My wife said that to me ounce.....man that was a great bike!

How about we all just decide for ourselves what is too much and not worry about what other people pay to race. There is no magic "too much" number. If it's worth $1200 to someone else, no sweat off my nose.

Thom

There is no way I'll pay $1,200 for an IM event. $625 - $675 is pushing it. Rev3 and all the other races are looking much more attractive

X2. For some people $1200 is an acceptable price point. Economics for everyone is different depending how much disposable income you have and how you choose to spend it.

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-Of course it's 'effing hard, it's IRONMAN!
Team ZOOT
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and I think we hit that price ceiling. If I had to guess, IMNY saw the numbers coming in for 2013 and they weren't pretty. I'm sure there is some equation that they use where they can judge from the initial rush in a few hours, what the final tally will be.

It's either that.

OR

NY and NJ told them they lost their permits for another race.

When was the last time WTC gave a flying f#%$ about athletes opinions? They aren't concerned about charging $1200 to race...I think they saw what a joke the swim turned out to be and are trying to cover it up with other excuses.

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But can you blame them for continuing to up the price until they find that price point where demand drops and they can't fill the race? They're in business to make money, so I applaud them for doing exactly what they should.

It's not their responsibility to make racing their races affordable for random people.

Plus, shouldn't Gods and Goddesses be able to afford $1200?

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-Andrew

yes, $1,200 is a lot. actually, 1,260 :).

here's my take. the costs to do this compare to another event would have been cheaper and it's in my hometown.

Reg Fee - 1,260

Compare to Rev 3 - Cedar Point Full

Reg Fee - 525
Hotel - 400 - let's assume $100 a night for 4 nights
Airfare - 350 - cheapest flight on expedia currently
Bike Transport - 300

Total costs - 1,575

Arizona/Florida would costs more because the reg fee is higher and the airfare as well. hotel costs might be higher.

LP - i would have to pay for car rental fees which would come close to the airfare/transport costs.

No, I dont think it is that high considering where it is taking place. Everything in that area is considerably more expensive that most areas of the world.

I would pay $1200 to race Kona, just one time. Where do I sign up?

I'm concerned that this price increase trend will continue in places like Lake Placid and Mont Tremblant. Of course, everyone has different financial considerations. That's fair. But do they really want this event to only be associated with those of great means. Or is this an event that truly "anyone can do" with enough training and commitment?

For me, when I see a number like $625 at Placid, I breathe deeply and remember its essentially a holiday. It is the culmination of a lot of hard training. I pay up for the week accommodation and share a place with some friends and enjoy the week off from work. If the price was to increase beyond its current position I just couldn't justify it.


I'm NOT a one and done athlete. I want to do these things for a long time. For me, its now a lifestyle. I wake up early, I train, I S/B/R and I love the year building up to my race. My feeling is that if WTC were to persist with something like $1200 for a race it would encourage a lot of first timers who will never do this thing again.

We spent a lot of money when my wife did ITU long course in Australia and Kona, but we also made a holiday of it which included scuba diving, etc. No way in hell would we pay $1200 to swim in the Hudson. NYC just isn't exotic enough to cough up that kind of coin.

but it's not a lot for sports equipment, esp when the top end bikes are twice that. shiv, trinity, tm01....all are in the $12k-14k range.

other sports: rowing shells are $12k for a single ($45k for an eight). a set of oars is $750/pr. club membership/fees $500/yr

golf? a set of clubs can easily be $5000. club membership and greens fees can be upwards of $100k/yr (in northern NJ/NYC area).

but for $1200....that's the cost of doing a few races....and, given that other mdot branded races are a fraction of this entry fee....just plain ridiculous.

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no sponsors | no races | nothing to see here

I can understand it from some perspective... because travel and racing can be expensive. I tend to stay more local where I can drive, and even there, loding and food can be upwards of double or more the entry fee. Halfs are obviously a lot less because you can get away with a lot less days in my opinion.

But by the same degree, if your choice of venue is purely based upon saving money, that is really not much of a choice. So if the argument is IMMT or IMLP will cost me $2000, and IMNYC will cost me on $1200, the biggest question to me is which would you rather do? Which is more relaxing or enjoyable pre-post? Which is more enjoyable actually racing?

Frankly I think a true IMNYC would be run in the city, and something out of the Warriors, where you have bottles tossed at you on the swim, you are hounded down on the bike, or come to T1 and find your bike up on cinderblocks and the wheels gone, and the run would be through Central Park being chased by the Rogues, the Riffs, Turnbull ACs, the Baseball Furies, and the Lizzies.

Was the course planned? Or was it forced? Is the course there because it would make a great spot and ideal race, or is the race there because there is a demographic and void and more to just sell entries.

I would rather pay a little more and do a race I want to do, than a race that is just "cheaper" If money was a real factor, I think renting a house or condo in Tremblant or LP with a group of 3 or 4 other athletes ultimately brings the cost cheaper, and makes the experience more rewarding. That is just me. Have no desire to even remotely do what they are throwing together in NYC.

I don't know where you live (since your profile is incomplete) but I'm guessing the USA because Roth is the only international race in your list. Therefore, I ask:

If you think $1200 is too much for a race, how much do you think it is going to cost you to travel to Germany to do Challenge Roth?

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Pink? Maybe. Maybe not. You decide.

Yup this was bound to happen and now WTC knows they are teetering on the equilibrium. They still offer a highly desirable product. This story about logistics....meh I don't work for them so can't say, but cannot imagine they didn't have a clear exit story when they decided to implement this rate hike. WTC is not dumb and they know to never ask a question you don't already know the answer to. If the answer was 'no' on 1,200 then they had a clear answer to get out and regroup. If IMNY does open up again it will certainly not be 1,200.

Man some of the responses surprise me because people are equating the place that the race is being held to the value for money of the race itself..I'll happily spend $600 to go to a race that costs me $2000 to get to if the race itself is value for money.Where the race is being held should not affect the price of the actual race and if it does and the RD's are passing on the cost of that venue to me then I won't go.

So to compare races,I would never pay $1,200 to race the same distance event that I can pay way less for in a really nice venue,like Penticton or Cairns or even Brasil..The rest of the costs do not figure into my equation...Is New York worth visiting,sure but is it worth my spending an extra $1,200 for a race that hasn't been that well recieved by those who did it,I would say no.I would look to IMMT way before I would consider IMNY....Actually to tell the truth, in the same way I refuse to pay the stupidly inflated prices for snacks at the theatre or food at Airports,I will never pay $1,200 for a race,"just because it is in New York"....Now the Sri Chimnoy Ultra run that they have there is a different story.

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Agreed... Maybe it will be $1500

They will justify it by saying they have:

-- Improved the logistics
-- Improved ferry service for family and friends
-- More spectator spots

All of this will cost more to pull off, this is New York after all, and people can be assured that this is an even better race

Oh, almost forgot, they will throw in a set of TYR Goggles as well.

this is not true. the NYCM costs a lot more than most every other marathon because NYRR knows that there is almost inelastic demand of the race and it can get away with charging well over $200. it's not like the cost of putting on a marathon in NYC has massively increased over the past 5 years. the race still sells out right away at this price point so you can expect further increases in the future (although NYRR has received a lot of pushback this year).

WTC was treating IMNJ the same way and thought that there was almost inelastic demand so a 33% price hike wouldn't matter. it found out that it does matter when the product is inferior. i'm really curious as to how few people actually signed up. it had to have been a tiny number because WTC never would have suspended the race had it come close to filling up. it just would have put on the same flawed race next year and made an even bigger profit.

The NYC Marathon HAS increased in cost considerably in the last 5 years.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/03/sports/new-york-city-marathon-raises-entry-fee.html

You are somewhat out of your mind if you are willing to pay $1200 for an Ironman race.
________

You obviously can only make a decision for yourself ..... but a large number of others obviously didn't agree with you.
I personally wouldn't pay anything to swim in a polluted east coast river or spend time in New Jersey/NY .... but I wouldn't be concerned about $1200 entry to a quality event like IMC or maybe Tahoe if it indeed turns out to be good in 2013. Most of my expense is travel/ meals/ hotels/ family/time off work (I own my own business) .... so the entry fee be it 600 or 1200 really is only a minor part of the total cost .... and that obviously also is before I consider the cost of my equipment.
Everyone makes choices in where they spend money and for what .... no $1200 isn't a big deal overall for a lot of triathletes ....no one MAKES you do anything ;-)

Dave

I live in Vermont, and we have a family place just outside NY city, but the race cost/logistics/family spectating issues of IMNYC make it unappealing for me currently. I would love see a really cool/fun course around NYC that would be athlete/spectator friendly , but I also understand that may be too expensive and logistically complicated to provide in that urban environment. I was just giving examples of other good race options. Roth would surely be expensive (plane tickets for my family of 5- crap!), but it would also be a great trip to Europe rolled into it. I know I pay a premium to stay in Lake Placid, but for me the travel is cheap, the course is beautiful and spectator friendly, and the area fun for my family (wife and 3 little kids)- but again I know others may prefer the urban setting. I was simplifying (dangerous) -there are many other factors (travel, lodging etc...) that go into a race and obviously everyone has there own value systems. But a race entry fee of 1200 (plus processing, with next to no refund should something come up over the year) is crazy IMHO. Now I do agree if you live in NY/NJ and travel/lodging logistics get simplified then it could certainly be more appealing- as any race close to home would make for easy (and cheaper) travel/lodging options. My sister and her family live in Wilmington, NC so for me B2B (long with its cost, late registration availability, good reviews and timing in the year) gets "good scores" on the "that one would be fun to do" list. I should make up a scoring system to help me organize my want to do races! Have a good one.

Scott

Scott,

I agree about B2B. Set Up Events is a great company. I do at least 5 of their events every year and I want to do B2B one day. If you haven't already figured it out, I'm from NC and B2B would be easy logistically and inexpensive for me to do. There are about 250 spots still open for this year. Depending on how IM Louisville goes in 12 days, I may just do it this year!

Take Care,
Alan

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Pink? Maybe. Maybe not. You decide.