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Re: Cost of tri (let's start over) [Slowman] [ In reply to ]
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Thanks for the reply. I was thinking about this more and drew another parallel to the ski industry and cost being a barrier to entry. I'm not exactly sure how to apply it to triathlon but maybe others could come up with additional ideas. I have worked part time as a children's downhill ski instructor for 15 years. That is another sport where the lift tickets have increased exponentially. Plus one has the cost of rental equipment, inflated food prices at the hill, travel and lodging. I think the barrier to entry is similar to triathlon and certainly caters to those upper class families.

The programs I see resorts offering to try and cater to the family and first time skier include kids ski free programs, free beginner hill areas, discount "first timer" lessons and rental packages. The resorts in my area have sponsored discount night skiing days as well.

One big difference is a majority of first time skiers are children vs triathlon where I'm not sure what the "typical" first timer is. Previously mentioned it seems to be the 35-45 age is a large portion of first time triathletes. I would think the younger age groups we would want to draw from as well.

There are a limited number of races that offer kids tris or other events for children. If there was a way to tie in a "family entry package" at a triathlon event where the whole family could participate in something I think that could draw increased participation. Dad and Mom pay to race and the kids go do X for free or something. Or even at races with tri, du and regular running races all happening. I don't see many that offer a family rate.

Another thought I had was if there was a first timer friendly tri. Maybe sponsored by a local club or in conjunction with a larger race. Club members could offer the use of their old bikes or older equipment they had lying around and anyone that was interested in trying a tri out would have access to some equipment plus some added guidance. Like an organized mentorship or something. Maybe if a seasoned participant chose to help guide the newbie they got a reduced entry or something.

Just a couple of ideas I had.

Ben McMurray
Northern Michigan Small Farm Venture ---> http://facebook.com/hillvalleymi [/size]


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Re: Cost of tri (let's start over) [TriTamp] [ In reply to ]
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TriTamp wrote:
davejustdave wrote:
I keep seeing people write "75 dollar entries, 60 dollar entries"


WHERE THE HELL ARE ALL THESE 60 DOLLAR RACES?!?!?!?!?

Even an indoor reverse sprint in socal is over a hundred these days.


no idea where you live but where I'm at we have this 5 series sprint. $60 per race. Less if you have a county park pass. Even less if you bough 5 pack early in year. Think I paid like $145

https://www.ccprc.com/1507/Charleston-Sprint-Triathlon


xterra triathlon was $60


International distance local tri is $80


obviously WTC gets crazy expensive.


I live in southern California. I wrote that "even an indoor sprint in costs a hundred"...

It's cool that you have those, but aside from 1 college tri, and the pendleton race, good luck finding any within a couple hundred miles of me that are less than 100.

I think our xterra runs 130

Local olys 150+

Dont get me started on wtc.
Last edited by: davejustdave: Dec 6, 16 9:26
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Re: Cost of tri (let's start over) [SLOgoing] [ In reply to ]
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SLOgoing wrote:
I don't know that expense is really the barrier. It is spending priorities as one factor. The other factor is that this sport is gad damned hard - do you realize how much more and harder we exercise than the vast majority of the population who thinks 30 min x 3 times per week is a job well done? We are not normal people. Who outside of triathletes (not talking about pros, but your average working adult) logs 6-12+ hours per week across 3 sports? Just to be a MOP? We are crazy. Crazy is the barrier. And if others are logging 6-12 hours plus per week in their sport then they are crazy too.

I forgot... what's the question again? Expensive? Pftht. I'd rather spend my money on Tri than all that other consumer stuff out there so I can create a calorie deficit that can afford a taco and beer without creating the belly.

For those of you that ever tried to convince someone to give Triathlon a try, very rarely does the conversation even get to cost before they're out. For the average person it's not the cost, it's the idea they'd run 5km, never mind doing it after a 20km bike ride the don't think they could get through or a 750m swim they want no part of. Bring up Olympic / 70.3 / 140.6 distances and the reaction is worse.

I suspect there's more people in Triathlon like me than you'd think: in their 30s or 40s, out of shape and over weight, stumble upon either running or biking as a way to loose weight and still have a beer / pizza / taco once in a while. The more I bike / run the more I eat and still loose weight. Only after 2-3 years of that does the idea of a triathlon even seem like a possibility.

I very intentionally don't talk about triathlon to non-triathletes because to most people what we do seems as ridiculous as noodling for cat-fish.
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Re: Cost of tri (let's start over) [Slowman] [ In reply to ]
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I'm kinda surprised at how little money people say in the poll they are willing to pay for a well-organized local olympic distance race. Are we to believe that so many of you are not willing to pay $90 for a good local Oly race, but are fine with $700-$800 for an Ironman (I know you all complain about it, but you sure are quick to enter in your credit card info)?

How many well-organized oly's are less than $90? It seems like an almost impossible task for a race director.

I do 2-3 big expensive WTC races per year, but the majority of my racing is local sprints and olympics. They are well organized and run, but no where near the type of infrastructure of an ironman race. Costs are $75 to $100 for sprints (depending on how early you sign up) and $90 to $120 for Olympics. I want our good local race directors to remain financially solvent and keep running great races, so I am totally willing to pay these prices.

I voted for $130 to $150.

-------------
Ed O'Malley
www.VeloVetta.com
Founder of VeloVetta Cycling Shoes
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Re: Cost of tri (let's start over) [Slowman] [ In reply to ]
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I don't have any doubt in my mind that the cost of entry (equipment) is a significant barrier, has been for some time, and probably always will be going forward.

Ultimately, I think it's more of a perception "problem" than a real one. At least, I don't know that we've defined the problem yet. Triathlon has an image as an expensive sport, and not much is really being done to counter that. Where running and swimming have tried to really cater to helping the beginner (maybe too much?), tri (and cycling, to an extent) have mostly made it a race to the top.

But is this really a problem? Is the underlying issue of cost that triathlon won't grow? If so, does it need to grow? I've not seen alot of pro-growth argument made in a compelling way. I don't need more people to race against. I just need enough people to race so that races exist. I don't want fewer races and less choice, but I will adapt as needed. I realize this is a fine line to walk, and I'd hate for tri to collapse, but it's a niche hobby. Maybe the model tri will follow is sailboat racing. -J

----------------------------------------------------------------
Life is tough. But it's tougher when you're stupid. -John Wayne
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Re: Cost of tri (let's start over) [davejustdave] [ In reply to ]
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Location, location, location...
All within a few hours from my home in Billings, MT

Razor City Splash & Dash tri (900 yd pool swim, 25K, 5K) $28
Powell (WY) Aquatic Center tri (500 yd pool swim 13 mile bike, 3 mile run) $25
Bighorn Canyon (Lovell, WY) tri (800m, 18K, 5K) $25
Garden City (Missoula, MT) Olympic distance tri $50, USAT sanctioned
406 Duathlon (Billings, MT) (3 mile, 20 mile, 3 mile) $45
Big Sky State Games sprint tri $55

Now I've cherry picked these races as their the most economical in the area. Montana races have started creeping up in price with a few Olys going for $75+ and sprints at $65+.
The lower priced events are hand timed and results are put on a spreadsheet. You get your race t-shirt and, in my experience, a thank you for the race director for coming to the event. Here in Big Sky country chip timing takes place at races that charge more (see 406 Duathlon & State Games tri). In 2016 I raced 8 tris & 1 du for much less than an Ironman entry. Do I get all the bells and whistles? No, and I really don't care. I'll splurge on one big out of state race, otherwise I buy local.

#swimmingmatters
Laugh hard. Run fast. Be kind.
The Doctor (#12)

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Re: Cost of tri (let's start over) [davejustdave] [ In reply to ]
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Anything that involves the gang of WTC, USAT and active.com is a major rip-off. Given that, I still sign up for some of the races because there aren't many other options these days. I would love to see some better grass-roots races and I would definitely support them. I did manage to find the Bayshore 70.4 in Long Beach for next year, $140 registration at the time and I'm happy to support that race.

Something will have to give soon on this whole WTC fleecing issue, I just hope we don't lose the sport.
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Re: Cost of tri (let's start over) [Warbird] [ In reply to ]
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Warbird wrote:
davejustdave wrote:
I keep seeing people write "75 dollar entries, 60 dollar entries"

WHERE THE HELL ARE ALL THESE 60 DOLLAR RACES?!?!?!?!?

Even an indoor reverse sprint in socal is over a hundred these days.


I can think of at least half a dozen $75 sprints and reverse sprints within a 1-2 hour drive of my home in the San Gabriel Valley, and a few more that are less than $100. Tinsel Tri in Hemet, Tinman at CSUSB, Possabilities at Loma Linda, Castaic, etc. Someone just getting into the sport in the LA area could easily put together an entire season of races that are $65-100, and don't even require a USAT fee...

There are also numerous (at least 6-7....could be more) local community sprint distance events here in the Philly/South Jersey area that charge $65-75k.
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Re: Cost of tri (let's start over) [davejustdave] [ In reply to ]
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davejustdave wrote:
I keep seeing people write "75 dollar entries, 60 dollar entries"

WHERE THE HELL ARE ALL THESE 60 DOLLAR RACES?!?!?!?!?

Even an indoor reverse sprint in socal is over a hundred these days.

http://atcendurance.com/

https://runsignup.com/...ePark/LakeWelchTriDu

http://jimmiejohnsontri.racesonline.com/register
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Re: Cost of tri (let's start over) [TriTamp] [ In reply to ]
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TriTamp wrote:
davejustdave wrote:
I keep seeing people write "75 dollar entries, 60 dollar entries"


WHERE THE HELL ARE ALL THESE 60 DOLLAR RACES?!?!?!?!?

Even an indoor reverse sprint in socal is over a hundred these days.


no idea where you live but where I'm at we have this 5 series sprint. $60 per race. Less if you have a county park pass. Even less if you bough 5 pack early in year. Think I paid like $145

https://www.ccprc.com/1507/Charleston-Sprint-Triathlon


xterra triathlon was $60


International distance local tri is $80


obviously WTC gets crazy expensive.

Are you in NC/SC TriTamp? I feel like I've seen some posts about races around the Carolina's from you. I'm asking because I'm in Charlotte and looking at options for 2017. I went big this year...at least for me (2x Ironman, 1x 70.3, lots of local/regional stuff) and would still like to do some races in 2017 but need to find some cheaper options. My wife's family is in Charleston so I already have that sprint series on my radar. Would like to get a 70.3 (or 2) in and am looking at White Lake and Lake Logan. Was looking at Mountains to Mainstreet but it's quite a bit more than the previous 2 mentioned.
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Re: Cost of tri (let's start over) [davejustdave] [ In reply to ]
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Wait. Stuff in SoCal is expensive? When did that happen?






Take a short break from ST and read my blog:
http://tri-banter.blogspot.com/
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Re: Cost of tri (let's start over) [RowToTri] [ In reply to ]
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"I voted for $130 to $150."

in the mid-80s, when triathlon was in its first boom, a bud lite triathlon series race, oly distance, cost $65. that was on the high side, but it was a good production. pro field. pro purse. using a typical cost of living calculator, that's $145 today.

so, i think $750 is a bit out of whack (alcatraz). but i also think a well-produced oly distance race costing $125 is not out of whack, and a think $150 for a life time race is not out of whack. of course, i don't know what a life time race costs.

trirock: $170 + $15 one-day + online reg?

i'll be publishing in a couple of days on the corporatization (in the worst sense of the word) of triathlon.

Dan Empfield
aka Slowman
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Re: Cost of tri (let's start over) [Mc B] [ In reply to ]
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I am with you on this one. I am a 31 year old married PE teacher. I have a crap ton of student loans, but thankfully not as much as many, and I am looking at buying a house and having kids. If I were single and didn't care about saving for the future like when I started I would travel to IM Texas again and drop the $1300 for an IM and hotel and food. But right now it would be selfish for me to go to Kona if I qualified because it would all be around $5k or so. But I am fine with that. I am hoping that I am still interested in this sport for many years and the time will come when I have more money to use for this sport. But spending a months rent/mortgage do go do an IM then add other races on to that is not in the cards.

I will probably race 5-8 times next year with a few WTC 70.3 races maybe but then the rest will be local races which I am ok with. I think the other issue is just endurance sports in general. I wanted to a Thanksgiving 5k/10k around me but I didn't want to spend $50 for a damn sweatshirt and 36 minutes of running! Someone said this earlier but "life is expensive" we are all just at different points in life where we can pick what part of life we want to be the most expensive.


Mc B wrote:
Lots of interesting observations in this thread. I've been involved with tris for 12 years and I just turned 30. I started out by borrowing my dad's bike and entering a local sprint. The cost was maybe $40-50. I think anyone that really wants to get into the sport for cheap, they still can do so. Anyone can be a triathlon participant and continue to do so for not a lot of money, if they're resourceful. But once one wants to compete in a triathlon those costs escalate. The "necessary stuff" we need is overblown for sure, and the used equipment market is thriving but one isn't going to get a basic competitive tri gear set up for less than $1000 and most will spend way more than that.

I have spent a lot of money on triathlon equipment and races. I've spent even more time dedicated to training. I'm at a point where my priorities are shifting and the costs cannot be justified. I think this is a case for many people, especially those in my age range (yes I'm a "Millennial") that are just starting careers, homes, families, debt, etc and don't have six figure jobs. Anyone wanting to get into the sport assumes it requires expensive equipment, on top of the expensive race fees. Plus what kind of time commitment seems to be flaunted as the norm? How many times on ST do I read people claiming they're putting in 10, 15, 20 hrs of training in. Drinking beer, playing video games or watching netflix is easier. And cheaper. But I think the more typical example for my age range is needing to work more to pay off my debt, spend the weekend fixing my house or spending my time with my friends and family.

I raced twice last year, one local event and one WTC event. The reason I didn't race more was two fold. One was cost, the other was competition. I race to be competitive. Not the t-shirts, medals, "experience" and what not. There are very few local races with any kind of deep competitive field. Part of this is because I'm in Northern Michigan. But even in the whole state there are few locally competitive races. WTC has the competitive fields. I don't have much choice. Thus I have been willing to jump through the b.s. active fees, year in advance sign ups, USAT $15 fees, on top of paying a stupid amount of money to race.

I think of the business model of discount airlines (Spirit, etc) and think if there was a way to apply it to tri. The basic cheap price gets me entry to race. All the extra stuff is an add on charge. T-shirt, finisher medal, post race food, everything. We used to be able to write a check and mail in a registration form and avoid active.com at all costs. Why can't we do that any more?

There used to be a decent road racing scene here that I dabbled in for a couple years. $30-$40 entry. Beer at the finish. Prize money on top of that. None of the races I did exist any more. If that business model failed, continuing triathlon participation seems to be a challenge. I would like to see the sport thrive, I'm just unsure how. Part of the issue is the cost. Part of it is the mentality required.

Twitter - Instagram
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Re: Cost of tri (let's start over) [nbaffaro] [ In reply to ]
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nbaffaro wrote:
The point the comes up for me over and over is that even a used $500.00 bike is still $500.00 dollars. I don't know a lot of people in my life where that is inconsequential money. Good friend of mine is single with no kids and makes 2x what my wife and I make combined,($120,000K) yet he still hems and haws over the costs of bikes.

I saw in the other thread and in this thread a few folks adding up the cost to toe the line at a sprint try and it has been anywhere from $500.00 to $1000.00

Sure you borrowed your dad's/friend's/uncle's bike and had a good time doing one triathlon. You want to do another one but starting looking at bikes and start researching. Tiagra isn't any good you should go at least 105. 105 is good for most people but Ultegra is even better. But, Dura-Ace DI2 is really where it's at. It doesn't seem as if the entry level bike get the respect it deserves. People need to grow into the sport and grow with their love for the training then upgrade. But, yet we've all seen time and time again that upgrading is just a feeling not necessarily a need.

Why did I upgrade bikes, I was exactly the same speed on my new bike as my old bike. But, yet I was compelled for some reason to buy a new bike to move from a mixed group set to full 105. From stock wheels to 30mm Reynolds. From a road bike to a tri bike. From an Orca Wetsuit to a Desoto Wetsuit. From a 910xt to a Fenix. From no power to a stages. From Stages to dual sided power. From this to that.

We are not creating a culture of run what you brung. I feel like people by and large won't participate in a triathlon on a mountain bike or hybrid because they don't feel like they are on equal footing. We need to find a way to bring in more first time racers that aren't quite ready for a full commitment to triathlon. Then as they grow and understand the sport better they can invest in more or better equipment.

My brother wants to do a race(activity) that I've done the past two years. It's a swim/bike/kayak/run. He's balking at YMCA fee's for swimming. I don't see how he'll ever come off the money for a bike or a kayak(lot of speed can be bought in a kayak).

I understand we don't want to water down triathlon to a point it's a glow/color run but if there's not a concerted effort to draw in first timers and newbies then it will continue to shrink.

Just a general reply to this thread. I posted this in the other thread. All the expensive gear is over blown. You can go sub 8 hours on a 20 year old bike that you can get off eBay. This was the first set up to go sub 8 hours at IM....and yes, I get that this was 96 at the peak of the EPO era but still



Seriously a year 2000 Cervelo P2K and a 15 year old pair of HED Jets and you're rocking to your PB IM race. We all need the fancy superbike as much as we NEED to upgrade our vehicles beyond a Toyota Yaris. Yaris does about 98% of the "workload" that people conduct day to day.
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Re: Cost of tri (let's start over) [Slowman] [ In reply to ]
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Slowman wrote:
"I voted for $130 to $150."

in the mid-80s, when triathlon was in its first boom, a bud lite triathlon series race, oly distance, cost $65. that was on the high side, but it was a good production. pro field. pro purse. using a typical cost of living calculator, that's $145 today.

so, i think $750 is a bit out of whack (alcatraz). but i also think a well-produced oly distance race costing $125 is not out of whack, and a think $150 for a life time race is not out of whack. of course, i don't know what a life time race costs.

trirock: $170 + $15 one-day + online reg?

i'll be publishing in a couple of days on the corporatization (in the worst sense of the word) of triathlon.

At least TriRock offers a two race combo (Philly and WashDC) for $275 which I took advantage of last year.
Also in the area, Delmo Sports organizes several events where the OLY distance events cost $109 and Atlantic City 70.3 for $299. And CGI does the NJ State Championships OLY for $139. I feel all three organizers do very good jobs and provide a good value for the money. Sure, I've spent bigger bucks to do KONA, IMAZ and a couple of 70.3s and it was worth the "experience", but I'm still of the opinion that you can enjoy the sport for a reasonable cost......compared to other options. You can choose your events and what you want to spend. Do local or do WTC.....your choice.
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Re: Cost of tri (let's start over) [captain-tri] [ In reply to ]
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captain-tri wrote:
For those of you that ever tried to convince someone to give Triathlon a try, very rarely does the conversation even get to cost before they're out. For the average person it's not the cost, it's the idea they'd run 5km, never mind doing it after a 20km bike ride the don't think they could get through or a 750m swim they want no part of. Bring up Olympic / 70.3 / 140.6 distances and the reaction is worse.

I suspect there's more people in Triathlon like me than you'd think: in their 30s or 40s, out of shape and over weight, stumble upon either running or biking as a way to loose weight and still have a beer / pizza / taco once in a while. The more I bike / run the more I eat and still loose weight. Only after 2-3 years of that does the idea of a triathlon even seem like a possibility.

I very intentionally don't talk about triathlon to non-triathletes because to most people what we do seems as ridiculous as noodling for cat-fish.

This for sure. I do a local pool sprint tri every year that goes by my house - $75 entry fee - and they just had their 37th annual race. Every year I see swimmers WALKING up and down the pool after their first 100 yards so they can finish their 900 yard swim. Then on the bike I see them dismount so they can have a sip from their water bottle and at the turn around they have a snack (like pretzels). Not to mention how many of them are walking their bike up the hills. I've even seen beach cruisers on the course. And lots of walmart bikes. Only on the run do I see the participants actually running their 3.1 miles (except for up the hill). Every year I get comments from folks that I'm one of those crazy triathlete, to which I respond, well, you are a crazy triathlete now too! Congrats of finishing! There are a lot of locals who do this every year as their 1 triathlon and major accomplishment. Its great.

However, how do we extract the athletes of the world and pull them into triathlon? My son is a perfect example (age 20). He's peaked out in his sport of passion - water polo - as a college kid. He won't play after college. He swims a sub 0:50 100y and does 10x100 sets on the 1:10 no problem. He can run a 10k in <45 minutes with no training (the local color fun run thing). He rode hubby's bike and put down some serious power on a quick 20 miler - blew hubby's numbers out of the water (on a dare from Dad).

So, I'm thinking - why doesn't this kid do triathlons? Because cross-fit is cooler. And his friends are doing cross-fit. And it makes him a bad ass to do cross-fit. Mom will foot the bill for the gear - I'm one of those moms. Cost isn't the issue for my kid. Cool-kid factor is the barrier. He's an athlete and doesn't sneeze at daily workouts and pushing to his limits. He just does it in a different sport. (crossing my fingers he listens to mum when I suggest he give tri a try). I've failed as a mother.... I tried.

Hillary Trout
San Luis Obispo, CA

Your trip is short. Make the most of it.
https://www.slogoing.net/
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Re: Cost of tri (let's start over) [miketri7] [ In reply to ]
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miketri7 wrote:
TriTamp wrote:
davejustdave wrote:
I keep seeing people write "75 dollar entries, 60 dollar entries"


WHERE THE HELL ARE ALL THESE 60 DOLLAR RACES?!?!?!?!?

Even an indoor reverse sprint in socal is over a hundred these days.


no idea where you live but where I'm at we have this 5 series sprint. $60 per race. Less if you have a county park pass. Even less if you bough 5 pack early in year. Think I paid like $145

https://www.ccprc.com/1507/Charleston-Sprint-Triathlon


xterra triathlon was $60


International distance local tri is $80


obviously WTC gets crazy expensive.


Are you in NC/SC TriTamp? I feel like I've seen some posts about races around the Carolina's from you. I'm asking because I'm in Charlotte and looking at options for 2017. I went big this year...at least for me (2x Ironman, 1x 70.3, lots of local/regional stuff) and would still like to do some races in 2017 but need to find some cheaper options. My wife's family is in Charleston so I already have that sprint series on my radar. Would like to get a 70.3 (or 2) in and am looking at White Lake and Lake Logan. Was looking at Mountains to Mainstreet but it's quite a bit more than the previous 2 mentioned.

yes. I'm in mount pleasant. charleston sprint series is good. no frills. just basic. but it's fun. there's TryCharleston (sprint and tri). They previously had a half distance but not anymore. I haven't done the TryCharleston so not sure how good it is but it's literally around the corner from me. There's Kiawah Island Triathlon International distance. That was good. Little more expense. I paid $99 last year with early reg. Now it's like $125 to register. In the future I'm looking at White Lake, Lake Logan. Heard good things about Mountains to Mainstreet although logistics on that one seem poor. If you like off road triathlons I would suggest Xterra Myrtle Beach. It was $60 and I thought the event was very cool even though I'm terrible at mountain biking. Toughman South Carolina is new. Not cheap but less than WTC. $250. Next year is my first IM so I've got my year sort of planned out

Charleston sprint series (I'll probably do at least 3 of those)
TryCharleston International Distance
Rev3 Williamsburg
IM Chattanooga.
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Re: Cost of tri (let's start over) [Warbird] [ In reply to ]
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Warbird wrote:
davejustdave wrote:
I keep seeing people write "75 dollar entries, 60 dollar entries"

WHERE THE HELL ARE ALL THESE 60 DOLLAR RACES?!?!?!?!?

Even an indoor reverse sprint in socal is over a hundred these days.

I can think of at least half a dozen $75 sprints and reverse sprints within a 1-2 hour drive of my home in the San Gabriel Valley, and a few more that are less than $100. Tinsel Tri in Hemet, Tinman at CSUSB, Possabilities at Loma Linda, Castaic, etc. Someone just getting into the sport in the LA area could easily put together an entire season of races that are $65-100, and don't even require a USAT fee...

You listed 4. I'd found the college ones, but beyond that? How much are the bonelli ones these days?

Yeah, we have a few that are 90 if you sign up 9-10 months out, but how many people do that?

The way I got into triathlon was I did one on a whim when in college. Fiesta del sol. I think it was 30 bucks, including a t shirt.

That was something I could afford as a student. I could also afford 50 bucks for an oly now and then once out of school. Since that time, wages have been pretty damn stagnant compared to inflation, and the cost of races has far outstripped inflation.

I can't see a college student, or ANY young person for that matter, working part time being able to afford 120 for a race, let alone a 5000 dollar bike or even a 1500 dollar bike. Not on 11 bucks an hour, yet those young people are the exact ones that the sport needs to be attracting to stay viable.

The age group distribution bears it out. Peolle don't make enough money to get into the sport until they are at least moderatly successful financially wise.
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Re: Cost of tri (let's start over) [Mc B] [ In reply to ]
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Mc B wrote:
Thanks for the reply. I was thinking about this more and drew another parallel to the ski industry and cost being a barrier to entry. I'm not exactly sure how to apply it to triathlon but maybe others could come up with additional ideas. I have worked part time as a children's downhill ski instructor for 15 years. That is another sport where the lift tickets have increased exponentially. Plus one has the cost of rental equipment, inflated food prices at the hill, travel and lodging. I think the barrier to entry is similar to triathlon and certainly caters to those upper class families.

The programs I see resorts offering to try and cater to the family and first time skier include kids ski free programs, free beginner hill areas, discount "first timer" lessons and rental packages. The resorts in my area have sponsored discount night skiing days as well.

One big difference is a majority of first time skiers are children vs triathlon where I'm not sure what the "typical" first timer is. Previously mentioned it seems to be the 35-45 age is a large portion of first time triathletes. I would think the younger age groups we would want to draw from as well.

There are a limited number of races that offer kids tris or other events for children. If there was a way to tie in a "family entry package" at a triathlon event where the whole family could participate in something I think that could draw increased participation. Dad and Mom pay to race and the kids go do X for free or something. Or even at races with tri, du and regular running races all happening. I don't see many that offer a family rate.

Another thought I had was if there was a first timer friendly tri. Maybe sponsored by a local club or in conjunction with a larger race. Club members could offer the use of their old bikes or older equipment they had lying around and anyone that was interested in trying a tri out would have access to some equipment plus some added guidance. Like an organized mentorship or something. Maybe if a seasoned participant chose to help guide the newbie they got a reduced entry or something.

Just a couple of ideas I had.

I like some of these ideas and the bolded hits home with me. My 8 year old did his first tri this past summer, really liked it and is asking to do more. The options for him to participate are low however with only a few races/year within a 2 hour drive. There is not much being done to encourage young racers and try to turn them into life-long participants. Additionally-the fact that I need to pay $12-15 for a USAT 1 day license for him and it is not comped as an incentive is short-sighted.
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Re: Cost of tri (let's start over) [Slowman] [ In reply to ]
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Slowman wrote:
our resident provocateur, publiusvalerius, originated a thread that had - if you looked way down deep - a valid and timely premise: that for many our sport has gotten out of reach financially.

that thread spawned a number of offshoots, but the OP himself wrote at some point along the way something to the effect of: we are now having a discussion.

if the discussion is that there are unavoidable, systemic, required costs that attach to anyone who wants to race triathlon, and that these costs push people away, i have no quarrel with that. further, i agree with that, and have a number of articles in publishing queue on this topic.

i am eager to hear what you all have to say.

Based on the line graph on the front page, one could easily suggest that all we need is an american to survive cancer and win a bike race in Europe 7 times straight again. That line couldn't correlate with the rise and fall of Mr. Armstrong any better. Obviously the situation is not that black and white and is a bit more complicated but the boom in the 2000's was much more about that one guy than the other things that were listed in my opinion.
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Re: Cost of tri (let's start over) [andrewnova] [ In reply to ]
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5 years ago I'd wonder if you had even 1 youth event put on within 4 hour drive.

What part of country do you live in? Almost every major city has some type of youth tri programming these days.

ETA: currently there are 52 registered junior teams that race junior races in US.

Brooks Doughtie, M.S.
Exercise Physiology
-USAT Level II
Last edited by: B_Doughtie: Dec 6, 16 12:03
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Re: Cost of tri (let's start over) [clutchy] [ In reply to ]
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clutchy wrote:
spot wrote:
I'm not sure I agree, but it depends on the context. If we are talking about WTC Ironman racing, then that becomes a pretty steep price when one considers the entry fee, minimum hotel stays, etc. Oftentimes, with meals and hotels and entry fee, a single race can easily hit $3000. However, in many parts of the country, like SW Ohio, there is a vibrant local race scene. One can do many races without even needing a hotel if you're willing to get up early and drive to the race. If you stick to independent HIMs, Olys, and sprints, one can do a lot of racing for the price of one WTC IM entry fee...a whole season most likely. And gear is up to the person. I raced 3 seasons on a road bike I already had before I bought my first tri bike. So I think that the notion that triathlon is out of reach of many is really not true; unless we are talking about expensive long course events, and then I can definitely see that argument.


SW Ohio racing FTW!
True story. We have a summer race series for $15/race, and ALL the cool kids show up. Also, shout out to HFP.
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Re: Cost of tri (let's start over) [Slowman] [ In reply to ]
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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)?
Last edited by: Mark Lemmon: Dec 6, 16 12:07
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Re: Cost of tri (let's start over) [PubliusValerius] [ In reply to ]
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PubliusValerius wrote:

Anyways, with this loss in race options, we also lose the most viable platform to bring new athletes/participants into the sport.

I don't think this is true. The shorter-distance independent races you referred to are the most viable platform to bring in new participants. I don't have numbers to back this up by my experience suggests that the overwhelming majority of first-timers do a local sprint or maybe an oly as their first race. Very few start out with a 140.6 or even 70.3, and those who do are often "bucket list" types who want to sat they did an actual Ironman. The real problem is the misguided but prevalent perception that 140.6 (and specifically IM-branded 140.6/Kona) is the only accomplishment in triathlon worth pursuing. Ironman Marketing Department for the win.
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Re: Cost of tri (let's start over) [Alvin Tostig] [ In reply to ]
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Alvin Tostig wrote:
PubliusValerius wrote:
Minor here, but it doesn't take a degree or even much of a brain to figure out that this is about winners and losers in a market economy and the winner is WTC IRONMAN and the loser is everyone else. As consumers, well, many of us will simply be priced out of the sport as WTC continues its march around the globe, and the influx of new participants will all but dry up due to the rising cost of entry.

Piling on here, but what I've seen is a significant number of folks passing up racing at the local $50-$100 sprints and olys in order to get in a WTC IM. I've heard some say words to the effect, "I'm not going to that sprint any more. It used to only cost $40 and now it's $50!" Then they shell out a couple of grand for a WTC IM along with the travel expenses. The local (relatively inexpensive) races are struggling. Without any science based study on my part, it sure seems like this will eventually have an impact on participation in WTC events.

The anti-WTC arguments completely miss the point at why total participation is declining. Very few people enter the sport with an ironman as their goal or as their first triathlon. They most likely enter a sprint triathlon. Some will then race sprints and Olympics, move up to Ironman 70.3 and then an Ironman and quit. I know several of them. Others will enter the sport, and do local races only for a number of years and then quit the sport. I know a lot more of these people than the former. The sheer difficulty of the sport, and the constant self-imposed pressure to train eventually wears them out and they decide they would rather sleep in. There has always been a steady flow of people into and out of the sport. And the drain that we are experiencing is not the outflow as much as it is a reduction of the inflow. Ten years ago, triathlon was the in-sport to do. Everyone was flocking to it and newbies vastly exceeded the number leaving the sport. The swim was just as much a barrier 10 years ago. The equipment costs were just as daunting. And race entry fees on an inflation adjusted basis weren't much different either (with the exception of USAT/active fees which have vastly outstripped CPI). This all suggests that the problem is that people have moved on to other sports or activities. The internecine warfare regarding WTC and the rest of the sport is as irrelevant as it is counterproductive to learning why fewer people are no longer interested in entering their first sprint triathlon...the gateway to the sport.
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