I agree that the barriers to entry (i.e. swimming, expense) are a big deal that limits entry and growth but I also think that retention is negatively affected by the reasons I mentioned. Triathlon takes itself way too seriously and I think that intimidates (or annoys) people who are mainly looking to have fun while doing something healthy. I think growth is good for the sport and that won't happen until we as a community make triathlon more "approachable" to the average joe. For example, anyone who reads Slowtwitch forums would swear that finishing an Ironman in over 14 hours is a total disgrace; so for those people (at least half of most IM finishers) rather than feeling accomplished they feel like this is a community where they don't belong. In the running community that type of perspective is mostly limited to LetsRun.com which represents a much smaller piece of the community pie.

I 100% agree with the OP that we need to remember that for most of us this sport should be about having fun. If that includes being competitive then awesome, but let's not make it miserable for those that are not in it to compete.

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http://dontletitdefeatyou.blogspot.com

Couldn't agree more with this post!!! Life is too short and no one gives a shit about your time/place in these events. Ride, run and swim for enjoyment and fun. I ride inside on my trainer during the winter because I enjoy it - but otherwise you've got to have fun and enjoy what you are doing.

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“Give a man a fish and feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and feed him for a lifetime. Teach a man to cycle and he will realize fishing is stupid and boring.”
¯ Desmond Tutu

Love this, and this post totally resonates with me. This was my 3rd season of being a Triathlete, and I come from a background of being over-weight so I still have a lot to learn in the sport. I trained for and raced my first Ironman this summer, CDA, which was a brutal but awesome first go at the full distance. I found myself feeling tired and lacking motivation post Ironman - but doing everything I could to stick to a plan because I 'had to' race to meet some team/ambassador expectations. When I decided to pull the plug and just take some time for myself - unstructured training, no plans in training peaks - all of the sudden I'm motivated beyond belief and so excited to get back at it after only a few weeks 'off.'

This is probably an example of where having a (good) coach would help so that I would have someone encouraging me to take time off. But it's a big learning for me, and I agree - time to put the fun back in training.

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I want to have Fun. When is it? What are the distances? Can you send me Garmin and Strava files of the course? What were your power numbers when you had Fun? I have a lot of questions about equipment choices before I commit to having Fun. Is Fun wetsuit legal? Who owns Fun? If it's WTC I know I won't enjoy Fun (but I'll probably do it anyway). I really only want to have Fun if I can dominate my age group. What do the Fun medals look like? I think I might have had Fun once, back in the early 90's when it still meant something. Today Fun is mostly a bunch of posers who can barely make the cut off. Last time I had Fun it was way too crowded and there was tons of outside assistance going on. I don't remember seeing a single Fun marshal out there. Let me check with my coach and see if he's cool with me having Fun.

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Gary Mc
Did I mention I did Kona

Funny. Thread questioning whether triathletes have fun is dominated by people proving the OP right. Really, five, ten, years from now is anyone going to remember the great time he had examining data from his Garmin? Will he tell his children about it? Relate it to his grandchildren? When friends and family are gathered around telling stories about fun things they have done, will he captivate the crowd with tales of looking at graphs in his training software or following his coach's plan?

With my Race/Event Announcing work, I stand at finish lines and watch well over 10,000 triathletes finish races in a given year. I would say on the most part, watching them finish and hanging out before and after races with them that by and large most are having fun, and doing triathlon for that reason.

However, there is a cohort in this sport, that seems as a percentage, bigger than in say, running or cycling, that do appear to take things quite a bit more seriously. Obsessed with, equipment, results, splits, data, etc . . . not saying this is wrong, but you are right, 10 years from now, who's going to care? No one! What will linger, will be the stories, the overcoming, the set-backs, and the accomplishments!

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Steve Fleck @stevefleck | Blog

There are huge pressures to buy stuff that you plainly don't need to compete in triathlon. You just don't the entire line of aero crap from wheels to bike frames to helmets. You do not need the latest garmin or power meter. You don't need to buy a wetsuit. You don't even need a heart rate monitor. You can have a lot or some of that stuff but we, as a community, tend to brow-beat people into buying a lot of stuff and people get tired of it.

I only did one triathlon this season (Vineman 70.3) and I had a great time. The only thing I bought all season was the Fenix 3 on my wrist right now, but I love electronics so it figures. I road a road bike, I ran in regular Saucony shoes, I wore TT helmet I bought on sale, I have a dumb trainer (still had a great bike split) and it was fantastic to train hard but without the obsessiveness. Next year I will do the Minnesota challenge and maybe a 70.3 and I am really looking forward to it. I might buy my friends used Cannondale Slice but other than that I will not buy anything major for this sport. My goal is to stay in shape and play with my friends, everything else is just noise.

Agree and a lot of the athletes who raced back in the day when you didn't all that stuff to enjoy the sport are now trying to make a living selling that stuff to newbies who don't know any different. ;)

Also, a lot of cyclists and runners are pretty damn obsessive and anal about equipment and numbers. If there is a difference with triathletes, it's only that we have three sports to be obsessive and anal about instead of one.

This isn't work and should be fun. I find training to be the fun part. The gadgets give you something to talk about and think of when you aren't out there enjoying the ride. That said, less spend on technology and more on destination races has been great for keeping me going and preventing burnout. I also do not have to worry about financial planning as much as the locals I see at races each year with a new bike or other doo-dad.

That said, I did get a new bike this year (for fit reasons) and can be dubbed a hypocrite, but firmly believe it is all about the engine and the mindset and not the gear. If you are having fun, you race better and stay injury free longer.

Well, if i spend 30/mon for pool, that's 360/yr, plus 1 new Speedo per year at about $30, so 390/yr. If you run a fair amount, say 35mi/wk, that's about 1800 mi/yr. I generally replace my shoes every 400 miles so 4.5 pairs of shoes per year, which at say $90/pair would be roughly $405/yr. So, i don't think swimming is all that expensive relative to running. I think there are two big things that keep people out of triathlon: 1) it takes a lot of work to learn to swim reasonably well; 2) it only takes a few bike rides in traffic to see how you could easily be killed or maimed. Running is consid safer on the whole if you always run facing the traffic.

Also, regarding the costs of the three, generally 95% of the people who run and/or who do tri have some sort of desk job, and generally make a reasonably decent income. Generally speaking, blue collar workers just see no point in running "for the fun of it".

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"Anyone can be who they want to be IF they have the HUNGER and the DRIVE."

Just a minor quibble but many of my "stories" from my years of swimming, running, and triathlon do involve splits and numbers, but just the regular timing sorts of numbers, not power, HR, or any of that stuff. I think most people will always remember their best races as being their fastest, highest placing, etc, and prob they will tell "stories" about these races the most.

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"Anyone can be who they want to be IF they have the HUNGER and the DRIVE."

Sounds like my style of triathlon lifestyle. I ride a 2012 Cervelo P2 that I bought used (the red and black one) for a steal. I absolutely love that bike and can't see me replacing it for a while. However, my first Ironman was on an alumminum Giant Defy that I still use for training. I really like new cool stuff, like everybody else, but I don't think you have to spend a fortune to enjoy the sport. I am routinely on AG podiums at my local races and find no need (or have no desire) to get marginal gains by obsessing about training or spending a ton of money. I'll keep doing Tri as long as it keeps being fun, doesn't ruin my life balance, and doesn't hurt my pocket book.

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http://dontletitdefeatyou.blogspot.com

Endurance sports attract type-a people.

Type-a people often have a hard time having fun.

If you go on vacation and can't control your impulse to crack open the laptop and get some work done then you are a person who doesn't really like fun.

Type-a people often take something that is fun (e.g., triathlon, running, etc.) and turn it into a chore, driven by guilt, fear and obsession. They may think they are having fun, but it's not really fun.

I find it amusing that the majority of type a on here think that by focussing on enjoying the sport I am saying that I am slow and no longer wanting to improve. I am not slow... and I am still getting even faster! The difference is I am racing multiple times a week in training and able to measure myself against those around me. Not just a Garmin metric. I still record those and look at them occasionally to tell me what I already know, training sessions don't have to be a bore of numbers and intervals to get the same (if not greater) gains.

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I learned a long time ago that the only pertinent information you offer is found within the last sentence.

I started to shy away from my Tri club when I started to get pressure to buy a power meter. Does anyone train off of how they feel that day? Data collection is everywhere and Tri is no exception.

I have "tried" 2 tris to date and they weren't for me. One sprint and one Oly. I came from team sports and did not find them very exciting or fun. But that is for another thread. I have done and attempted many different sports, hobbies, etc. through the years.(Some at high levels) Triathlon has by far the weirdest vibe coming from it. Most of the other sports you participate/compete as hard as you can but they don't define who you are at the end of the day. It doesn't seem to be that way for a lot of the Triathletes I come across. Cyclists can be that way as well.(I am one) Maybe it's because they didn't have success in non endurance sports growing up. Maybe that is why Tri attracts all of those type A's. Who knows? But for the majority that I come in contact with Tri is their life and how they determine the person they are.