Hobbies of people I know that cost way more than I spend on triathlon. Competitive Salmon fishing, snowmobile racing, sprint car racing, private airplane, motocross, water skiing, equestrian competition, just keeping horses in general.

Any sport that requires traveling is going to rack up expense so it comes down to equipment. A bike is way cheaper than a bass or ski boat and I see a million of those around here.

Well, here in Brazil, if we practice any sport other than football (soccer), we are very f%@#ed indeed.
I avoid racing triathlons in states other than the one I live in, because the costs would be prohibitive. And even here, I mostly do open water and running events, since they are simpler to plan for.
The city I live in has a very nice bike path, so I use it in the early mornings to train in order to avoid the risks of cycling in traffic. Also, my city is very safe, so I really don't think about being robbed of my bike, I'm more worried of being hit by a motor vehicle.
The tax thing is a shame in general, but I really don't have the need to change bike parts or my sports watch very often. I'm in it for the fun, so I see no point in spending a boatload of money on those things.

Agreed. I have no desire to do an Ironman brand race or distance (they also do an oly race where I live) because of the crazy fees they charge and the over the top production of the event... some people love it, but I love smaller races and the community feel of them. I think if most people knew that triathlon didn't mean Ironman, there would be higher participation (and longevity) in the sport. I've been able to keep going through the years because I love the multi-disciplinary aspect of the training but also it doesn't interfere with my life, but at times when it did - I hated and resented it (and so did my loved ones).

as with all things in life - don't stress too much about the hypothetical until you actually start living it...I started an executive full-time MBA program (full 60 credits) last fall and thought I would really have to take a step back...1 year in, work is great, school is great, and i've trained more than ever...i cut out time wasters that I realized I didnt need. And you will too. Cheers to a great 2019 season

First tri in 1991. Still at it now. But I have had times where I took a few years off and trainined primarily for other sports like trail running or trekking. Still continued to train somewhat like a triathlete though no matter what. Returned to racing tris this year after not racing one for 7 years following a really bad IM. You know what? Racing tris is really really fun. Caught the bug again. Did Lavaman - super fun. After following IM Hawaii as a fan for years, biking on Queen Q and being on the big island for a race was a magical experience. I’ll never qualify for Kona, but I still love to follow it and it was totally fun to go play triathlon there. Qualified at Lavaman for age-group nationals. Went and did that race, which for someone with my abilities is as good as I am capable of. Totally cool championship event. It was fun to be around so many super fast talented athletes and avoid last place in my age group showing I belonged. Anyway - even if you step away from triathlon for a period of time, if you come back, you will catch the bug all over again. To quote Bob Babbitt, “Triathlon is the best sport there is.” It is. With that said, huge key I think is to avoid Ironman distance races. Great to do one or two (I did 4) to see if you can do it, but not sustainable as a lifestyle and I think too long to be healthy. And the race itself is pretty awful. But it is hard to avoid IM, because of all the marketing towards IM and desire to have a big accomplishment that IM can provide.

Man, you find inspiration in the most unsuspecting of places.

I've been worrying about giving it up for a month or so. Right now I have a very relaxed job clerking for three judges, but it allows me time to train 20+ hours a week (60 mile round--trip bike commutes are insane). But the anxiety about "giving it up" has recently crept in and started to affect my current build for a late-season race.

After all the comments I've seen here, I feel a ton better about it and "crossing the bridge" when I need to. Whether it's switching to a single sport for a while or just re-assessing my short term goals, I feel better. lol.

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@floathammerholdon | @partners_in_tri

I did not do triathlons my first 3 years as a lawyer. Focused on learning how to be a lawyer. Worked a LOT of hours because everything took me two times as long. I would recommend you focus on being a lawyer at start of your career.

If someone is spending 20+ hrs a week in training, news flash - it's not a hobby, it's a part-time job. A part-time job that nobody is paying them to do. Hmm - not hard to see why people get sick of it.

I'm retired, and have all the time in the world. I train over 20 hours a week often. I have retired friends who spend more in beer and cigarettes, than I do on triathlons. I have a neighbor who races drag cars. I've never asked, but I'll bet he spends over 20 hours/week in his workshop, and I also bet he can blow as much $$$$ in one night at the track, as I do with tris in a year.That's their hobbies, tris are mine.

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Athlinks / Strava

Yeah, I guess I should have made it more obvious that was directed at the non-retired, still balancing work/home life crowd.

The biggest reason has already been talked about. It is the time. And you have to put in the time consistently without long breaks. And if you don't put in the time you suck. And sucking isn't all that fun.

My first race was in 2000. I've taken a couple different multi-year breaks because I don't like racing when I haven't done the training and won't be close to my best. If I am just going to go around the course I may as well do that on my own time and not pay to race. I also am not big into going golfing unless I have been to the range a few times

If I suck at fishing, I am still out on a boat for a day. If I do a century ride without training consistently I still get a nice day out for a ride with plenty of food and water stops. If i suck at tri's it hurts and is no fun.

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I'm beginning to think that we are much more fucked than I thought.

It's not the sucking that isn't fun....it's the mindset that you have that will either make it suck or not. You can have the time of your life on BOP effort and enjoy the hell out of it...you can also train for 20 hours be in your "best", miss your podium and think you suck. It's all about prospective and your mindset....if you only see this as fun and successful if you can race to your "best", then you'll always see it as sucking when you then can't perform/train at that level.

It's why I said to the soon to be lawyer...change your viewpoint on the sport and you'll gain a hell of a lot from just using triathlon as a stress relief gap sport during that "career focused" time in your life.

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Brooks Doughtie, M.S.
Exercise Physiology
-USAT Level II

Just keep in mind that people don't take up triathlon after they retire from work. If you haven't been exercising for years while you are working, then the body will not handle the demands of triathlon after you turn 60.

Lengthy post ahead! TIA for reading!

My first triathlon was in 1985 and number 334 was 10 days ago. I've also raced another 104 duathlons and countless running races over the last 34 years. The sport has taken me to places I never would otherwise have seen...both literally and figuratively.

At 6'1" 185 lbs, Iwas a basketball and tennis player through my mid 20's, then discovered triathlon in the 1980's. I was one of those watching Wide World of Sports as Julie Moss crawled to the finish in Kona. I "swam" my first few races using the elementary backstroke and road on a heavy Schwinn LeTour 5 speed. The only cool thing I owned in those first few races were a pair of white Nike Air Edge's, with both a blue and red swoosh, that I had bought to use in the 1984 Chicago Marathon. Cool racing shoes but, I learned, maybe not for someone my size! I did eventually get better, and since the late 80's have steadily been able to make the AG podium in local races.

A few factors that have allowed me to keep at it:

-My wife and I do not have children, and because of that we have been able to use our time and resources on our respective hobbies...triathlon and equestrian riding...in a way I'm sure we wouldn't have had children been part of our lives. While I think we would have maintained a level of interest in our sports, our priorities would have been vastly different. Props to all of you balancing the work/kids/sport life.

-While I am now 62 and retired, the vast majority of these races were done while I was teaching for over 3 decades. The school calendar was definitely a help in my longevity in the sport, but there were also thousands of 5am workouts over the years...I found a way to make it work year-round.

-The last decade has been almost exclusively short course racing. I had finished a number of full and half Ironman races in the 90's and 2000's, but outside of a flyer I took at the swim-cancelled IMFL in 2014, my last full was at a cold IMWI in 2006. That has allowed me to shift most of my "distance" work from the run to the pool, and use a HIIT emphasis to keep a semblance of a top end, without beating myself up. I have dealt with the common calf strains, PF, and Achilles issues that are common at this age, but have stayed mainly injury free. I now weigh about 175-180, which I felt I needed to do to keep the pounding down and some level of performance up. Short course helps in keeping at the sport, and you can race more frequently. I HAVE been tempted to try and sneak in one more IM though, so I can have done one in my 30's, 40's, 50's and 60's!

I continue to like the training and the racing. There has always been something new to try, someplace new to see. You gain perspective on the sport and yourself and realize that it IS as much about the journey as the result. It's also been a heckuva lot of fun. My advice is to stick with it if you can!😊

What's funny about the above is, Alex "retires" from tri..but yet wins the OVERALL US Duathlon National Standard Championships in Greenville, even over the OA WORLD Triathlon Amateur Champion Olympic Distance --Todd Buckingham. Yeah, retired...just like Ozzy retired from touring. Leave no delusions in mind, Alex is only taking a breather--he's a stud!

36 years into it & still going...

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

If you could schedule some afternoon tri's I might be better equipped to just go around the course enjoying the day. :)

If I'm not trained, spending $100 to get up 4 hours before I want to on a Sunday morning is a hard sell. Me and mornings have a somewhat contentious relationship.

If someone likes that, more power to them. It is just hard to do triathlon on a casual basis.

But triathlon sn't unique, I also don't think people stay in other hobbies for their entire lives all that often. Most people do something for a while, then move on to other things, tri's, golf, fishing, wives, ... :)

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I'm beginning to think that we are much more fucked than I thought.

Amen! I am, and will likely always be, BOP. Maybe BOMOP if I have an outstanding race. I have no natural aptitude towards athletic endeavours of any kind, and yet here I am heading into my 8th year of being an objectively terrible triathlete. It is a lifestyle that keeps me off the couch. Sure, I could just ride my bike and swim a bit, but the balance of the sport keeps me engaged and not bored. I love racing, because I love the atmosphere and the energy.

Someone questioned if they could carry on should they ever become MOP. I found that kind of sad, until I thought about it in context. I used to be a professional musician, and now play in a bunch of community groups. I don't play at the level I did when I was practising 20 hours a week but I'm still pretty good. These days I play for the same reasons as I tri - it's fun, I get a social life out of it. My husband is also a very good musician, but is starting to suffer from arthritis in his hands and is finding that he can no longer play at the level he would like to. For him, it's difficult to think around the idea that he might have to give up being the principal clarinet in the orchestra, and he would rather bow out of ensemble music altogether than be "relegated" to second or - heaven forbid! - third chair. I just like to play. It really is mindset that determines how an individual derives satisfaction - from the doing, or from the achieving.

So this discussion is more on triathlon's staying power I know, but a friendly reminder that thsi is a sport that skews to upper middle class people, so "expensive" is relative. I know when I tell a lot of my friends who are young professionals how much a road bike costs, and then how much a good road bike costs, and then how much other people will spend on their bikes, they're stunned. And I do think if someone does their first triathlon on their cheap bike and starts to want to be more serious, the idea of buying an expensive bike can be a barrier to continuing. So it can be a barrier to starting but also to doing more in the sport.

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Chasing PB Podcast Latest interview with Eli Hemming on Targeting a US MTR spot in Tokyo

Eh I've seen the actual opposite in terms of the cost barrier to entry. I see more hesitation in people starting up then in people liking it and upgrading, because when are upgrading they have mentally gone "all in" on the sacrifice and acceptance that the cost is what the cost is.

That's why for 1st timers I almost never ever sell them a tri bike. I sell them an decent road bike that can be used out on the greenway, riding with kids, riding with a group and oh yeah throw on aero bars and you suddenly have a "tri" bike. Only then do I suggest when they enjoy the sport and understand what they are getting into go to a tri bike.

So that's why I know USAT is late to the party, but they are now pushing for pool sprint triathlons as a big thing now. This is the perfect opportunity to get people in, swim 200-300yds (ironically most pools are shallow enough that they can "walk" as well), bike 10-12 miles that can be done on a wal mart huffy/beach cruiser, anything really and then usually a 2-3mi run. Those types of events are really for all comers, and imo a really really good environment for people to become "triathletes". That distance there is no real pressure or need to have fancy gear or even fear that you won't finish. Show up on anything and you'll be able to finish the race, as 10-12miles really is fairly accomplishable for almost any functional adult.

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Brooks Doughtie, M.S.
Exercise Physiology
-USAT Level II

My first Triathlon was in 1980, last one 2015 (Alcatraz). First IM 1988 at Canada, last IM Cozumel 2013. First open Marathon in 1976, last running event, a Half Marathon in May of 2015. First Ultra in '79, last one in '09. For me, retiring from competition was a function of injuries and overall lack of desire to go through what it takes to prepare for and then deal with race day logistics. I miss the fitness and the camaraderie, but don't miss the pressure to train and miss out on everything else in life. Now, I enjoy rides with no specific goal other than to get some exercise and enjoy the scenery, hikes to places I've never been, swims to enjoy the feel of the water. I hardly run anymore due to knee issues. Weight training to finally put some muscles in places I never had before. Etc. I think 40 years of racing and training probably cured me of needing to go back. Would I ever race again, maybe, but the spirit will have to move me to do so.

anyone know of BOP, MOP or FOP are more likely to continue with tris?

My first thought, and it could be completely wrong, is once a FOP - constant podium racer stops being able to be FOP They are more likely to stop. As well as a one and done bucket list BOP

As Chrissy Wellington basically said. Once you win on the world stage there is nothing like that in life again

I was one that said if I was to MOP I might not want to do triathlon anymore. But I was saying right now in my life. I was also saying that if the hours became too much to where my performance struggled and I got slower I would switch to running to still be competitive within myself because I would still be able to get faster running off less hours than triathlon. But in 5-10 years my mindset might change. I love the 3 sports in triathlon because it mentally breaks things up. But I also do not like not racing well/fast with the amount of training I am doing. I played soccer all through college and a little professionally.

I stopped playing soccer because I did not love just going out and kicking the ball around so I turned to triathlon. But now I love just kicking the ball around with the team I coach because I don't have high expectations anymore. I also suffer from the "if I am not good at it I don't like doing it" mindset. It sucks sometimes but also is good sometimes.

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Twitter - Instagram

I get the mentality of "I suck at this and therefore it's not fun", because that's exactly how I feel about both of my college courses this semester. I was whining the other day because I got a B+ in an exam, and I am generally an A student. But yet, I'm happy toddling along as a BOP triathlete. I stopped playing music for a living because it sucked the joy out of it for me. I can imagine that if I felt actual pressure to achieve real results in triathlon, I might find the joy sucked out of it, too.

I have a friend whose satisfaction in tri comes from the attainment of results. I used to feel bad that she was out driving hard and getting in more miles, and then we actually got to go out on a ride together. Seeing in the flesh what makes training enjoyable for her completely changed my outlook. I ride a bike because I like to see the countryside, feel the air, enjoy the experience. She likes to see numbers and tangible progress. It was a fascinating experience for me - and a healthy reminder that we are all driven by different things.

It’s so consuming. I’ve had a hard time sticking with it consistently. I usually go strong for a few years, then take a couple years off before really getting back into it.