Login required to started new threads

Login required to post replies

Prev Next
Re: Cost of tri (let's start over) [georged] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
georged wrote:
Hooksie is a legend. I forget what I paid for last year's Rotorua, but it was definitely less than $200. For a very well organised race. (No prize money though - Gomez will have to be happy with a plush toy.)

And that included a nice hoodie.

Yup, Hooksie is a Legend!

My son was training for Rotorua with me a few years ago. He was hit by a truck a few weeks before the race. I called Hooksie. First he asked if my son was ok, etc etc. Then, before I could even ask, he asked me if I'd like my money and my sons money refunded or just transferred to next year (we transferred).

Race Directors around the world should just do what Hooksie does and the world would be a better place.

Hookise should attack world hunger and he'd have it sorted by the weekend!

TriDork

"Happiness is a myth. All you can hope for is to get laid once in a while, drunk once in a while and to eat chocolate every day"
Quote Reply
Re: Cost of tri (let's start over) [davejustdave] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
LOL, I hear you, but Speak for yourself......I'm Joe lunch pail. I work construction. I've got a saying "if you need strength training, you need a harder job". The best thing about what I do, even the entry level "ditch digger" make more then then some college boy with a BS degree.

But I could de-rail the topic about how many make the mistake of a going to collage when a simple plumber will out pace their income, and work a lot less. Billing rate for a plumber in my area is $135 an hour, making the base rate around 40-65 per hour. Do the math, making an easy 6 figure career without overtime. Our little company can't fill positions. We've had openings for 2 plus years we can't fill.

This "working class" SOB thinks Tri racing is priced right. People are just becoming fat and lazy. Racing "RBS" is a lot harder then most fat slobs will invest thier time.
Quote Reply
Re: Cost of tri (let's start over) [davejustdave] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
davejustdave wrote:
devashish_paul wrote:
RobAllen 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.


Cornwall, Ontario
$75CDN for Olympic distance. Equal to about $50 USD. These are inclusive of online reg fees and insurances.

$2200 Prize money to boot!

No we don't sell out 144 spots we reserve (reserved racks) for the Olympic distance. Our Sprint distance does sell out ($700 prize money).

#racelocal


Perfect example of a super value local event that caters to all levels of athletes and huge bang for the $$$ and attention to detail in many cases better than a WTC event and you really feel like a 'GUEST' of the local community. Thank You Rob and team. I'll eventually get back there! A race run by a community of athletes for the community. It puts the soul back in sport.

Dev


I wish we still had races like that in southern Ca.

I think it's the fault of the non triathletes as much of the triathlon community here though

go south of the border....
http://web.asdeporte.com/deporte/triatlon/
Quote Reply
Re: Cost of tri (let's start over) [tridork] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
tridork wrote:

Race Directors around the world should just do what Hooksie does and the world would be a better place.

Truth. Dan, you should interview Hooksie about what he does (run the best race in the world).

'It never gets easier, you just get crazier.'
Quote Reply
Re: Cost of tri (let's start over) [Beachboy] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
Beachboy wrote:
The best thing about what I do, even the entry level "ditch digger" make more then then some college boy with a BS degree.

.


If you are paying your ditch diggers 135 an hour, hell, even 60 an hour, I WANT TO COME WORK FOR YOU! Manual labor in Ca goes for minimum wage. That's what? $11 an hour now? 10? I know I couldn't survive on that, and I'd bet dimes to dollars 99.99 percent of triathletes out there couldn't eithier.

Those people doing that kind of work work harder than anyone else out there just to pay their bills, being scared of hard work and commitment are not the reason they won't do triathlons. Not even close. The cost is. There are way, way, waaaayyyy more people earning that kind of dough than there are making 60-135 an hour, yet triathlon is increasingly moving towards exclusively marketing to the people in that $60+++/hr demographic.

But we wonder why numbers drop? You want growth you have to widen the demo you market to, not increasingly narrower it by continually raising the bar to entry.

Take a look at the census data on income, look at the average household income (55k for a 2 income house IIRC), and compare it to the average triathlete income per USAT (yeah yeah, I know, survey bias, blah blah blah math). They are so disparete it's plain to see this is a richer than average person sport.
Quote Reply
Re: Cost of tri (let's start over) [Dillon152] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
Sorry if it's been already said, but my biggest expense (beyond IM entry and travel) is food.

---

The girth of the average person, Americans and Europeans in particular, tells me that food in not a triathlon barrier.






Take a short break from ST and read my blog:
http://tri-banter.blogspot.com/
Quote Reply
Re: Cost of tri (let's start over) [Tri-Banter] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
Maybe the girth of the average person is skewed by those who opt in eating cheap meals at McDonald's? Or live a sedatary lifestyle?
I'd think that the majority of the people here have nutritional requirements that go above and beyond the average person. My average food expense is 75% greater when I'm in full training. The cost is not only on the amount of food, but also quality.
Quote Reply
Re: Cost of tri (let's start over) [Dillon152] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
Let's change tactics here:

There are close to zero people in the world who are thinking about getting into triathlon and stop, thinking, "Well, I have all the gear I need to train and race but I'm not going to do a triathlon because of the cost of food." Eating healthy is not that difficult nor expensive. You don't need that much extra food when training for an event like a sprint or an olympic distance tri. You also don't need anything fancy like sports drinks, bars, blocks, or gels (hell, I did an IM on peanut butter sandwiches and course offerings). A vast majority of people, including triathletes (and myself), could go for a calorie deficit. The cost of food is not discouraging people from getting into sport or staying in sport.






Take a short break from ST and read my blog:
http://tri-banter.blogspot.com/
Quote Reply
Re: Cost of tri (let's start over) [spot] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
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.

I agree with this for the most part. I can do 3+ local races for the price of entry into one 70.3 Ironman branded event. With my wife also being a triathlete race entry is almost always x2 so IM branded races are cost prohibitive.
Quote Reply
Re: Cost of tri (let's start over) [davejustdave] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
I live in NC and races cost the following for early entry:
Sprint 45-60
Olympic 60-70
Half 130-160

I am lucky in that there are a lot of races in NC and several local production companies. I can race all year for the cost of the Raleigh 70.3. 5k's in the area cost 25-35.

The entry fee for the first triathlon I did in 1984 was $25. It was a sprint. Longer races in that time were 35-40. so other cost have gone up way more that entry fees in my area.
Quote Reply
Re: Cost of tri (let's start over) [Slowman] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
My first tri was in 2011 and it was a ‘Try a tri’ format (200m, 20k,2k). Decided one day to give it a try and enrolled pretty much last minute just for fun. The only thing I bought for that race was a pair of tri shorts and used what I already had. (no googles for swim, single speed commute bike along with bike jersey and helmet, running shoes) I had a blast doing it and it peeked my interest to do more. I did enroll in a 2nd race that same year using the same equipment but did a supper sprint instead. (200m, 15k, 5k). The following year, I invested in a TT, tri suit and some running shoes. Did the same 2 event (super sprint format) for the next 2 years with the intent going long one day but that never materialized. Stopped in 2013 as I was never serious enough and this year finally pick it up again and enrolled in my first HIM.

In my opinion, there is a few things that needs to be mentioned here as far as how I experienced it and also how it was viewed by my friends which till this day I have yet successfully convince one to do a tri with me even if I told then I’ll do any distance they want. I event offer to use my bike too or anything I have but still no bite.

me:

- Triathlon: I view it as ‘one sport’
- Training: it is consider a lifestyle and I try my best to incorporate it in my daily schedule
- Distance: I’ll work my way up to a full
- Events: local races, WTC races, Challenge races, … basically if I race, it is to race against myself and go as hard as I can (when trained properly)
- ST people: we are the tip of the iceberg in the tri community (well that is what I think)

My friend:

- Triathlon: mainly viewed as 3 different sport
- Training: as it is viewed as three separate sport, the mindset is that it will be a lot more difficult to train for all 3 and fit it into their schedule
- Distance: try a tri, super sprint.. sprint, oly, HIM or IM: that would require too much training and usually swim will be a factor
- Events: are considered as ‘event’ and not racing.
- Regular Joe: people that frequent forums have some communality when it comes to their views or curiosity. My friend could care less about forum unless they are interested in a sport/topic.

Basically what I have observed is that triathlon perhaps is not in decline when it comes to short distance as typically anyone can just pick it up and get it done after a few ‘training’ sessions. When it comes to long distance, it is perceived as a ‘burden’ to have to train that hard for 3 sports. Also gear can be a factor for some folks to get into triathlon but like anything in life, it all depend on how much you want to spend. Lots of ways to get you from point A to point B but it is the method that you choose and the ‘quality’ you deem as your requirement that will make you decide if that ‘gear’ will or is worth it or not.

So if I was to generalized all this in today’s world, people sign up to event for the social aspect of it. (I am part of that too) We pay for what it has to offer and somehow justify that x amount is ok. But for a normal people new to the sport, why pay for something where not only might cost a lot more than a single sport event but also requires more dedication. So bottom line, it is all about time management and like anything, time is priceless and cannot be really quantify as a certain $ value.

So for me and how my journey has been, it can be resume in a few words: priorities, time and.. laziness to dedicate myself in all 3 sport (swim in particular). Amount spend on gears is all about the ‘want’ instead of the ‘need’ so should be removed from the equation. Race fee.. well it really depend on what I am looking for when time comes to register.

Cheers!
Minh
Quote Reply
Re: Cost of tri (let's start over) [Slowman] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
Now this goes in a much better direction than previous posts. I believe that to answer this, we have to segment the triathlon population. For simplicity's sake, let's assume three groups:

1.-Elite. Populated by elite athletes and money is no object kind of guys.
2.-AspirationaI. Competitive people that want to progress and do it better every time.
3.-Finishers. Beginners or people that are only here to finish and enjoy the ride.

Category 1 people are not threatened by cost increases. They either get their material paid by sponsors, this is so relevant for them that they are willing to pay for it, or they prefer it this way for the exclusion factor.

Category 2 is in my understanding the bread and butter for the business. This is the category that may be at risk. A few years ago you could spend 3.000$ and build a bike nearly as good as the best and looking nearly as good as the best. Today you can spend double or triple that quantity, and although you can argue that it is nearly as good as the best, it certainly doesn't look like it. Say you buy a "regular" super bike with "regular" super wheels, how do you look against a beam bike with disc brakes and whale inspired wheels? You look as a dinosaur on the verge of extinction. I am sure conversations like this have gone in some of the leading manufacturers
-Look guys, we have reached the ceiling in terms of relevant performance gains for both bikes and wheels. We have to find new ways to differentiate ourselves from the followers.
-Let's build equipment that we can claim it is as good and in some cases better than the older equipment, albeit marginally, but that looks radically different. That will make everything else look obsolete.
-Great Idea!
-Let's build beam bikes
-Yeah throw disc brakes into them
-What about reversing the handlebars?
-And whale inspired wheels?
The result, a bike that may take you the the finish line one nano-second sooner, costs five times as much and makes everybody not riding it look like Elvis Presley in the middle of a rap-battle.

Category 3 people are not really at risk. Entry level or second hand material has not risen that much and the only factor would be race entry fees.
Quote Reply
Re: Cost of tri (let's start over) [Tri-Banter] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
Quality and healthy food is expensive. One reason Americans are overweight is because unhealthy food gets indirectly subsidies and are the only affordable option for many. Fruit and veggies are expensive.

McDonald's and other variants of greasy food is cheap. When I just graduated from college, I was able to spend just 2-4 dollars / day on food by only eating rice , ground pork, and ketchup. I eat less and healthier now, but spend exponentially more on food.


Tri-Banter wrote:


The girth of the average person, Americans and Europeans in particular, tells me that food in not a triathlon barrier.
Quote Reply
Re: Cost of tri (let's start over) [bloodyshogun] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
bloodyshogun wrote:
Quality and healthy food is expensive. One reason Americans are overweight is because unhealthy food gets indirectly subsidies and are the only affordable option for many. Fruit and veggies are expensive.

McDonald's and other variants of greasy food is cheap. When I just graduated from college, I was able to spend just 2-4 dollars / day on food by only eating rice , ground pork, and ketchup. I eat less and healthier now, but spend exponentially more on food.


You could still eat just as cheap if you wanted to. I'm tired of this notion that poor people have to eat McDonalds. For $20 I could feed myself for a couple weeks on rice, beans, burger, whole chickens, flour, etc. No, I'm not gonna have gourmet chow, but I can eat relatively healthy. It just takes the tiniest bit of forethought. It doesn't even take cooking skills. Example...put a chicken in a crockpot on low before you go to work. When you come home, the chicken is perfect and all you have to for a meal is make some rice on the stove. Done. I used to have that meal multiple times a week. On the weekend you can cook up a big batch of pinto beans that will last forever, and go great with some leftover chicken. You do all that and more for less than it takes to eat at McDs.

___________________________________________________
Taco cat spelled backwards is....taco cat.
Quote Reply
Re: Cost of tri (let's start over) [Slowman] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
I'm no longer racing after 30 years of doing multiple events in a season. Cost, travel, and time away from my young family have all influenced my behavior. It was not a moment of simply deciding to stop, but a slow process of burnout, and the realization the 3-4 hour rides on a Saturday or Sunday morning are a cheaper, hassel free workout, without the rising costs of racing. As for add on costs, I guess I got so used to how expensive a race weekends were with travel, food, lodging that I actually never gave those add ons much thought.
Quote Reply
Re: Cost of tri (let's start over) [spot] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
I'm with you on the eating healthy and cheap. People way over think healthy eating. A canister of oatmeal is $3 and lasts a week or 2. I bought an entire bushel of apples 3-weeks ago for $12. That's roughly 60 apples, providing nice and healthy snacks. Before Thanksgiving, turkeys were cheap, I stocked up. A $6 turkey provides 2-weeks worth of lean, quality meat. Seasonal fruits and vegetables are not expensive. The only think keeping people from eating healthy for cheap is themselves.






Take a short break from ST and read my blog:
http://tri-banter.blogspot.com/
Quote Reply
Re: Cost of tri (let's start over) [triguy1956] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
triguy1956 wrote:
I live in NC and races cost the following for early entry:
Sprint 45-60
Olympic 60-70
Half 130-160

I am lucky in that there are a lot of races in NC and several local production companies. I can race all year for the cost of the Raleigh 70.3. 5k's in the area cost 25-35.

The entry fee for the first triathlon I did in 1984 was $25. It was a sprint. Longer races in that time were 35-40. so other cost have gone up way more that entry fees in my area.

I'm not sure how early 'early entry is for you, but those prices are absurdly cheap from what I'm experiencing in tri-crazy Northern California.

Sprints are $100+ typically here, and Olys are $140 range. If you do the early bird signup, I saw $110 for Oly range.
Quote Reply
Re: Cost of tri (let's start over) [lightheir] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
This is a sample of the pricing structure for an Olympic distance triathlon:


On or Before Saturday, December 31, 2016$70.00On or Before Wednesday, September 06, 2017, 10:30 AM$85.00On-site Registration
$105.00
Quote Reply
Re: Cost of tri (let's start over) [Slowman] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
What are the cost comparisons over the last 4 decades? I'd love to see an apples to apples value comparison.
Quote Reply
Re: Cost of tri (let's start over) [lightheir] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
lightheir wrote:


I'm not sure how early 'early entry is for you, but those prices are absurdly cheap from what I'm experiencing in tri-crazy Northern California.

Sprints are $100+ typically here, and Olys are $140 range. If you do the early bird signup, I saw $110 for Oly range.

I'm in NC too and that' about right for early bird deal... early being maybe 2 months out in some cases. I signed up for a short course Duathlon in Feb. 2017 on black Friday and it was about $30. I signed up for a Turkey Trot 5K a month out and it was $35.

I think the biggest thing is for there to be more publicity from races and athletes themselves of the local racing scene. There is this idea of Ironman beign the only "real" triathlon out there. I actually read a local new piece on IM canceling the full distance IM NC. The article kept referring to the 140.6 and the 70.3 as "full triathlon" and "half triathlon." It drove me nuts. Come to think of it... I should write a letter to the editor.

On that note, I think we really need to support local races in general. I love the local scene. NC has a great racing scene and it really doesn't get much better than we have it here.

-Nate
Triathlonpal.com
Flaer|Team Kiwami|Nuun Hydration|Honey Stinger
Twitter: @N8deck
Quote Reply
Re: Cost of tri (let's start over) [davejustdave] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
davejustdave wrote:
Beachboy wrote:
The best thing about what I do, even the entry level "ditch digger" make more then then some college boy with a BS degree.

.



If you are paying your ditch diggers 135 an hour, hell, even 60 an hour, I WANT TO COME WORK FOR YOU! Manual labor in Ca goes for minimum wage. That's what? $11 an hour now? 10? I know I couldn't survive on that, and I'd bet dimes to dollars 99.99 percent of triathletes out there couldn't eithier.

Those people doing that kind of work work harder than anyone else out there just to pay their bills, being scared of hard work and commitment are not the reason they won't do triathlons. Not even close. The cost is. There are way, way, waaaayyyy more people earning that kind of dough than there are making 60-135 an hour, yet triathlon is increasingly moving towards exclusively marketing to the people in that $60+++/hr demographic.

But we wonder why numbers drop? You want growth you have to widen the demo you market to, not increasingly narrower it by continually raising the bar to entry.

Take a look at the census data on income, look at the average household income (55k for a 2 income house IIRC), and compare it to the average triathlete income per USAT (yeah yeah, I know, survey bias, blah blah blah math). They are so disparete it's plain to see this is a richer than average person sport.


$10 races would still be too much for minimum wage earners. Basically races target the people that can pay, and if you get past a certain threshold, a $100, $200 or $1000 entry really isn't going to kill your race. People over say $100/hour, just want a good event. $10/hour people will never enter. No use chasing that demographic.

It would be nice if everyone could afford to race, but that's more an issue of income rather than race entry fees. That's not nice, but it's reality.

TriDork

"Happiness is a myth. All you can hope for is to get laid once in a while, drunk once in a while and to eat chocolate every day"
Quote Reply
Re: Cost of tri (let's start over) [Slowman] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
Affordable equipment and affordable races are out there. Don't be lemmings, do some small local races etc...and not worry about the bragging rights and the Oooo wow's you get from doing Ironman races. If short races aren't challenging enough for you you aren't going hard enough. A sprint is damn hard if youre full gas.
Quote Reply
Re: Cost of tri (let's start over) [Slowman] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
I just finished my first season of tri, which was spread out over two years due to a significant injury during a race. My wife and I make a combined income that far exceeds that of the average American household. But, the sport is still very costly for us. I had been thinking about tri for years, particularly as my run training and racing had gotten a bit stale. I didn't for several different reasons - didn't have room (physically or financially) for a bike, swim intimidation, the introduction of children to my family, and a work-life balance that made the whole thing seem daunting.

Well, I changed jobs, and my job now gives me time to train during the work day. So, one barrier was removed. I had started looking at bikes online and concluded that it would take me several months of budgeting and saving before I could spring for an entry level bike at a cost of roughly $1,000. I decided to go to the local tri shop to check them out and get a feel for my frame size, primarily so I could start scouring Craigslist for a used bike. The shop happened to have a used road bike in my size, and it would cost me only $450. I ended up making the purchase. A discounted gym membership through work, only being a mile from my office, removed another barrier. I didn't want to spring for a coach, and found some free beginner plans.

All the above is to illustrate that, for an upper-middle class guy, cost of equipment was very much an issue. That's because there are a lot of other expenses in life (retirement savings, college savings, mortgage, daycare, car debt, student loans). About a year ago, my wife and I decided to make a major change in how we handle our finances. We now have no debt (other than our house), are maxing out IRAs, investing for our kids' college, etc. That has freed up some cash. But, the expense of triathlon is still an issue. When I race, we typically travel (in-state), spring for a hotel, gas, meals, etc. That's on top of the race fee itself. Oh, and now I have a coach, so that's another monthly expense. Can we afford it? Yes. Does it limit the number of races I do in a year? Absolutely.

Excluding bikes (yes, I now have two) and cost of races, I spend about $160/month on triathlon. That's not a huge number, but for those families that were like mine, with bills to pay, savings to account for, etc., that's tough. Factor in the equipment and races, and it is a huge barrier to new entrants.

Attacking this day with enthusiasm unknown to mankind.
Quote Reply
Re: Cost of tri (let's start over) [Slowman] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
My observation after 6 seasons of tris(qualified for AG Nats 3x and went 2x) is that the quality of the product we're buying has gone down. I've raced many of the same races each year and just feel like the experience has become diluted, i.e. The Value has diminished. The swag, the pre-race vendor displays, etc... used to be more impressive.


"For those who understand, no explanation is necessary. For those who don't understand, no explanation is possible."
Quote Reply
Re: Cost of tri (let's start over) [Dudaddy] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
Dudaddy wrote:
Affordable equipment and affordable races are out there. Don't be lemmings, do some small local races etc...and not worry about the bragging rights and the Oooo wow's you get from doing Ironman races. If short races aren't challenging enough for you you aren't going hard enough. A sprint is damn hard if youre full gas.

Good call. Triathlons don't have to be expensive if one doesn't care about social media glory. There's a local Oly series around here that's 3 races for $200. RD even allows mail-in entries to avoid the garbage Active processing fees.
Quote Reply

Prev Next