It’s as expensive as you choose or wish to make it. Just like everything else in life. Look for deals and don’t follow the sheep.

And use your stuff until it absolutely wears out. :)

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"Anyone can be who they want to be IF they have the HUNGER and the DRIVE."

At my bike shop I noticed someone’s Argon e119 sitting there. The mechanic told me the owner was wealthy and bought a new one every year. I couldn’t believe it.

At face value it may seem expensive until you start doing the math. Do the math on say the legacy sport program, how much does those athletes spend to go to Kona (equipment, training, food, PT, massage, health care, race entries, travel, coaching etc). Sure it is expensive for someone who is ridiculously talented and can be one and done for Kona but by and large very few of those people exist. For some people the resume build could be worth it right off the bat for the right person. Then it is also a product of supply and demand. The supply of the auto-entries it pretty darn limited.

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Considering that the majority of my IMs are international, yeah, maybe cheaper to buy it, but then I wouldn't have had all those fantastic vacations I tacked on to my races. But Ill still be doing IM trications after my Legacy race which is a bennie and not the objective.

Speedo polyester jammers!!!

$54K with 6 days left is the current bid with 4 more slots to come.

At face value it may seem expensive until you start doing the math.

No matter how I often I add it, spending $54K to enter a triathlon is expensive.

It's a LOT cheaper (the sport) especially if you're trying to qualify for World's or Kona, if you train your ass off. That means, stay true to the mission daily, tell the naysayers to take a hike--unless they're helping you towards your goals. Given a certain born with talent level, I think just about any new athlete can work their way to that level. Even if you're just training on your own and possibly with groups...someone is bound to be close to either of those goals.

Basica equipment and fit is needed. You want to get to Kona? Be ultra smart with your diet, train daily, recover well, have a good mental game & realize it's a day at a time. Muster all the support and motivation from every angle and that includes belief in yourself. "Know thyself" is what I tell the athletes I coach. The metrics are all part of that. Power Meters, HRM, and then your ability to know beyond those data points. Mental toughness can exceed what the parameters of past numbers show. Some days you have break out performances that *should not* happen according to what you've seen in the past.

It happens. Then eventually, you see yourself climbing the ladder in results. Eventually, all that work pays off. It is a daily lifestyle & it doesn't cost anything more than effort. You don't have to chase expensive races to get there. Just get to that fitness level with an occasional race or test...when you're able to pull similar times you know you're ready. You're really saving $ $ then, because it doesn't require all the latest gear. Just basics. I have a friend who won a world championship who doesn't even own a HRM or power meter...even those are not required (they help I think but not required). Not if you know yourself well enough. You don't need an auction to get there. Never say never.

I think 5 slots is a reduction in that number allotted for the auction, so suspect they will go for a lot more now. In the past some of the early ones would go for just over $30k, this one has 5 days left and is at $54k.

I do see that the winning bidder can give the slot to whomever, perhaps there will be a secondary market after the initial purchases? I mean if you can get a slot for $40k, repost it up and go for $60k as it looks slots will indeed go for that. It would also be a pretty easy way for a sponsor to get in their top athlete who either did not qualify for whatever reason, or just part of their contract. Imagine if you were given a Kona slot as part of your sponsorship and didn't have to chase KPR points during the season?? I mean if a pro gets the slot in the auction, they would have to race pro, right?

I think I just found another hole in one of their schemes to get us to pay for their charitable contributions. Please, someone do this!!! (-;

Here in Chicago, people spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on boats they use maybe two months out of the year on the ultra-choppy Lake Michigan, paying tens of thousands to store them the rest of the year. I routinely see people commuting in stop and go traffic in $200K performance cars. I once saw a guy driving a GT3RS on Pilot Sport Cups in a snowstorm on I290. I know lots of people who blow $30K every single year on Disney vacations. I was in a sneaker shop the other day that was selling a pair for $10K (Yeezy Red Octobers, for those sneakerheads out there).

People blow money on all kinds of stuff. Look at the stats on revolving credit, millions of people in this country are drowning in debt as a result of buying things they don't need. Storage locations are sprouting like mushrooms around where I live because people need more room to store all the worthless crap they bought. There are at least three huge facilities within ten miles of my house for storing luxury cars. I was down in Naples, FL a few weeks ago where people build $25MM houses on the beach they visit for maybe a few weeks a year.

My point is a goal oriented hobby that makes you fit is surely one of the more defensible ways to blow money.

Surprised that loophole exists but doesn't say anything about that. If they are a pro they have to race as a pro as far I know.

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Surprised that loophole exists but doesn't say anything about that.//

Well to be fair it did not exist, at least until I pointed it out. I'm sure there are pros and sponsors out there where it just might make sense to go this route. Let's say Chrissie Wellington all of a sudden decides to do Kona again, bammm! She is in! And she probably would make double or triple that entry fee back, not to mention all the publicity that would come with her and a comeback..

Don't use those until they wear out. I had a pair explode into ribbons on me in the middle of a flip turn. I signalled for my buddy to bring my towel to the edge of the pool, and of course once he realized what was up, he didn't. I had to do a like a 100m jog-of-shame back to the locker room, junk in hand. Right past the senior water-robics class where all the elderly ladies got quite a kick out of it. I'm not making this up - "It's Raining Men" was playing as they were ogling my bare rear end.

Ever since then I get new jammers at the first sign of wear.

Why do you hate America?

When is Lance's ban up again?

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When is Lance's ban up again? //

When he dies I believe..

I was just talking to my girlfriend about this. Yes it can be expensive at times but over years it's really not that much more expensive than any other hobby. We just have to make huge purchases. Plus there are ways to make this sport cheaper. I've already seen use your gear until it wears out. ESPECIALLY bike gear. How many of us actually measure our chains? You can get a lot more than the standard 2k out of it. It's really what you make of it. I tend to only spend more if it will make me faster.

Ways I save money and still have great stuff

I still use my Garmin hard-strap. Might upgrade to a schosche but hot damn I got this thing used like 7 years ago and it's still boss. You can find them for $21 brand new now of days.

Bought a mid level clearance bike. While I still spent a lot of money I saved a ton... Went with 10 speed Ultegra which is great (was built by the shop and 105 would have only been $5 less). No need to upgrade. Plus all my replacement parts are cheaper I'll upgrade it when I absolutely am forced to. Hell to tell the truth 8 or 9 speed might work fine too.

My chamois cream is vaaaaaaasaliiine (yay for 90's rock). It's doesn't stain my shorts, and I can slick it all over if I get any other chafe. Cost me $1.67 a year. I even used it *gasp* on my entry level TYR Hurrican that floats and is just as fast as a top of the line Roka. Not as sexy and probably not as comfy but it gets the job done. Hasn't ruined my wetsuit yet but as cheap as they are I could probably afford to replace it without crying too hard.

Using a 910xt I bought used. It's awesome. I'll use it until it breaks.

I use race tires and training tires. This allows me to get a bombproof tire that is still grippy like a Vittoria Zafario that came on the bike and wear that sucker to the cords. Also with the ability to have a faster tire on race day. In the end it's actually cheaper than buying an all around tire every year.

The list of cost cutting can go on forever. We all get the point. Bottom line is the sport is what you make of it. Yes there are big cost like a bike, or proper shoes but those are one time purchases and if you use them till they die they'll last a long time.

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I still lapped everyone on the couch!

wait so where does the money go from this auction? just the ironman organization?

You can look this up, but the ironman foundation is the grease used on the pet projects of local politicians to keep the wheels turning. I remember seeing the foundation spent like $40-50k in schools, libraries etc in the Woodlands Texas, for example.

I love the fact they still have to validate...spend 54k, but we want another $450 for a 70.3.

Swedish goggles, been wearing same pair for 11 yrs and around 11 million yds. :)

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"Anyone can be who they want to be IF they have the HUNGER and the DRIVE."

Wow, that's ridiculous IMO but it's his money.

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"Anyone can be who they want to be IF they have the HUNGER and the DRIVE."

What is odd about it, is 99% of people have to bust their balls, train and qualify. But someone is paying $50k to circumvent the qualification process. I have no problem with people paying extortionate amounts of money for a race, as long as everyone is in the same boat i.e everyone pays, no qualifying. It's black and white, it's either a race you qualify for or it isn't. If they want, have a separate race the day before for celebrities, lotteries and those that didn't qualify and want to still race.