Yikes. How much is 1 day usat? Any of that going to charity?

---

My Strava | My Instagram | Summerville, SC | 35-39 AG | 4:41 (70.3), 10:05 (140.6) | 3x70.3, 1x140.6 | Cat 2 Cyclist

I don’t understand the complaint.

Does the race organizer have some sort of monopoly?

---

"FTP is a bit 2015, don't you think?" - Gustav Iden

As someone that has done this great sport since 1994, the prices and value are just no longer acceptable for me.

was 16.80 with processing fee

On the surface: extremely steep. (it's what...$155 for the race plus processing and the $15 one day?) But, some questions.


1.) Where?
2.) Closed bike course? Closed run course? Special location?
3.) Permits? Police cost?
4.) Anything else *besides* the race included in that cost?

---

----------------------------------
Editor-in-Chief, Slowtwitch.com | Twitter

Is this an IM-operated 5150 series event? Tremblant sprint felt like it was close to this a couple of years ago.

---

***

CalTri has both their SoCal ones (LA and Newport Beach) at $90 (so probably about $115 after fees + 1 day USAT). Not cheap, but not nearly $200 (their Olympic distances are less than $25 more too).

There is a local half distance Aquabike costing, can’t remember exact numbers but around $250


They also offer a 56 mile time trial for approx $80

And a 1.2 mile swim for approx $60

Hunh?!???

uuugh, can't imagine what a relay would cost if I want to race with my kids ~300?

sure limiting the field - if you're young or don't have a lot of disposable income, nothing to see here

---

Great things never come from comfort zones.

My son is the triathlete in the family although he talked me into doing my first in June. Very fortunate to have the Wisconsin Tri Series close to us. Signed him up for the series in early October when the rate was lowest. Ended up being 7 sprints for $344.84. A bargain at $49.26/race. My feeling after being around the series for a couple years is that they are very well organized and ran. The biggest downside (is it really?) is that they aren’t USAT sanctioned events.

He’s doing a few USAT events as well including age group nationals and those jump up over $100 in a hurry.

and that is the bigger problem here... at this cost competition is just going to IM style races since it is close to that price. This is a non IM corp race

Maybe, we are a month out from IM oz and Port 70.3 both of these sold out races can be entered. The cash cow for IM, dudes over 35 are doing other things.

Sprints at close to $200 won't bring them back or bring heaps of new people in

$187 sounds pretty steep to me. What is the course like? A crystal Lagoon that is only open to swimmers only day a year on race day with a race entry? A newly paved road through a natural wonder that is closed to all traffic on race day? What is the competition like? What is the swag like. I think the most I have paid for a sprint was about $100 but the course was no natural wonder. I did a race that was not USAT sanctioned in the home town of my father-in-law for $45. It was as well organized and attended as any USAT certified race I have done. I didn’t count to my USAT rank but I keep telling myself that I am supposed to be doing races for the enjoyment of the sport so ranks shouldn’t be a focus. Ya… I have seen races put on by people who I know and I decide to do them to support friends. Then I see the price and pass on the race.

USAT Nationals Sprint is $179 plus whatever fees. Certainly a lot but reasonable in my opinion for the nature of the event. I wouldn't want to pay that for a small local race though of course. Sprint entry fees around $100 now in Colorado, less if you register far ahead.

Exactly. This is me. I have just gone 12 months since my last race which was Melbourne 70.3 in March 2022.

The cost to join triathlon australia isn’t showing any value like it did. The insurance is worthless yet we have to pay it.

Then races are for the only series within 300kms.

Don’t forget the $30 TA fee and then the one day licence which is $15 on top of the prices below.
Sprint (750m/26.7km/5km)$99.00
Olympic (1.5km/40km/10km)$140

Need to move to Wisconsin. A series like that for just under $50/race!

I would say the only downsides for not being USAT sanctioned are not being scored. So those races wouldn't get him into AG Nats or work towards pro qualifying if he was at that level. There's gotta be a fix to that because we should be encouraged to race a local series like this, instead of worrying if it's USAT sanctioned or not.

$187 does sound like a lot for a Sprint but 70.3s are $400 now. So if a Sprint is that much and offers a closed course/incredible venue I could be tempted.

Thats why I stay out of big compannies races. Local races prices are around 300 for a full, sub 100 for half, and around 30/40 for a sprint.

Did an Ironman once, it was nice, but not worth spending an amount that buys you a great familly trip for a weekend.

This was my thought, too. Is it a lot of money? Absolutely. What do you get for it? A sprint on an open bike course, and a run in the park with a pylon every 200m to mark the course? Not remotely worth it. Good location, closed bike course, nice run course, good water for swimming. There might be a market for that as a destination type race.

On ST we're not really the main demographic for race organizers. When you go to a sprint it seems like it's at least 50% people who are going to do one event that year and they've been working toward it for months. They would probably pay $190 for a race if it's the one local to them and the only one they're doing all year.

There is give and take and it’s generally why you have seen the independent full become almost instinct cus that $300 full is going to have 48 people racing in it and be very “boring” and people come to the conclusion (along with the RD), it’s not worth anyone’s time to have that type of event.

I always kinda cringe at “omg this sprint is so expensive” yet so many other options out there generally, to compare. And then when pressed on what makes the race so expensive it’s crickets. That kinda narrative I think kinda doesn’t help. I mean I’m sure there are parts of the world where race prices are stupidly expensive, just as I’m sure there are areas of the world where ppl race for $70-$100 sprints.

One of the longest tenured sprints on the east coast (1500m current aided swim / 12mi B. / 5k R) is $85 total charges ($15+ if need 1 day insurance). That’s probably in line with the normal costs of good run sprint these days. That’s one of setup events most popular events of the year.

---

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

I’ll never forget trifed coming to town in 1986. And for reasons I don’t fully understand, overnight, our local low budget well established sprint and oly tri entry fee doubled from $20 to $40+plus an insurance policy no one really understood. Gone was the liability signature on the entry form. At the time there were more local tris than 5k’s. It was then that the triathlon explosion here started dying, and hasn’t recovered to this day. Within 3 years, all the tri local events died. As the tris died, the local $10 - $15 every weekend 5k’s took over. Leading up to the fall $20 half marathon, and $40 full marathon. As someone who was in the middle of it all that, the triathletes just migrated to different affordable events. Fast foreword to 2023, and after a 2002-2021 four race triathlon resurgence here (@ $65 + USAT + fees)… there is only one left. So what are folks doing here now? The local tri club is holding what they call “mock tris” each month… for the cost of the years membership, they just meet up and R/S/B for fun. The local free Park Run 5k every Saturday morning is exploding. Pickle ball is going absolutely nuts at every club and gym and even churches and a dedicated night club and bar, and courts all over town, and they are even converting city tennis courts to pickle ball courts. My wife and I got into this, and for a $40 starter pack 2 years ago, we can go play for free all day, all over town.

I’ve also noticed that the local running scene is coming up with a very workable and affordable recipe for some of the big local races that were declining. Now, just about every expensive well established half or full marathon, is also including a 5k, 10k, and kids run, and numbers are picking up. Races that had declined into the 500 or so folks are now getting over 2000 folks with entire families getting involved. And a lot of the shorter distance fast guys are showing up… who wouldn’t do a well organized 5k for $30?

Another thing I witnessed recently is happening right now in Salina Kansas. They are having a fall full marathon, along with 5k,10k, half. They advertised in Feb, that the first 20 entrants were free. I got in for free. Then they started having a corporate sponsor advertising battle… and advertised $5 entry fees for all races, with local businesses covering the rest. Word got out, and as of last week, in a little nowhere town in nowhere Kansas, they have over 1100 entry’s from all over the US, and still growing, for a small town race that isn’t until November.

---

Athlinks / Strava

In France, we are fortunate enough that 99.9 % of the Sprints and Olys are (very well) run by not-for-profit organizations (tri clubs) and, as a result, entry fees are kept around $15-20 and $30-40 respectively. Short distance athletes can race a lot without breaking the bank.

Woooow!!

I did race a local sprint in Spain 4 years ago, and the entry fee was indeed laughable (20-25 euros, with a decent quality singlet included in the race package). Closed roads, including an important coastal road along Costa Del Sol in a period that was already getting busy (May). And yes, it was organized the local club (shout out to Club Triatlon Benalmadena).

---

"FTP is a bit 2015, don't you think?" - Gustav Iden

i mostly agree, i'll only add that everyone i've heard from who runs events says that their costs have gone way, way up this year. couple that with lower turnout and difficulty in finding volunteers and it's not hard to imagine why prices are creeping up.

i get it - i was a race director when i was younger and put on a dirt cheap, cheerful race. and i'm generally a fan of low-frills high-adventure events. but i can see why even well-established races are going extinct or raising prices.

---

____________________________________
https://lshtm.academia.edu/MikeCallaghan

http://howtobeswiss.blogspot.ch/

I sometimes cringe when I read about how cheap run races are when talking about tri issues.

Hell our tri store whos been in biz for almost 30 years now, we put on 3 events (we have a 4th one - a half ironman that I think is going to stop after this year because it's just too much on the business to run and execute and numbers are struggling):

Spring half/full marathon that is $70
Summer sprint triathlon ~$75 (more as it gets closer obviously)
Turkey ~5mi trot ~$30 walk up fee

The costs of the tri includes a "close" course. The 2 run events have very little costs and 1/8th the police numbers that are needed. And the crazy part about all of it......You know who tells you what you need to do when you want to do the race? The local govt directs you on every aspect of using the public roads. You dont get to show them "hey we will have X volunteers at each turn"....it's nope you will be required to pay for X cops or you dont get the permit. There is zero negotiation, there is zero bargaining. If you want the permit, this is what it requires.

So I think it's a bit unfair to talk about how great run events are and how cheap they are when in reality they likely come no where close to the costs of hosting events that tris do.

eta: I'll stick up for the sport of triathlon. At the local level I think very few RD's/races are trying to "fleece" athletes. I think they are all dealing with real world costs that at some point have to be accounted for. So if that means our sport dries up eventually, then at some point...fine. Like at some point, if the issue is there are tons of other cheaper options, cool. Tris won't win that argument. So I guess we'll all see ya in 15 years on the newest cheapest fad sport (no way it'll be pickle ball....it'll likely be some AI virtual sport).

---

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