The owners know their demographics, IM is a bucket list item for a lot of people and every year the average age gets older and older (when I started 14 years ago the largest age group was 25-29, its now 40-44 . Older people have more money and they need to tick off the bucket list, the owners of these races want to make maximum profit before predicted decline of demand starts in a few years.

If you ever need an out = double bonus.
(yes pink implied)

Not only is it too much but absurd. With money to spend on whatever I want, I try to put things into perspective. Less than $1200 will take me back to Cozumel with air and local transportation. $1200 is what I pay for property taxes and insurance on one of my properties. $1200 is what I pay to fully insure three vehicles. $1200 is what I spend in groceries for 4 months and the list goes on. No way I would spend $1200 on ONE RACE in New York or anywhere. Heck, in spite of the hit and run incident in Abu Dhabi a few months, I am definitely considering that race because it is only $200 and the home of Ferrari World.

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DISH is how we do it.

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May the larvae of a thousand flies infest your bike shorts for suggesting such a thing...;-)


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Ha-ha! Are you referring to the race or Ferrari World?

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DISH is how we do it.

I call BS on the Cozumel part. I see that you are from California. Entry alone is $600US. So that leaves $600US for air (including bike), hotel, food, local travel, etc. I say no way you could do IMCoz for $1200US.

Race entry fee is only one piece of the entire cost.

ETA: Unless you have friends/family in Cozumel, which makes this an apples/oranges comparison.

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Pink? Maybe. Maybe not. You decide.

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The fact that you are a Farrari fan is the only reason a curse was not put on your whole family..

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This is the very reason I see myself doing many local Olympics and Texasman every year. I may eventually do 1 WTC Ironman.

I am already planning to do Leadman next year though. It just seems better and we want to vacay in Portland.

I also will never get an m dot tat. I may get triathlon related ink, but not that.

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You will remain the same person, before, during and after the race. So the result, no matter how important, will not define you. The journey is what matters. ~ Chrissie W.

As I posted a few days ago, you are a trip. Ferrari fan I am not but shit, that roller coaster is screaming my name.

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DISH is how we do it.

That's actually the first interesting thing I've read in all the IMNYC bitching... I think an annual pass would be fantastic. Kind of like the pro membership but a limit on races. $1200 for 3 races of your choosing and you're guaranteed spots into sold out races. I'd gladly pay that to get into 2 fulls and a half that sell out quickly or before I'd really like to start planning my season (IMFL, IMAZ, Vineman 70.3, Oside).

yeah but the thing is demand remains so high they'll never do it
but I agree with you (and myself i guess)

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I don't suffer from insanity; I enjoy every minute of it--

I lived in San Francisco for 15 years, and while living there I raced Escape from Alcatraz 10 times. It started out at $150 and slowly crept up to $295, which seemed absurd. For the same reasons you said here, $295 it turns out was an acceptable entry fee (though of course, is insanely high!) since I rolled out of bed and rode to the race start - no airfare, no hotel, etc. I figured, you only go through life once, and heck, I may not even live in San Francisco forever, so do my famous hometown race while I'm here. With such a nice and iconic IM event right in your backyard, I get your argument to justify this exorbitant entry fee.

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Dream of racing again some day...

$7k...how bout $10K! The P5 loaded w/ Di2 and race wheels is hitting that and they can't get them delivered fast enough!

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-Stephen in Arkansas

Does anyone besides a pro even have a P5 yet?

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Pink? Maybe. Maybe not. You decide.

My buddy got his last week. First frames were delivered last week (maybe the week before that). A lot of them are on hold because they're going to offer a 10 speed instead of 9 speed with Di2 next year...or something like that to do with Di2.

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-Stephen in Arkansas

Good luck and have fun in Louisville.

$295??

EfA was $400 this year. and it was HUGE to be able to stay with fam in oakland, and not have to fight for overpriced hotel space.

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no sponsors | no races | nothing to see here

The ironic thing about all this is, I gave-up golf which I didn’t suck at (4 handicap), when I moved to OC because it was so expensive and time consuming. I got into cycling because it was “free”, after a couple Crit races I knew that kind of racing wasn’t for me and did my first Sprint last August. Honestly, I didn’t think I would like it. Crossed the finish line and immediately wanted to do it again; I was hooked. I’m not sure what the average cost of events in other parts of the country but here in SoCal the Sprint: $150, Olympic: $200 and Orangeman Half: $300. It all adds up very quickly, especially when you want to do 6 a year. That doesn't include everything else that goes along with it, gear, maintenance, nutrition, etc.....$$$$$$$$$

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"Though she be but little, she is fierce" ~Shakespeare | Powered by HD Coaching | 2014 Wattie Ink Triathlon Team | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter

I have watched as Ironman has slowly adding races over the year, always seeming after a demand for the race already existed. So once they launched most filled up right away. It seems they made a major market analysis mistake. The market for $1200 triathlons is very small.

However, people will pay extra for certain venues. They could charge a zillion dollars for Kona and I suspect it would still fill up. I think you can add a premium for a location like NYC but not much. Who goes a week ahead of time to train in NYC? I paid more for a swim in NYC than I would expect to pay elsewhere, but I also would never do it again. Visuals were good, but I had my face in the water much more than I had it out. On top of that the Harlem River just tasted putrid.


$75 for goggles? Time for a reality check. I swim in TYR Racetech which I can get for $8. They have always served me well. Most people swim in a pack so the only one that needs to see is the one at the front. Give them a pair of $25 goggles and call it good.

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http://www.bobswims.com/

"If you didn't swallow water in your last open water race, you weren't racing"

Seriously.

$1200 is like, more than my entire paycheque. For $1200 I could spend a couple months as a hobo cycling from Vancouver to Mexico.

I guess it's all demographic-relevant and location-specific, as everyone has mentioned. But I still think it's insane. Race registrations have racked up a couple hefty VISA bills for me this summer, what with two 70.3 races and a few local olys. And just when I think I'm in the clear, I remember the (half) marathons I have in mind, and the fact that 2013 registrations are opening up soon!

Forget race fees - forgoing triathlon would probably save me thousands in the cost of food alone!

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-julie

I do not think $1200 may be too much. Just depends on what people feel they get for their money. I see folks spending, IMO, way too much money on some cars, does that make it wrong?
If a business can put out a product for the higher end folks and sell it out, that is great.

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Dave Campbell | Facebook | @DaveECampbell | h2ofun@h2ofun.net

Boom Nutrition code 19F4Y3 $5 off 24 pack box | Bionic Runner | PowerCranks | Velotron | Spruzzamist

Lions don't lose sleep worrying about the sheep

No.

You guys really don't understand supply and demand, do you.

I'm racing Thursday night.

It costs $20.

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Eli Curt

I'm Professionally Amateur. Are you? Become an ambassador today!
Chimps in Training!

I think it is too much for this particular race given the product you get and the alternatives available in the market. While I haven't done this race, the reviews make me think it was nothing special, so not worth the $1200. In addition, I don't know if WTC is realizing that their competitors are making strides and that there are pretty good alternatives to M-Dot out there. Last year I did B2B full. The race entry cost less than $400 and I don't think there was a difference in the organization of B2B as compared to any of the 7 MDots I've done. I would do B2B again in a heart beat, especially if the alternative is paying $700+ for a WTC event (since I live in the middle of nowhere I have to travel to any IM I do and the price difference between flying to Wilmington and NYC is minimal).

There is starting to be more supply in the market and less product differentiation in the market, which will have a downward pressure on prices.

I think that is starting to happen to the 70.3s series. There are so many great non-WTC half iron distance events in the US (with many of them being cheaper than WTC 70.3s), I have no clue why anyone would pay a premium to race the WTC event.

I enjoy passing people who overspend on triathlon gear.

Ironman is not about going fast but proving you got an entire day to waste, since you are paid well to take so much time off.