The amount of people willing to pay $800+ for a race entry is aging...

Those 40yr olds still have kids to put through college and 401(k)s to fund lol

The AWA priority price for Des Moines 70.3 is $325!!!!

I think both of the observations are correct.

The aging of the "participation generation" seems to be hurting the younger age groups in all participation sports -- even the reasonably priced races.

And silly-high entry fees naturally also skew the demographics of the entry list -- while making IM into a one-and-done bucket list event.

IM needs to take a lesson from golf. With an aging and dying demographic, golf participation has been falling for years. Hundreds of golf courses have gone out of business. A similar wave has begun in triathlon. It's time for the powers at the top of the sport to take measures to turn it around.

I was looking at the IMLP start list. It’s not news that the M45-49 AG surpassed the M40-44 AG a couple years ago in size. This was the first time I noticed M50-54 surpassing M40-44 in size. I’m sure it has happened in other races, but this seems notable. Three years ago, the early 40s men were the most crowded AG. Now, as those guys have gotten older, there haven’t been a lot of new entrants to the sport behind them.

Also notable that for slot allocation, we could see races where you need to be top 3 in M40-44 to qualify. A 50 yo could grab what would have once been the fourth slot.

Agree, yet wonder if triathlon is still "cool". It used to be a cool / bucket list / bragging rights kind of thing to do. That doesn't seem to be as prevalent as it once was across age groups. There could also be some resentment if you are way healthier than your peer group these days.

Sports these days need to be aware of what has been mentioned - video games - and reinvent themselves virtually. I think we have a better chance getting someone hooked on Zwift than riding on the road. Hopefully the virtual reality experience creates a desire to actually do it outdoors. Or I'm being too optimistic about that happening...

Not to mention all of the incidental expenses of racing an IM. For example, most IMs don't allow packet pickup the day before. The extra hotel days (2?) adds enormous cost onto an already expensive trip!

I have been in the biggest AG at every IM I've ever done since 2007.

Not to mention all of the incidental expenses of racing an IM. For example, most IMs don't allow packet pickup the day before. The extra hotel days (2?) adds enormous cost onto an already expensive trip!

The hotel issue has always been an issue. It's not new, and thus it is not a valid reason behind the aging demographic.

With the proliferation or races, finishing an Ironman doesn't have the same cache it used to. Furthermore, the fact that half or more the people who actually are doing it are old enough to be grandparents has demystified the accomplishment for younger folks. And while the older generation is so fixated on IM's and HIM's, short course racing, which would be more accessible to somebody still in the family formation and career building stage of their life, is struggling to stay afloat.

I have been in the biggest AG at every IM I've ever done since 2007.

I think the real problem is you cannot do a local club sprint tri for $20 or a local Olympic tri for $50 anymore. When you could do that, there were plenty of athletes out of college or building your families who could do tris. You need an affordable feeder system to attract young people. The price of a club entry has to be in the range of multiple drinks at the bar. Once you are talking entry fees that are somewhere in between a monthly cell phone bill ( a must have) and a car payment (optional, but more likely to need that), then its hard to get young people to allocate money to this sport, which then means you have no new blood.

I would be interested in slowman's demographics around here on ST. I doubt it is much different. A bunch of middle age upper income white guys posting and spending on this sport (oh, and a few token none white guys, but we fall into the same disposable income range).

I think its a generational thing. Gen-X are the sports nuts and they are getting older. The younger generations are not as sports crazy. You can see it in almost all sports. Viewership, participation, ticket sales, are all down with the younger generation.

IM is the most selfish sport on the planet in regards to time and money spent.

What about sailing, mountaineering, motorsports to name but 3; then there are the parents who work away from their kids by choice (I see that a lot). Ironman isn't the only expensive self-consumed activity out there!

As a fellow Gen-Xer I agree with this and most of the other posts as well. Very interesting!

The world is a very different place today compared to when us Gen-Xers were getting into our sports (late 1980s, 1990s). As a young competitive cyclist, I don't remember being worried about global warming, climate change, mass extinctions of animals, global food and water shortages, and other current global problems (just to name a few). With social media today there's much more awareness of how badly things are in the world. It feels like younger people are more conscious and getting more involved in trying to solve many current problems. At least more so than my generation and the baby boomers.

I love the Ironman and I admit that I'm hooked. But let's face it - IM is the most selfish sport on the planet in regards to time and money spent. I do feel torn sometimes. Should I re-allocate my time and resources towards a less selfish cause like helping the homeless, volunteering for a youth group, starting an animal sanctuary, etc? Perhaps more millennials are trying prioritize their lives in a way to do more good in the world? Maybe I'm way off base?

I also agree that cost is another big factor for younger folks.

So when I see young people in the university gym where I work out staring at their phones instead of getting their weight session done in half the time, it's because they are reading about how to solve the current global problems? Maybe I shouldn't interrupt to ask if I can work in with him or her on the machine. :) I seriously doubt that fewer millennials are doing triathlon because they are too busy trying to solve the world's problems. I don't believe that social media has led to a more educated and aware populace than we were young. I do agree that they have other interests and tri is more expensive now than it was when I was in my 20s in the '80s. I did tris for more than a decade before I could afford to do my first IM.

We are in big trouble if you are 100% correct :-)

I've always wondered why WTC doesnt have 5Ks, newbie sprints and/or Aquabikes, Otillo type runs all in the same weekend as HIM or fulls. Those signing up for the smaller events would likely be attracted to watching a half or a full IM before the weekend was over. It would expose them to it, right there and then. And hopefully inspire them to do a bigger event next time it comes around. Kid fun runs are great, no doubt, BUT they can't sign up for another 10 to 15 years. Bring back the weekend multisport festival! Party! Party! Party!

A few things:

1.) A club can't put on a sprint for $20 and have it be insured as a club activity, have a permit to use the beach, and pay the mandatory police officers the minimum of four hours that is required. There are very few places where you can still do that, unfortunately. And if you decide to go rogue with it without permits...heaven help you.

2.) Same deal for the Olympic. Our half marathon starts at $40 and ranges up to $75. Our fixed costs grow more expensive every year but registration fees don't adequately keep pace, so our net winds up coming down each year since roughly 2015.

3.) In terms of the demographics, I can tell you that ST skews younger and more female than you or anybody else gives us credit for.

M33 here, started when I was M28 in the sport, about to drop out of the sport pretty soon...so I feel qualified to comment - these are my top-10 BROAD generalizations as I've seen it

1) Sport is really good for when you're either (1) single or (2) deeply involved in a relationship with established parenting routines. When you're actively dating / starting out / etc. It can be consuming. Hence why maybe 28-35ers are focused on family planning and cannot / will not allocate 8-15+ hours a week to triathlon. If you have an 8 and 12 year old who spends 2 hours a day at soccer, you probably can be efficient an workout alongside them. An 8 month old is still trying to breathe right.
2) The younger AG <25 is focused on getting careers in order, finding new social circles - and probably not willing to spend $1,000 for an IM weekend (I was not)
3) Sunday races suck, and Saturday bike check-in is a joke. Nobody wants to spend the weekend bothering yourself and your family with proper hydration, nutition, etc. and rest when you're potentially visiting a new place. All to get your "nutrition" locked in for a 23rd OA place or something like that. Then its Sunday at 11am and its time to go home, and go to work. We need more Saturday morning races (where you check in saturday). This is why I only do Saturday races with packet pick up the morning of the race.
4) Running is cool again. Its very cool. Trail running is all the rage. And you can run 7 hours a week and get very good. Oh, and you can workout once a day (or maybe just 8-10x a week). Triathlon can't compete with that. Want to stay fit, feel like an athlete and have a life? Run.
5) Working out twice a day every day is really draining and selfish. Younger generations like to socialize a bit more. Balance perhaps? Grind out a 1 hour workout in the morning and have the day free.
6) People are freaking out about biking on public roads. I see it more and more than even 6 years ago. And before you try, the trainer is uber boring and not a substitute to a 6am sunrise bike ride.
7) Younger folks can afford triathlon, but they prefer to travel. Where you've been is the Happy Hour brag vs. what you've done. Most <40s are thinking about the next weekend trip to Europe, not planning their 23 hour training weekend.
8) Drinking is really accessible and "trendy". Wine, micro brews, etc. Not a healthy hobby (or something I advocate), but it creates a lot more distractions (Hey Teddy, wanna go check out "Local Brewery XYZ", vs. "Hey Teddy, how about we smash some FTP intervals for 45 min?") The former happens more.
9) Young people either (1) really get into tris and kick ass or (2) are one and dones. You older folks love to grind out in the sport and be slow as F. I don't see that trend with 30 year olds as they do not appreciate just being there (and hence why old AGs grind it out).
10) Only had 9.

Sport won't die and when you're at the next IM branded race you'll feel like its the center of the world with 2,500 people there. So who cares? Its still fun (if you're into it, and probably old).

My wife and I are "millenials," put on races, race a ton (hell I'm pretty sure I'll get a bronze frequent buyer program cap this year), etc. I'm just telling you -- the fixed costs are rising and frequently a result of the permitting process. I'm currently stuck in hell trying to get the state DOT to finish signing off on our half marathon -- we're on our third new person in as many years handling our event permit.

As a fellow Gen-Xer I agree with this and most of the other posts as well. Very interesting!

The world is a very different place today compared to when us Gen-Xers were getting into our sports (late 1980s, 1990s). As a young competitive cyclist, I don't remember being worried about global warming, climate change, mass extinctions of animals, global food and water shortages, and other current global problems (just to name a few). With social media today there's much more awareness of how badly things are in the world. It feels like younger people are more conscious and getting more involved in trying to solve many current problems. At least more so than my generation and the baby boomers.

I love the Ironman and I admit that I'm hooked. But let's face it - IM is the most selfish sport on the planet in regards to time and money spent. I do feel torn sometimes. Should I re-allocate my time and resources towards a less selfish cause like helping the homeless, volunteering for a youth group, starting an animal sanctuary, etc? Perhaps more millennials are trying prioritize their lives in a way to do more good in the world? Maybe I'm way off base?

I also agree that cost is another big factor for younger folks.

As a 25 y/o, the gross over-generalizations of millennials kill me. Though it may be true that millennials are generally more aware and conscious of these issues, that doesn't make us all social justice warriors. Neither myself nor anyone in my social circle is as extreme as the pictures painted of us in this thread... I'm a competitive AG'er and show up to local races with a good showing of other competitive 25-29 year olds. I'm more inclined to support local races (sprint, Oly, Half) than shell out $500 for an IM branded 70.3 with an overcrowded bike course. But I can promise you that as one of the largest generations head count wise, we are far more diverse than the mainstream media portrays us to be...

It's awful what's done to each generation. When I was young, we had nuclear bomb drills and a nuclear clock. The world was going to end due to overpopulation. Gasoline and food was supposed to be long gone by now. Y2K.

And Documentaries like the one below don't help alleviate this worry. Humans do continue to press on no matter how much stress we cause the planet with our endless wars, consumption, overpopulation, environmental destruction, etc. Maybe the end is nearing for us sooner than we want to believe. I hope not. I still have many bucket list races :-)

10 Billion
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jV5xiRKw5f4

M33 here, started when I was M28 in the sport, about to drop out of the sport pretty soon...so I feel qualified to comment - these are my top-10 BROAD generalizations as I've seen it

1) Sport is really good for when you're either (1) single or (2) deeply involved in a relationship with established parenting routines. When you're actively dating / starting out / etc. It can be consuming. Hence why maybe 28-35ers are focused on family planning and cannot / will not allocate 8-15+ hours a week to triathlon. If you have an 8 and 12 year old who spends 2 hours a day at soccer, you probably can be efficient an workout alongside them. An 8 month old is still trying to breathe right.
2) The younger AG <25 is focused on getting careers in order, finding new social circles - and probably not willing to spend $1,000 for an IM weekend (I was not)
3) Sunday races suck, and Saturday bike check-in is a joke. Nobody wants to spend the weekend bothering yourself and your family with proper hydration, nutition, etc. and rest when you're potentially visiting a new place. All to get your "nutrition" locked in for a 23rd OA place or something like that. Then its Sunday at 11am and its time to go home, and go to work. We need more Saturday morning races (where you check in saturday). This is why I only do Saturday races with packet pick up the morning of the race.
4) Running is cool again. Its very cool. Trail running is all the rage. And you can run 7 hours a week and get very good. Oh, and you can workout once a day (or maybe just 8-10x a week). Triathlon can't compete with that. Want to stay fit, feel like an athlete and have a life? Run.
5) Working out twice a day every day is really draining and selfish. Younger generations like to socialize a bit more. Balance perhaps? Grind out a 1 hour workout in the morning and have the day free.
6) People are freaking out about biking on public roads. I see it more and more than even 6 years ago. And before you try, the trainer is uber boring and not a substitute to a 6am sunrise bike ride.
7) Younger folks can afford triathlon, but they prefer to travel. Where you've been is the Happy Hour brag vs. what you've done. Most <40s are thinking about the next weekend trip to Europe, not planning their 23 hour training weekend.
8) Drinking is really accessible and "trendy". Wine, micro brews, etc. Not a healthy hobby (or something I advocate), but it creates a lot more distractions (Hey Teddy, wanna go check out "Local Brewery XYZ", vs. "Hey Teddy, how about we smash some FTP intervals for 45 min?") The former happens more.
9) Young people either (1) really get into tris and kick ass or (2) are one and dones. You older folks love to grind out in the sport and be slow as F. I don't see that trend with 30 year olds as they do not appreciate just being there (and hence why old AGs grind it out).
10) Only had 9.

Sport won't die and when you're at the next IM branded race you'll feel like its the center of the world with 2,500 people there. So who cares? Its still fun (if you're into it, and probably old).

The spirit of your reply is spot on. Do something productive and then enjoy the day.

This is exactly how I feel about 70.3. It's still a hard day. But 4.5-5 hours later and I'm hanging out with my family again and drinking a beer.

vs

"ok, wave to daddy as he gets on his bike. He'll be back in 5-6 hours!"

I'm not sure I understand your question

I'm not sure I understand your question

Why is it taking you 3-4 hours to drop a bike off in transition?

All those things could be applied to running as well...

If it's not local, you have to travel.
You could be managing your diet...and being grumpy.

There are many local tri races (at least around me) that can register morning of. Are reasonably cheap and fun. Yes, even half irons.

But I do understand what you're saying. A local 5k is of course going to be easier logistically than traveling to an Ironman. As well as training for one.

Bolded is the real issue. Does someone really have a problem dedicating one weekend to a big race? Not likely. Ironman race day (& weekend) is magical and I love it. It's the months of weekends prior to race day that make me want to have no part of it going forward.

For a 70.3 and shorter I can do my normal weekday training that's part of my routine, and some shorter stuff on weekend mornings (if it works out), and still have a great race.

What I dislike about triathlon in particular, is that having to keep up with all 3 sports means that it's almost impossible to train an hour or less a day (1 session), and keep anywhere near good fitness. You can be an awesome runner on 1 hr a day.

Why is it taking you 3-4 hours to drop a bike off in transition?

All those things could be applied to running as well...

If it's not local, you have to travel.
You could be managing your diet...and being grumpy.

There are many local tri races (at least around me) that can register morning of. Are reasonably cheap and fun. Yes, even half irons.

But I do understand what you're saying. A local 5k is of course going to be easier logistically than traveling to an Ironman. As well as training for one.

I guess the point is that the time commitment is much more than just race day. If it is not a local race you are having your family travel days before, attend checkin, bike drop, etc all in the day/s before the actual race. You are doing this while trying to maintain a strict diet. You are probably completely distracted, maybe grumpy, maybe on an emotional rollercoaster.

1. Why would an age grouper bother being on a strict diet....read from Greg Lemond's old book about cycling. Rule number one to being a good athlete is to be able to eat anything for loading up before an event and eat anything for recovering after event. Greg said something like this, "I have to eat in 23 different hotels in 23 days and race on 21 days and perform. I have to perform with what I get, or I lose the Tour de France"....how simple is that? All you age groupers need to take a page out of that
2. Why are you distracted. Just focus on what is in front of you. If its your family, its your family...then ignore your bike. If it is your bike cause you're putting on new rubber, ignore your family. Its reasonably simple if you set the expectations. If you can't do it, then don't bring your family. They will be thankful to not come
3. No reason to be grumpy. We're doing this for recreation and entertainment. No one cares about your results. Not even your family. Only you. No one is looking at the nth decimal place beside our names. Our families will throw away all those finisher medals in the trash the day after we die. No one has any use for our times nor medals....don't be grumpy!

1. Why would an age grouper bother being on a strict diet....read from Greg Lemond's old book about cycling. Rule number one to being a good athlete is to be able to eat anything for loading up before an event and eat anything for recovering after event. Greg said something like this, "I have to eat in 23 different hotels in 23 days and race on 21 days and perform. I have to perform with what I get, or I lose the Tour de France"....how simple is that? All you age groupers need to take a page out of that
2. Why are you distracted. Just focus on what is in front of you. If its your family, its your family...then ignore your bike. If it is your bike cause you're putting on new rubber, ignore your family. Its reasonably simple if you set the expectations. If you can't do it, then don't bring your family. They will be thankful to not come
3. No reason to be grumpy. We're doing this for recreation and entertainment. No one cares about your results. Not even your family. Only you. No one is looking at the nth decimal place beside our names. Our families will throw away all those finisher medals in the trash the day after we die. No one has any use for our times nor medals....don't be grumpy!

Well it is easy to sit there and write something that makes it all sound so simple but the reality is that many athletes struggle with their emotions before and after a big event.

Leading up to my first 70.3 I was extremely distracted because the athletes guide made everything sound so precise. All of my previous oly/sprint races were just about showing up and checking in on the day. Then of course it was running over nutrition, pacing etc in my mind, doubting myself. I have my second 70.3 coming up in 2 months and I know I will be a lot less nervous and distracted.

.
WTC owns two multisport festivals within 30mins drive from my base in Australia.Here is the most famous one and it is an epic weekend.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWOneNE--Hs

Ironman Cairns has a multisport festival as well during Ironman week and the many bars along the run course in town are packed full of spectators and 70.3 finishers all day on race day.

maybe I will make it down there someday. LOOKS FOOKIN' EPIC!!!

Guys, its easy to write what I wrote because you guys are all wound up in a ball about your own insignificant performances and I say that because I have my stupid 31 IM finisher medals and Kona medals in a heap in the basement gathering dust that no one including myself cares about. I do care about my journey to those finish lines....race day, race weekend and the 363 days before with awesome friends and families.

Most of you are missing the point of this sport and Nick captured it so well...go smash your buddies on fun training days and talk smack about it in the bar. Really, at your funeral, its those buddies who are showing up and they won't give a rats ass about your race results. They won't remember your results. They will remember that amazing climb together up a mountain or that epic track workout or trail run or whatever. They will remember the races you did together, but they won't remember your time. They won't know what is beside your name on sportstats, or strava or garmin connect. I'm probably one of those oddball people who can remember the various PBs of my buddies and remind the rest of the world how awesome they were when they did those PB's. The Ultrathailand guy who just posted, he's a guy who has gone waaaaaay sub 10 at Ironman Canada and WON Ultraman Canada, so the guy knows high performance more than 99% of this forum

Sooooo, its easy to write and tell everyone to unwind, because it really is easy to unwind, if you let go about caring so much of the results that you can't smell the roses on the journey along the way and that includes race weekend. Its all part of the journey and fellow athletes and families are part of the journey.

Seriously guys, just listen to what Nick is saying. And take note of what I am saying....just treat the race like a workout but with a timing chip on. If you visualized the entire process every night for a month before you A event, when you get there, its just automatic. If you did not visualize, then you're having to spend too much brain power on the spot trying to figure it out.

Imagine a big presentation at work, a major academic exam, or a thesis defence. You don't just show up and try to figure it out on the spot. Anyone who is a high performer, is already mentally prepared and when they show up they are on autopilot and relaxed and just crank through things max relax. Be that person with your racing.