USCoregonian wrote:
From the sound of the email that is the end of the line for Savageman going forward. Really sad. Such a fantastic race and everything quintessentially good about triathlon.
I think anyone who ever actually did SavageMan understood that it was not to be taken for granted, and this partially explains the rabid grassroots support that it has always had.
SavageMan was a great event. A unique event, certainly unique in North America triathlon. But it appealed to a very niche audience, a niche audience that seems to have been in steady decline since 2013 or so. And, it's a beast of an event to manage, both in terms of labor and cost.
I don't know the numbers or the variables that went into the decision to pull the plug. But I have no doubt this was not a decision made lightly or made purely based on dollars and profit margins. I do know that in 2010-2012 when the event was drawing 1200-1400 per year across two races it was still a barely viable endeavor motivated more by passion than financial gain, so in today's saturated long-course environment when the same effort and cost is required yet only draws 1/3 of the old numbers and it is certainly a dubious undertaking. Yet, Kinetic was adamant to soldier on because it is an iconic event.
I believe Kinetic when they state that the straw that broke the camel's back was not being allowed to use the state road that leads into Westernport, and thus an entirely new course was necessary, and any SavageMan course that does not use the Westernport Wall and the subsequent Big Savage Mountain would not be in the spirit of SavageMan.
Anyway, it's a sad day for triathlon, a sad day for me even though I've been uninvolved now for more than half of SavageMan's lifespan. But all good things must come to an end. Plus Thomas the Turnaround Turtle has a slow, unlocatable leak and thus couldn't be the turnaround buoy this year for the first time in SavageMan history, so maybe that's the signal that it was time.