This weekend will be the final Ironman event in Penticton, which was long the home of one of the sport’s most prestigious full-distance races. It’s been a long time since there has been a pro men’s field at Ironman Canada. Triathlon Magazine’s Kevin Heinze caught up with local favourite and multiple winner Jeff Symonds (pictured above winning the race in 2022) to chat about the pro race, the changes in his life, making it as a pro triathlete and his future in the sport.
TM: Penticton is your hometown, how is that an advantage for you?
Symonds: The beauty of racing in your hometown is that you can control a few more of the variables like not having to get on a plane and stress involved in it. You’re just close to people. But, also, there’s usually one really bad sleep, whether that’s from an early flight, late flight or just getting ready the night before. Being a local I’m going to sleep in my own bed before the race, do the race, then go back home, sleep in my own bed. It sounds kind of monotonous, but when you’re trying to do well in a race, that’s what you want.
The last time you did this race, 2022, you won it, but it wasn’t a pro race. This year we have some newcomers, plus established Canadian triathletes like Cody Beals and Lionel Sanders. Knowing they will be here, plus knowing this is the last time the race is being held in Penticton, how did that change your preparation?
I don’t know if it changed my preparation much. It just made me grateful that I did decide to do it. It’s been a pretty busy year and I made the commitment 10 weeks ago. With my coach, Jonathan Curran, the original plan was just keeping fit, but now I’ve ramped things up.
Regarding the top-notch competition, you can get worried about the different guys that are showing up to the race and you can spend energy thinking about that, but at the end of the day, it’s who gets to that finish line fastest. You can think about the dynamics and the strategic aspects of it but if you don’t have the legs will you even be able to make those strategic moves.
You have been a pro for many years and your career has spanned from the Peter Reid era to the Lionel Sanders era, so you have seen and done a lot. Right now, do you think it is easier or harder to be a professional Canadian triathlete?
I would say it’s getting much harder. I would say that there are a lot of opportunities at the top, but there’s not a lot in between and there’s not a lot of opportunities to kind of help.
It takes time to get to that level and so as people are coming up in the sport, it’s hard to just jump right in and be amazing. Usually it takes years to develop not only the physical abilities, but also mental abilities, the knowledge it takes to do well at swim, biking and running, and the knowledge and experience to execute on race day.
So to gain that valuable race day experience when we look back at the sport, there used to be more races with like smaller prize purses that you could show up at as a new pro and pick up a bit of money. That would be enough to boost your profile, get you to the next race and keep things rolling. Nowadays we just have these big races. Some of the new pros have a good race and placed, let’s say 22nd in a field of 80 pros but it doesn’t get you any prize money, and sponsors aren’t approaching you for placing 22nd. Take that into consideration, plus the increased cost of living everywhere and sponsorships dollars drying up and it’s hard for these pros to stay in the game long enough so they can bridge up to that top level where they can earn a decent living.
What about the role of social media now for a professional athlete? You were maybe the first Canadian pro to exploit that with your “Get Ugly” branding. How has that changed the game for pros?
For some people doing that sort of thing comes easily to be hyping themselves and making videos. Some people put a lot of work into it but they’re spending a lot of time doing it.
As a new pro it’s difficult as you are trying to build that part, that exposure part, that brand part and then you’re trying to build your athletic ability. It’s tough and I feel for the new pros and I also feel fortunate that I kind of came up as a pro when things weren’t as difficult.
A few weeks back another Penticton pro, Jen Annett, set the female world record for the Ultraman distance triathlon. Do you see doing an ultra as part of your future?
There’s a lot of things that are poking me that I want to do. Ultraman would be cool. It’s not at the top of the list. We’ll see what motivates me more. For example, I’d be much more excited to have a really good go at a marathon. We’ve had quite a few fast runners move to town, and there’s been talk about doing a marathon, something like the one in Sacramento. It would be challenging to get in there with a mix of really fast people and seeing where it goes. Maybe do that or some ultra runs.
Also with an ultra, I have to say, I don’t like having people like waiting on me as the crew. I think I’d rather have them cheering and me just not inconveniencing them. And also, I kind of like having people to battle with on the racecourse for a good race experience and that doesn’t really happen much in an ultra.
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