Come race in Britain.
It's the polar opposite.

Depends on what you're looking to get out of a race. If you like the village, the swag, etc... then Ironman events are right up your alley. If you're looking to race and have fun just while on course, local tri's fit that really well.

I think the problem occurs when I see the local tri's asking the Ironman prices, because if I'm dropping the $300 it might as well be an Ironman branded event with all that comes with it. I had flirted with the idea of doing Miami man or Oil Man and they both cost more than a normal 70.3. Maybe I'm crazy, but I can make that jump mentally for some reason. Same way I can't fathom dropping $700 on Alcatraz.

I love what Caltri is doing and Without Limits here in CO, they're making races that are affordable and accessible to all kinds of participants. If I can just get out and race for under $100 on a weekend, I'd write that check without thinking about it. It's crazy because I would easily sign up for 6-7 $100 races, but to spend $700 on a single race I stew in my mind for days and procrastinate if I really want to sign up.

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I feel like I get an appropriate value out of all the types of races I do. First, there really very few $35 races anywhere anymore of any kind. I did a local 4M race a week ago that was $35. I did a local pool Olympic a couple weeks ago that was $30, and it was great for what it was. And, it was also the cheapest event of any kind that I have done anywhere. The IM races are spendy, but they also have a major brand premium on top of the whole experience (signage, volunteers, road closures, transition area, etc.). T, and that was my cheapest event of the last few years. The sprints and Olympics I do range from $80 - $120, and the are spot on with value. They are small, but are very-well managed for their resources.

Have yet to do a WTC event, but a quick check seems like most of the 70.3s are closer to $400 these days (and many aren't local so add travel costs) vs (at least in socal) a number of Olympic/sprints right around the $100 mark (even some 70.3s that aren't much more). The indie races also usually seem to have more flexible logistics (e.g., morning of packet pickup) which means the race can be effectively a half day activity vs a full weekend. For me, being able to not put all my race eggs in one basket for the same price is a nice option. It probably does help that these are still closer to 1000 participants than 100, so it doesn't end up feeling like a training day with some aid stations.

I'm not sure what you were quick checking but most of the North American 70.3s that are open for registration right now are at $250.

You’re not wrong. Many local races I’ve been to don’t even have a post race meal just fruit... and for $85 bucks no less. While IM may cost an arm and a let the experience you get for $800 is actually a fair price. Especially once you factor in the banquet, the breakfast, the onsite nutrition, the swag. I just have had about 50 gel packs that alone is nearly $100! The backpacks must be worth a good $30+ if you were to buy an equal backpack in a store. The hat and shirt a good $15 and $20 respectively.

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I still lapped everyone on the couch!

Which IM 70.3s are $250?

I did a very local olympic distance tri today. 15$! With free coffee and hot dogs afterwards!! One of the nicest events I’ve been to (except for the 11°C bike in heavy rain).

Lubbock was $165 when it went on sale, it’s at $225 now.
Great race, your entry includes a pretty good banquet too.

Not affiliated, just did it this year.

Dan

This

Steelhead, Lubbuck Madison. Except for the ones in bigger cities or more expensive areas, most open registration at $250

Gulf coast 70.3 just opened at $250. Now it’s $275 I think.

Why the hell did I register for AUGUSTA for $375? Lol

Lesson learned

Thanks guys

Looks like the three I happen to look (local + destination) at are on the higher end of them (two socal, one Hawaii).
Oceanside - $375-430
SuperFrog - $325-375
Hawaii - $345-400

LP is $285-325
Traverse City - $250-325
Santa Cruz - $275-325

Maybe socal is an odd comparison spot since there's both a robust set of local races and it seems to be a popular destination for traveling to races. $250 seems to be the price point for races that don't sell out (even with the tiering).

I jist signed up for 70.3 CDA and it was $300 all in (even with that dumb active.com fee) In 2018 I did 70.3 Chatty for just about the same.

I have done several different races through BC over the last couple of years and have found the IM races to be pretty good value. Traffic control has been superior to any of the individual races. When comparing the 2 IM 70.3's I've done vs the one put on by another company the price was nearly identical but the swag, traffic control and general event hype was way better at the IM venues.

We do have a couple great small local races that I believe provide great value. Tyhee Lake (Smithers, BC) holds a cool olympic, sprint and duathlon that only costs $30. The course is pretty sweet, not much for swag but I could care less at the price range.

Races that are going to charge the same as IM race fees need to step up on the cool factor in my opinion as IM can do so much with the huge numbers that they draw. Doesn't have to be crazy swag, just a well run event with some local flare, always adding just a little more than expected at the price level that is chosen.

To be honest, all of the California races murder the Texas race courses by a long shot. It’s worth the extra money to actually enjoy the scenery and avoid the gawd awful heat + humidity. For this very reason, I put down the extra dollars and leave Texas for those courses without flinching. I wouldn’t do another Texas 70.3 or 140.6 even if you paid for my entry.

Same in France where the prices are:
~600€+ for a full IM
~300€+ for a 70.3
~120€ for an unbranded 70.3
~50€ for a local oly
~25€ for a local sprint

IM branded triathlons are waaaaaaay more expensive than local races. They sometimes can be waaaaaaay better, sometimes just slightly better.

We have a local sprint-series in my town, it costs about 5 usd/race. The roads aren't closed but not much traffic.

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I paid 300 euros for embrunman 2 years ago. I thought it was good value

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Yes, unbranded IM are at most half the price of branded IM.

Most at Tier 1. But if you wait until Tier 3 or later you will pay $300+.

Edit - I saw the California prices above ... crazy! I live in the Southeast and it's definitely cheaper here.

About $1200 or so economy class just to get to Gatwick.

My biggest gripe about IM is not that I pay that price, but then what I get for that price. You’d think such a big brand would spend a few more bucks per racer and get a name brand shirt that doesn’t come apart at the seams after one wear, a backpack that isn’t an incredibly cheap bag, and a medal that’s better than the medals I’ve gotten at local 5K’s.

Having organized races, my thought is that racer experience doesn’t stop at what they get on the course, but what they go home with. Spend a few extra of those $750 and even just a tiny bit, act like you care.

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Boiler Up.
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I agree. The shirt quality is awful.

Local tri’s charge $90 for sprint and 130-190 for Olympic. So I have to agree with the OP.
Even local 5k’s are 40$ and up and an open HM is often 90-150$

I think you have the premise reversed. I just asked for opinions on swag at IM events because I thought that maybe I was being too critical of how much IM events costs compared to what you get. Was absolutely shocked at how little and poor quality the items were. Had a conversation yesterday at a local tri about a big race that we use to do that was bought by IM. Tripled the price and cut out all the extras, out of the four of us only one did the IM race again. I like big city marathons, and I like IM events, but value/time/experience goes to marathon hands down. Local tris around my area are under $250 for a half, under $125 for an Olympic, and under $75 for a sprint.

Race organization is very hard, and local municipalities are going to take their cut. I’d volunteer at a local race to see what the deal is.

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Aerodynamic Retul Bike Fitting

“You are experiencing the criminal coverup of a foreign backed fascist hostile takeover of a mafia shakedown of an authoritarian religious slow motion coup. Persuade people to vote for Democracy.”

Or do bike racing... also the polar opposite and you get to use your brain as well as your legs.

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Aerodynamic Retul Bike Fitting

“You are experiencing the criminal coverup of a foreign backed fascist hostile takeover of a mafia shakedown of an authoritarian religious slow motion coup. Persuade people to vote for Democracy.”

agree, and i've brought it up in other posts. why do bike races (road) still cost $30-50 while tri's are double to triple that? permits should probably cost the same. police detail for bike race is longer amount of time for sure (cat 5's start @9am, go though to pro/1/2's around 2 pm) and they still manage to give out cash prizes to most fields. how do they make any money? maybe Tri's should stop wasting money on useless generic paperweight medals (honestly who wants these any more?) and tech shirts that we all have a drawer full of already.

IM 70.3s are 2 to 3 times more expensive than my local sprint and olympic races. What am I getting for that extra $100-$150? Nothing that I can see that would be worth it. A better post race party, including food and drink, has almost zero value to me. Maybe worth an additional $10, but not more than that.

Funny, I was just thinking the opposite. I decided not to do an IM70.3 this year and am instead doing more, shorter local events and have been really happy.

Apart from just racing more and training less (and being less focused on a single event), the smaller events are *a lot* less expensive, and I've been having more fun (plus there's not someone on a PA saying "Ironman...athletes...ironman...athletes..." all day). Personally, I don't want any of the IM swag (it's mostly crappy, and I won't wear stuff plastered with IM logos), so I'm good with getting a tshirt from a local race and some pizza and fruit at the finish line. Plus, it's cool to get a gift certificate to a local shop as a prize.


I actually think IM is long-run bad for the sport. Relatively few people are going to do a lot of them, and IM pretty much markets itself as a singular achievement. People spend a lot of time preparing for one, spend a lot of money and a weekend to do one and have their achievement lauded, but I've seen a lot of people that aren't necessarily looking to do it again. The smaller and shorter events are more frequent and even though there are fewer people doing them, it seems like they're likely to do more.

Aren't a lot of bike races much shorter loop courses (excluding fondos, which tend to be more expensive)? The logistics/permits/police for closing down a 2-4 mile loop seems like it'd be less involved than a longer stretch that, by necessity, starts at the water.

my 6 year old and 3 year old think the medals are cool to play with - other than that you're totally right
what kind of adult cares about a medal?? I think its hilarious when people are still wearing theirs like 6 hours later

In my experience with permitting, many cities the right of way permit will be for the whole day, whether you use it the whole day or not. Though that’s not true everywhere. And when you’re dividing up the day into categories for bike racing, you can spread out those costs across a greater number of individuals than sending off 200 triathletes at once.

Also for police, most departments have a 6 hour minimum for special events. I’ve organized numerous 5k’s where we have a course open for 2 hours but are paying for 6 hours with of police. Just kind of the way it goes.

Liability insurance policies also typically cost more when you put people into the water. Plus you need to pay lifeguards out there too.

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____________________________________________________
Ever Grateful, Ever True.
Boiler Up.
Hammer Down.
Hail Purdue

In france IM racing is ridiculously expensive compared to local club races. There are many Half ironman very well organised in sub 130$ pricing. Also i'm tired of all the useless mess WTC is giving me, useless bag, useless medal ... what am i supposed to do with this garbage. Anyway i felt so wrong after paying 500$ for my world championship slot that i sweared it's the last year i feed this company. Thankfully there are better options.

I did a 6 day mtb race with a very fine organisation that was cheaper than a single ironman (Transmaurienne Vanoise) oO.

$110 for an Oly would be great. Anything near Austin is over $100 for a sprint.

Hard to beat the value for money of parkruns.

I stopped doing tris in the UK as I am tired of being hunted by some oaf in a Range Rover.

See you September 29th!

I’m doing Augusta for the second year in a row. I have family that live there so I don’t have to pay for a hotel room. I live 3 hours away so that’s nice as well. Augusta comes out to just over $400 after fees and insurance. I did a local 70.3 in May, it was right around $250. Not as much swag but overall, the experience was good.

I’m glad I paid the price for Augusta for my first 70.3 experience, now I’m kind of over it. This will likely be my last year doing Augusta because of pricing.

The thought of $250 for some of the other races is great, but if I end up having to travel and pay for lodging I would be well over $400 before all said and done. I could probably convince the wife to let me do gulf coast since PCB is only 4 hours away.

I’m happy with my local races and will likely continue to participate in them. Not sure about Ironman branded events going forward.

I’ve been really disappointed in IM/WTC’s post race food the past few years. I’ve seen tacos, pasta, salad, etc for food. They seem to want to provide fancy food for after the race. What happened to just freaking pizza?!? I don’t want fancy after the race, I just want simple.

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