014 edition of this race. I'm contacting you because I'm a transgender athlete currently undergoing hormone replacement therapy. Over the winter some time I plan to change my name and maybe by next years race have my gender changed also but I am unsure when I will have my gender changed. I am emailing asking what is your policy regarding name and gender changes. Should I sign up with my current legal name or would I be able to sign up using my female name Julie? As for now I will most likely be signing up as Eddie in the male 18-24 age group. Would my name and gender be able to change on my race registration if I do get them changed and I sign up using my male name and gender?

[Jamie D]

I hope it works out for you! 

I imagine you will have some extra drag on the chest in the swim. 

[warlockmaker]

Hi Julia. Great achievement and I would be interested to know what the reply will be but I believe you will compete as a male until you have fufilled the requirements under IOC and other sports bodies as to when you are regarded as a female. This would include time on HRT (i think one year) and a SRS.

I have completed 5 Ironmans, three World Championships in Kona, Hawaii, Japan Ironman, and China Ironman (the first edition). I also understand that women have better endurance and in the days of yore it was believed that women could one day be faster than men - thats not very likely with todays knowledge but it should not slow you down too much. Also the bady fat gives you flotation for the swim and in a good swimsuit there is no drag - rather flotation for speed.

Have fun and go for it,

[kariann330]

Ok all im gonna say is holy crap Batman!!! I have a hard time with my 6 mile runs some times....good going and i hope they let you enter again.

[JennX]

Also I'm curious if I'll be the first ever transgender athlete to actually compete at the distance, that would be so cool! Well here goes nothing and this is the letter I just sent if anyones curious as to my ramblings lol

No... you're not. 

I compete in triathlons also, and have always entered using my legal name, legal gender. Now recently postop, and with everything changed, I will be competing next month in the female division with the other ladies . I have made myself and my past known to the officials organizing and judging the race... so there will not be any surprises after the fact. I would advise you to do the same, and make any/all declarations up front, as things tend to get twisted later on.

I have noticed a slight increase in long term endurance... but nothing major. I'm sure this will also vary with the specific person, training regiment, and genetics.

[Riley Skye]

aww darn lol well I did make it clear in the letter of my situation and just asked what I should do since I'm more towards the beginning now and will be in my RLE by this time next year and having my name already changed. I figured it was best to simply ask away and not make any assumptions

[Michelle S.]

I time and put on endurance races and I have a couple ex-Ironman timers/contractors working with me and a couple that now put on their own events who contract me. I'll try and get an opinion from one of them. I don't see it being an issue placing you as female as long as you don't win a top place. If you did while not meeting IOC requirements it could create issues. Triathletes are great, I love 'em but they're also the first to complain about anything...  As for registering now and changing it later, that's really at their discretion. They could make you re-register or they could change it. Ironman is great but they're also about making $$ and I've seen other race directors deny changes for just that reason.

[Michelle S.]

No... you're not. 

I compete in triathlons also, and have always entered using my legal name, legal gender. Now recently postop, and with everything changed, I will be competing next month in the female division with the other ladies . I have made myself and my past known to the officials organizing and judging the race... so there will not be any surprises after the fact. I would advise you to do the same, and make any/all declarations up front, as things tend to get twisted later on.

I have noticed a slight increase in long term endurance... but nothing major. I'm sure this will also vary with the specific person, training regiment, and genetics.

Do you compete in Florida by chance? If so, I've probably timed you! I'd love to help if it happens to be an event I'm timing.

[Riley Skye]

I hope ironman does get back to me soon with a definite answer because I honestly have no clue what to do, great races but this is a big unknown for me and I'm hoping that they can change it and it's not like I'm competing for the world championships either. I just hope that I can get a reasonable response from them.

And no I don't compete in Florida as I live up here on Long Island NY lol

[JennX]

Do you compete in Florida by chance? If so, I've probably timed you! I'd love to help if it happens to be an event I'm timing.

Yep. I live in Miami, FL. Both myself and my brother compete. If you can knock off a few seconds I'd appreciate it. 

[JennX]

I hope ironman does get back to me soon with a definite answer because I honestly have no clue what to do, great races but this is a big unknown for me and I'm hoping that they can change it and it's not like I'm competing for the world championships either. I just hope that I can get a reasonable response from them.

And no I don't compete in Florida as I live up here on Long Island NY lol

As mentioned, IOC rules would dictate doing what you planned above. This is what I did preop even on HRT. I registered under my legal name and stayed within the men's division. Now postop, I will compete with the other cis-females... And only disclose to the organizers/officials. If I do have a top 10 finish in the female division, I'm curious to see if any issues are raised.

[Riley Skye]

As I figured I'll most likely have to compete as male but oh well, it's the name I'm more worried about because I'd rather sign up using my legal name and then having it change down the road when I do have it changed. I hope in the future I don't have any problems qualifying for the world championships.

[Sammy]

Julia - You are such an Irongirl . Wow, I would not be able to do 26 miles. Never in my life 10 km is my upper limit . I could probably do that bike ride part and swim - but only if I get to use the paddles - that would be cheating lol . You must have excellent health, very strong hearth and amazing stamina! Wow

[Michelle S.]

Yep. I live in Miami, FL. Both myself and my brother compete. If you can knock off a few seconds I'd appreciate it. 

Yay! I have done quite a few in Miami in the past with mostly FAU and FIU. This year has been slow though so the only Miami tri we've been to is FAU Wellness Tri; did you compete by chance??? Tampa and St. Pete area is where we've been a lot this year. You guys should come to St. Pete and do Top Gun, I'll cut a few seconds off

[JennX]

Yay! I have done quite a few in Miami in the past with mostly FAU and FIU. This year has been slow though so the only Miami tri we've been to is FAU Wellness Tri; did you compete by chance??? Tampa and St. Pete area is where we've been a lot this year. You guys should come to St. Pete and do Top Gun, I'll cut a few seconds off

Missed that one... I was recovering from SRS... So I had to cut down on the training.

Tampa is nice, but the 4 hour drive across the Everglades is long and boring. I have to see what events are coming up soon.

[Michelle S.]

Missed that one... I was recovering from SRS... So I had to cut down on the training.

Tampa is nice, but the 4 hour drive across the Everglades is long and boring. I have to see what events are coming up soon.

I know, that drive is the worse. I'll PM you a link to all the events my company's doing.

[kariann330]

Do you compete in Florida by chance? If so, I've probably timed you! I'd love to help if it happens to be an event I'm timing.

If you timed the 08 run for the the homeless sponsored by the COSAC foundation you timed me as a guy.

[Riley Skye]

Just an update now. for my name change I am told that I have to sign up using my legal name and that once it is changed I can email them that my name has been changed and they will change their records. As for competing as female basically I have to have been on hormones for a sufficient amount of time for them to negate the effects of T and that also I need to have SRS.

[JennX]

Just an update now. for my name change I am told that I have to sign up using my legal name and that once it is changed I can email them that my name has been changed and they will change their records. As for competing as female basically I have to have been on hormones for a sufficient amount of time for them to negate the effects of T and that also I need to have SRS.

These were my findings as well. But now that I'm postop, name and everything else changed... the girls better watch out.  I've been killing it with my training the last few months. Just finished my morning run and will be going for a swim later today. Just trying to fine-tune the free-weight/upper body component of my training. I like to keep a decent amount of upper body/arm strength... but don't want to sacrifice any any speed/endurance due to extra mass. Overall... I've been doing better than I expected coming off of SRS recovery.

[Riley Skye]

These were my findings as well. But now that I'm postop, name and everything else changed... the girls better watch out.  I've been killing it with my training the last few months. Just finished my morning run and will be going for a swim later today. Just trying to fine-tune the free-weight/upper body component of my training. I like to keep a decent amount of upper body/arm strength... but don't want to sacrifice any any speed/endurance due to extra mass. Overall... I've been doing better than I expected coming off of SRS recovery.

Awesome! Other girls in the future will have to watch out for me, I plan to really get my endurance up in these coming years. My training is just ramping up now and now that I got a coach I'll have some good direction for the coming year. I hope that when I do come back from surgery that this girl will be strong and seriously kicking some!