So the first tri boom peaked in 1988 at 64K according to Dan's front page story. I was 29 then working for peanuts at a weekly newspaper. I did 12 tris that summer (9 in Ohio) in a Speedo on a steel Centurion with Boone DH bars and a disc cover. Because I covered races for Triathlon Today I got a lot of comp entries, but I could have afforded one or two race entries a month without the comps, probably including Chicago USTS, the Muncie Endurathon HIM and the Tri-Fed National Championship at Wilkes-Barre. I had a blast that summer, so I guess I don't really need to worry about participant numbers dropping until they fall below 64K again (from 475K now)?