It is a true reflection of Jason Shortis’ career that he
chose to give his first post-retirement interview from Ironman events with
YOURIRONGUIDE, an athlete supported site. This speaks volumes as to the way he
operated during his stellar career and embraced our sport.
I was lucky enough to run on course with “Shorto” for a
while during his last race at IMWA a couple of weeks ago. I chatted briefly
with him and also shared some aid station nutrition. In that space of time, I
had the opportunity to see the outpouring of support he had while smashing out
his final marathon run. Cheers and calls came from everywhere and it was
obvious to see how well respected he is in IM circles. It also gave me the
opportunity to let him know what an honour it was to join him for his final
dance.
Jason began his professional career back in 1992 at Forster IM
Australia. Since then he has won IM events in 4 different countries and twice
won our iconic local Busselton edition (2004 and 2006). In 2006 he set an
Australian record of 8:03 there.
Those results don’t do justice however to Jason’s standing
in the sport. I remember a story of an age grouper at IMWA not too many years
back that found when he put his bike in to transition the day before the race,
his tyre had blown. Frantic to find a solution to the problem, “Shorto” told
the age grouper not to worry and the tyre would be fixed ready for the race.
Sure enough the next day, Jason delivered it ready for action for the worried
athlete. Stories like this gave him the “people’s champion” tag where he seemed approachable to mere
mortals like us.
This week, YOURIRONGUIDE was given exclusive access to
Shorto and a chance to ask questions about his amazing journey so enjoy (and
perhaps learn a little from his years of knowledge).
Shorto, your career started back at the Australian IM (Forster)
in 1992 (over 22 years ago). Can you remember anything about your very first IM
and the expectations you had standing at the start line for that first race?
I was training with Bruce Thomas who
had somehow managed to talk me into doing an Ironman. At the time I hadn’t yet turned
22, so I was pretty young for ironman Racing.
Bruce had told me that all I needed to
focus on was finishing and so I started the swim with that in mind. It used to
be a one gun /mass start in those days.
I started riding conservatively, making
sure I wasn’t going to “blow up”. Then a female pro (Louise Bonham) rode
past me! My entire male, age group ego came to the fore and I took off on the
bike.
I think I stepped off the bike just
outside of the top ten. Anyway, I started the run and thought that this Ironman
caper was pretty easy really. I kept passing people until I was in about 4th
place overall, just in front of a triathlon legend called Marc Dragan. It turns
out that I had run a 1.18 for the first half of the marathon! That combined
with the fact that the longest run I had done was 25km meant that a
metaphorical piano fell from the sky and landed on my back at around 28km.
I ended up walking along the road
kicking coke cans and being a very grumpy boy, until a man called Mark Anderson
ran up to me and convinced me to start running with him again. His
encouragement plus some jelly beans at each aid station had us crossing the
line together in about 22nd place. This got me to Hawaii that year where I won my
age group. So I really owe Mark a lot for his selfless act (he reminds me of
this all the time LOL).
This is why I view Ironman the way that
I do and why I feel so proud of the way in which all the competitors really do
share their energy by cheering other on!
Following that first event, how long did it take you to make
up your mind you would do a few more IM events and did it seem a career path at
the time?
As I
mentioned, I qualified for Hawaii so the decision was made pretty quickly. I
went on to win my age group there (## we
checked and he smashed a 9:19 first up as an agegrouper on the big island).
If I hadn’t have finished the very first one in Forster, I doubt I would ever
have continued racing Ironman’s at all (Yes Mark, I really do owe you!).
From your own admission at IMWA, in those early years it
seemed a great lifestyle to be training with mates. What was the best thing
about being a professional athlete at that time and did it change at all over
the years (the appeal to being a pro?)
The 3rd Ironman I raced was Ironman
Australia again, where I finished 7th overall (2nd Aussie) and won some
prize money. In those days there was not really a pro division. Basically the
first 10 guys across the line won prize money but were ineligible for the age
group awards. This meant that really you didn’t have to commit to racing as a
pro. I didn’t consider myself as a professional. I was still working and going
to Uni and most of the sponsorships I received were for products only. I felt
lucky to be able to race and grateful for what I received from sponsors.
It wasn’t until 95 when I started to
train full time and rely on money from sponsors as well as prize money (that I felt like a pro). Even then,
there were times when I had to work to help support myself. The biggest appeal
was the lifestyle. I was able to do something that I loved doing, and people
paid me for it!
Don’t get me wrong, there were some
years where I made really good money, but a lot of the time for most of the
professional triathletes in our sport it is really tough to make a living,
particularly if you have a family to support. Realistically, you can make more
money doing something else, the difference is you just love what you are doing
and the lifestyle is fun!
You seem to have had a really robust career as far as
injuries go. Is this a misconception or have you had a blessed career with
staying injury free? What do you put this down to?
I have had a long career for a few
reasons:
I learnt very early on how important
balance is and have always had friends outside of the sport.
I am genetically a strong guy and in my
earlier years played different sports like AFL, basketball and soccer.
I have always spent time in the gym
doing things other than swim, bike and run
I also learnt early on in my career the
importance of recovery
The biggest issue for triathletes
getting injured is that they don’t do some strength and conditioning and they
don’t remember to recover enough. Triathlon (particularly Ironman) tends to
attract a certain type of driven personality that believes that more is better.
More is not always better!
One of your greatest attributes now has to be your knowledge
of the sport. Can you share with us perhaps your top 3 tips for any Ironman
program or race strategy to help us all make the finish line?
Here are my top 3 psychological tips - (stay
tuned for Shorto’s informative tips on every leg of an Ironman in the next blog
post):
One, stay focussed on the present: When you are
training focus on what you need to do in that session. When racing, stay
focussed on what you need to do at that moment to be the best you can be. When
I am running in an Ironman, I focus on just 10 steps at a time. I try to make
those 10 steps the best that I can make them!
Two, Focus on being consistent. The athletes that
are able to back up each day and then each week in an Ironman preparation will
get the best result! It is not just one great week of training that makes you
have a great ironman race; it is weeks of solid preparation.
And three, listen to your body. One of the smartest
coaches I ever worked with had a system with me where we would regularly touch
base about how my body was feeling. We would make adjustments to the program
based on how I was going. There is no use flogging a dead horse. Remember it is the recovery from the training, not just
the training, which makes your body stronger and fitter.
With over 60 races under your belt, it seems like you would
have seen it all. What is the greatest change to Ironman racing in your opinion
you have seen during your many events?
The greatest change to ironman racing is just
the sheer number of races that are around!
When I first started racing there were less than 10
ironman events worldwide. Now there are heaps.
If you could buy one of the following things only to
race with (and not have the others), which would it be and why? A fast bike,
fast wheels, fast wetsuit, bike power meter or GPS watch?
Out of these choices I would buy a bike (not
necessarily the most aero, but the one that fitted me! The biggest limitation
to performance that can be fixed in most athletes is body position. Body
position in the swim affects drag through the water (the biggest limitation to
performance). Body position on the bike affects power transfer and drag (the
biggest limitation to drag on the bike is the rider position not the
bike ‘aero-ness’). Body position on the run affects the athlete’s
efficiency (very important for Ironman where energy limits performance). So the
most vital piece of equipment is a well-fitting bike!
What is the weirdest thing you ever saw or heard of on an
Ironman course?
Weirdest thing I have ever seen was an athlete who
did a sh*t whilst running without missing a stride! (laughs) Impressive, but
weird! ……..poo-shooter aptly describes it.
What was your motivation throughout your career? It seems
almost superhuman to train and race at such a high level mentally for so long. How
did you motivate yourself?
I enjoyed trying to get the best out of myself. It
was a bit like a giant jigsaw puzzle and I kept trying to work out how the
pieces fit to get the best result. That and the fact that I kind of liked the
pain!
We asked some of our followers for their questions for you and
they seem to want a list of the best and worst of everything:
What was your? -
Best Course: Ironman Western Australia
Best Swim course: Ironman Lake placid
Best Bike Course: Roth
Best Run Course: Ironman Whistler
Worst Bike ridden: Zipp beam bike
You can find out more on Jason Shortis at http://jasonshortis.com/
Worst triathlon Gadget: Seat position adjuster by
profile I can’t remember the name (I was embarrassed to say but if Jason meant
the fast forward seat post by profile design……I have one and use it J)
Even though you have only been retired for a little over a
week, is there a regret you look back at or a decision in a race you might
rethink nowadays?
Only regret is that I never finished top 10 in
Hawaii.
## In case you wondered, Shorto had his best finish of 12th
in 2003 in Hawaii. That year he competed against the “who’s who” of Ironman
during that era. Peter Reid, Cameron Brown, Jürgen Zack (the Zack attack),
Faris Al-Sultan and Normann Stadler were all there and if our calculations are
correct, Shorto had a top 5 marathon split on the day……pretty handy!
We know you have already begun coaching athletes – what else can we expect to see in
Jason Shortis’ future?
Most of the athletes I coach are age group athletes
who have jobs and families. I want to do a lot more coaching.
I have completed my strength and conditioning
accreditation and would like to work in some other sports in this role
I have also completed a post grad degree in
Exercise physiology and am completing my hours to become an accredited exercise
Physiologist. I would like to focus on lifestyle prescription and
musculoskeletal rehab. I also want to go back and redo my physio accreditation
again. Lots of work to come!
I did want to know about your thoughts on the
future of the sport regarding professionals? Do you see it as easier now to be
a pro in the sport or when you started? How hard has it been to carve out a
life as a pro?
This is a tricky question to answer. I think that
it is getting harder and harder to make a living as a pro. In triathlon, the
poorest athletes racing are the pro’s.
That being said, having professionals racing is
vital to the future of the sport. That is one of the main appeals of Ironman.
You get to race alongside some of the best athletes in the world on the same
course.
As I said before, there are much easier and more
lucrative ways of making a living than racing as a pro triathlete!
I see the biggest growth area of the sport as being
in Asia. If I was a young pro now, I would stay at home in Australia and race
as much as I could in and out of Asia!
Finally, as an icon to racing – how would you like to be
remembered?
Being remembered was not really why I did the
sport. I am realistic enough to know that 6 months in triathlon is a very long
time! There are a lot of young fast guys coming through who will be in the lime
light for some time to come.
I just feel very fortunate to have been able to do
something that I loved for as long as I got to do it. I have met some
incredible people along the way and they are what really make this sport what
it is!
Many thanks to Shorto for sharing a rare insight
with us and being so open for an interview. Thanks buddy!!