Working the Angles

When I was working as a journalist, I learnt very early in my career to work the angle for stories. What this simply means is to find interesting perspectives for the piece I was doing. I had a certain knack for stories, opting to explore the road less travelIed. It was not difficult, when all I needed to do was put a spin on the obvious, or focus on the elusive. I, eventually, learnt as an industrial psychologist that humans sort through priorities that include people, place, events, time, objects and knowledge.

Predictable can be safe, but boring. In a fastidious and fickle-minded world we live in, consumers want to do more with less, convenience with lower risk. However, this may lead to depreciation in value. More customers will be asking the question: What makes you different from others? How can you make the difference in our business? Is a sports event without a key sponsor valued highly than one with an anchor sponsor? Is loyalty of fans be unfazed when race-kits provide only the minimal? What is the angle when there is no official race-tee?

Innovative practices require working the angles. It is about shifting perspectives towards more useful outcomes. Traditional thinking demands traditional answers to problems, whereas contemporary thinking focuses on solutions-based approaches. Have you substituted, combined, adapted, amplified, eliminated or rearranged anything? What else have we not done yet? What else could we attempt differently? Who can we turn to for expert guidance? John Cooke blogs about perspective from his book review.

What’s will be your angle tomorrow?

***

Today was a busy menu for me. I rode 75K in the morning, and ran unshod (with VFF) for about 10K. In between, I collected my race-kit for next week’s Duathlon. I met friends from Crazy2Tri as well Ironman finishers Victor Chan and Teryn Tham. I encouraged my Crazy2Tri to consider using High5 sports nutrition pack that was on introductory promotion. The science is that you can absorb up to 60 grammes of carbohydrates in a 2:1 mixture of glucose to fructose, instead of 30g! For $25, we received the Marathon Race Pack with 12 sachets of drink mixes and gels. I first saw this pack at the Berlin Marathon. On its cover are three triathletes, including regular podium/Kona finisher John Hill, who I met through Coach at IMWA last year. Our individual race waves are 11, 12 and 13 and it will take place near midday next Sunday. It should be an interesting day to race; I assure you a complete race report with photographs.

9 Wild and Whacky Races to Consider

I have observed the increased racing activity on almost every weekend. New events like the SAFRA Quadthlon, which integrates a rollerblading leg within a triathlon, have increased the difficulty level; especially if you do not do too well standing on a razor’s edge. Other races like the Sundown Marathon occurs in the evening and runs (literally) through the night, and even late morning (if you punish yourself by not training for the 84km ultra-marathon, which suggests a death-wish on your part).

Here are some propositions; hopefully, we can find brave and innovative sponsors to realize these events and articulate their importance to the endurance sporting community.

1. The Unreal Run (occurs on tar, mud, water, pebbles, sand, grass, escalators, stairs, back-lanes, forests, and slopes)

2. The Umbrella Run (same as Unreal Run except you carry an open umbrella)

3. The Snorkeling Race (swim with a snorkel in a reservoir or sea)

4. Real Man’s Run (all-men, chauvinistic race – we’ll show them for having a Woman’s Run!)

5. Penthlon (like the Quadthlon and we add another near-impossible phase, like 3-ball juggling, sushi-rolling or beer-drinking)

6. Panty-thlon (run in your undies and T-shirt, just like the Underwear Run in Kona, Hawaii)

7. Mad Hatters (inspired by the on-going run Hash House Harriers for decades, except this time we race and wear tall-hats)

8. Triathlon Family Beer Run (an actual race that will be carried out – details on the Triathlon Family Forum page)

9. Parathon (dressed in runner’s kit and we pub crawl over 42km by foot, over a dozen pubs – winners buy coffee and toast)

I have run with the Singapore Hash House Harriers in 1990. The quenching of thirsts after the fun run, as parched throats are sloughed off with Tiger Beer was memorable, as was the company. But, that's another story!

Nota bene [note well]: This piece was done, tongue in cheek, while writing my 50,000-word novel.