Got it for my wife last year. $50 is chump change (at least for one person) for an IM. Although the food was meh, it was nice for her to have a shaded place to go. And she got a nice video of her sitting there eating and drinking as I headed out for run lap 2.... Also a seat in the bleacher at the finish, which was nice.

Being on her own, she wasn't likely to go sit at a restaurant. If she was in a group I probably wouldn't buy one for the group. There are a few restaurants along the run course that people can hang out in (although if they're gonna sit there all day, they should be ordering food and drink).

Better deal was she volunteered for the med tent (not a doc). That gave her a credential that she was able to come in and hang out in the athlete post race area with me for a while.