Really, not aware of this.
Wait, is that means that Rappstar will have to quit racing and dedicate his time to enhance the ST product so they can retain us, customers, here? lol
Also, congrats on a gutsy race.

Oh don't get me wrong. I am not aware of any Internet site that plans to compete against ST. I am speaking in theory: ST is too successful a site and it will inevitably have a competitor just like Yahoo... then Google; Apple... then Samsung; Zipp... then Hed; Shimano... then SRAM, etc.


(Thanks... :>)


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Finishing an ironman, the unfit wealthy person can then brag to the twice as fast person who cant even afford an olympic entry that they are more bad ass

How many people out there can't afford an olympic entry?

We can joke all we want about the cost of triathlon, but the real issue is that learning to swim is the real limiter to the sport, and from all my experience that tracks pretty closely with family income.

Someone recently noted that the NY marathon has 47,000 people at $200+ generating $9.4million in revenue. IMNY charged what, $1000 for less than 3000 people generating less than $3mil. Very interesting read about the NYC Marathon here
http://www.nytimes.com/...orts/21marathon.html
"Wittenberg estimated that the organization’s cost per runner “is easily more than $250.” "

I was just reading through the thread about the interview with the IMNY RD, he was threw out some numbers like hundreds of thousands for the swim platform. Then dealing with multiple ferries, over a dozen different law enforcement groups, closing the huge section of highway, and after all of that having to manage a full marathon.

My guess after reading all of this is that WTC lost a huge chunk of money on this race. And I think they expected to, and were prepared to have this as a loss-leader, with the expectation that it would be their flag-ship race. When you look at the comments the RD made he kept talking about the NY Experience (TM), how everything in NY costs more, and how people are willing to pay for that.

What it seems happened is that the race cost way more than they ever expected, while at the same time failing to provide NY Experience (TM), so why bother. Ironman is all about brand image, that's it. Just like Apple, just like BMW, just like Coke and Pepsi. And WTC has to work very carefully to protect that image, otherwise it's just a 140.6 triathlon.

$1200 very obviously isn't too much for a race for at least 3000 people each year. The problem is that at the end of the day it's going to have to provide $1200 worth of awesomeness, IMNY just couldn't pull that off, while at the same time COSTING more than $1200 per person (I assume).

As an aside, I have quite a few friends that have run the Disney marathon (and the Goofy marathon), which I think is one of the most expensive. Everyone that did it has told me how crappy the race is, that it starts in the park, and then they spend 25 miles running along access roads.

I also did an olympic race last summer that I think cost about $40, but it sucked, and they didn't offer it this year. The whole time I was out there I kept thinking, "I wish they had charged another $20 per person so this didn't suck so bad."

entry for busso is open for 48 hours if you are a member of triathlon wa. it costs $180 to join tri wa for the year and you get other benefits besides pre-entry to busso 70.3. to get into this event you do need to be a member of tri wa because it sells out for individuals before it opens to the general public. last year it sold out within hours. so you might be including the membership fee along with the entry fee ?? i join triathlon wa because it supports local clubs and i save on race day fees for other events. i know quite a few people dont race any other events so they look at the total cost as being the membership fee and the entry fee and are not happy. but it all comes down to choice. if you dont like it dont do it. triathlon wa put on a great event and it supports the sport. because it is so popular the use it to increase the funds available and increase membership. funnily enough mandurah 70.3 hasnt sold out but you can bet busso 2013 will.

Gee, not a single answer to this question!

$600 is too much for an IM race for me so I admit it by no longer entering these races. I have the money to do so, it just offends my sensibility to do so.

I want to try the expensive things you mention and I have the means but again, this is a hobby for me and I don't need it all.

It's not the $1200 in the abstract it is what you get for the $1200 that is the problem.....Improve the race and people will pay more than $1200 to do it....

Also, I am always interested to read the debate on race prices but then go to nearly any race and see the thousands of dollars people spend on the latest and greatest bike, aero helmet, wheels, nutrition, running shoes, race kits, sunglasses, etc. etc. blah blah blah.

There are many - highschool XC runners that go the blue collar job route and disappear off the face of the earth or just end up playing soccer for fun on the side. Given a year they can develop the swimming skill to be better than MOP...

There is a market for races with prices all over the map. Some can only afford cheap ones and you get what you pay for. Others have worked hard and can afford the best money can buy. This is what America is, or was, all about. I guess some now want to just take from the folks who worked hard for their money because it is not fair. :o)

So, the $1200 is not the issue, but folks bitch about USAT's 45 dollar annual fee. If IMNYC offered what customers felt was worth that or more, they would fill up the race quickly. For all the work I do for a race, really at the end of the day I have an open mind as to how much I will pay. I just ate crow paying big bucks for IMLT, so we all justify things we buy.

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

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Lions don't lose sleep worrying about the sheep

And they can't scrape together the $30 for an olympic distance? In a year they can't put aside $3 per month for a race?

Think of all the time you spend training for an IM. A guy who works on Wall Street might make >$200/h. Just a week of training is costing him >$2k.

where the hell can i race an olympic for 30$??? ill even fly out there for that!!

You didn't answer the question. Care to try again?

Yes they can scape 30$. But an olympic is around 150-230$ . So now where is this 30$ race.

$1200 does seem ridiculous. When I started tri's in '09, typical IM fee was around $550 or so. Now it's double.

The bean counters read that NY Times article that said the avg triathlete disposable income was like $30K (correct me if I'm wrong)

If you're traveling, with airfare, accommodations, rental car, food, bike transport fees, etc...the race budget usually runs above $4k or more, not including the race fee.

While I don't like it, the increase in race fees seem to be in-line with the other expenses.

But it does tend to choke out the avg joe...like me.

Does $1200 seem ridiculous for an iron distance race in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho or Panama City Beach, Florida? Yes.

Does $1200 seem ridiculous for an iron distance race in and around NYC? No.

ETA: Regarding "When I started tri's in '09, typical IM fee was around $550 or so. Now it's double"....no it is not. The typical IM fee is $600-$650.
$1200 is quite the outlier.

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Pink? Maybe. Maybe not. You decide.

synthetic wrote:

Yes they can scape 30$. But an olympic is around 150-230$ . So now where is this 30$ race.

Your original statement was " Finishing an ironman, the unfit wealthy person can then brag to the twice as fast person who cant even afford an olympic entry that they are more bad ass "

How many of these high school xc stars working their blue collar jobs with their sad sad stories can scrape together $30, but can't scrape together $150? Are you suggesting that there are no races ever that are less than $150?

As one example there is the Chisago Half Ironman in Minnesota
EVENT FEES
Until 11:59 Feb. 21:
Sprint $45 Sprint Relay(each) $30 Half $95 Half Relay(each) $45 Youth Tri $15

That's a half for a lot less than $150.

The Libety Triathlon in Minnesota has both oly and HIM for $70 and $95.


So back to YOUR original statement, how many people out there can't afford to EVER race because the ENTRY fee is too high? Feel free to move the goal posts as far as you need to.

yes, you're right, but it seems like it might be a trend setter price.

I just paid $760 for IMMT.

Not to beat a dead horse, but doesn't the $760 include currency conversion and some outrageous Canadian value added tax or something like that?

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Pink? Maybe. Maybe not. You decide.

that was approximate $CDN cost, exact cost was $700 CD, plus the fees was $753 CD, which is around $772 US.

IMoo just sold out in record time, so I assume IMMT will sell out reasonably soon. I'm sure there are more than a few holds out wondering where IMC will end up.

Keep in mind, that each time a race sells out, there are quite a few people that pay double for the charity slots. $1200 just isn't that much for some races. At the end of the day it's an issue of valuation. Some races are inherently more valuable than others. Epic Dartmouth is still only a few hundred bucks but I just can't imagine it comparing to the crazy amount of fan support and energy at IMoo last weekend.

And the issue for this particular topic was specifically that IMNY was NOT able to be worth $1200, it lacked the awesomeness they were hoping NY would provide.

Good point on the Foundation Slots. For some races like IMWI that sell out almost immediately, there are sometimes Foundation Slots still available race week. This was the case for IMCdA and IMWI. That says that the market value of an entry is more than $650 but less than $1200. Personally, I like the Foundation Slot option (used it twice), since it provides the option of registering 4-5 months in advance instead of 12 months.