I for one have.
Haven’t done a tri in two years, but signed up for one over the weekend, so yes, my opinion has changed…
I already paid for Vineman 70.3 but might forego it. I live in Atlanta so that is quite a trip. The plan was to turn it into a vacation but since we have done the whole San Fran/Napa vacation the last two years my girfriend wasn’t down. She was fine with me going solo but it seems like a huge unnecessary expense when I’m sure that I can find local races. The one thing this has taught me is to not sign up too early for a race too far away.
Its still hard to say for me. I am not a super hard core triathlete to begin with as far as spending goes. I do the training but I can not make myself spend a ton of money on equipment. I love watching my savings account grow. I have never had a problem spending money for traveling to a race or for race fees however, because I think that is part of the true value of the sport. The memories are very important to me. I did opt not to participate in a local ten mile St. Patricks day race this past weekend though, mostly because the entry fee was $55 to run a route that I run quite often, last year I would have thought nothing of it, but this year it just seemed wrong.
For the past two years I have traveled all over the southeast to race. This year, cost became a factor and I decided I would do the local series, which I’m fortunate to have in my immediate area. I’m only traveling for one race, the Gulf Coast 1/2 IM in May. Total cost on that for travel, hotels, and food is going to be around $500, and we get to use a friends and family airfare discount. GF signed us up for TriLatta, but we can stay with her folks while there and will only have to pay for gas to get there and back. So, yeah, money is a big factor this year.
Not overall. 2009 was already planned out by last fall We are thinking of cutting back on airline travel in 2010 due to the hassels of flying with a bike.
The economy hasn’t changed anything for me… I was poor before and I’m still poor.
Because of the common practice of planning out our season a year in advance and signing up/paying for race fees and accommodation a year in advance, it is my opinion that we will feel the true bite of this next year, not this year. I know I will not be signing up for smaller races next year instead just focusing on “mock races” I do myself in prep of my actual A Race(s).
I just do relays and the cost has always been pretty outrageous for a relay team. This year, I can’t find people who are interested in doing them. It’s just too expensive (or is it me?). Like another poster said, last year I wouldn’t have thought twice about spending $45 (just my share) to get to do the bike course at an Oly-distance tri. This year it somehow doesn’t seem right. I"m thankful that I have two new, relatively local, time trial series that will fill the void … and they cost WAY less than the tri relays did. I miss the ambiance of the triathlon scene. Two weekends ago I was at a time trial and there was almost nobody I could talk to. Everyone is locked into a trainer with earbuds in. You start talking and realize they aren’t aware you’re talking to them. And there are almost no women. The atmosphere is nowhere near as fun.
.
my income has more than doubled since november. so i race a bit further away from home next summer.
why all this commotion? if you haven’t lost your job, than you can do what you used to do. Racing triathlons for example.
normally I race 10-15 times a year, and the wife does as well. This includes a Ironman or two between us. This year, I am signed up for 1 half, and a couple of ultras. But overall I will race 4-5 times this year, but the wife may break 10 races. Most local and no trip planned for Kona to race or watch.
why all this commotion? if you haven’t lost your job, than you can do what you used to do. Racing triathlons for example.
Proof of what I keep telling my wife … the oblivious among us will rescue this economy. 
(In this scenario, oblivious isn’t a bad thing … it’s as opposed to those who sit with CNBC on in the background all day and wring their hands at every piece of economic news. Been there, done that, got the ulcer.)
I still have my GTA assistantship and my girlfriend has her GRA, so not loss of income. We are both doing more races this year and traveling further too. We also got new bikes and more equipment since last season.
And because we are saving money on gas we are not complaining at all.
Before pressing the panic button, there are a few new items to consider:
Dow extends rally on bank gains: Financial shares at heart of Wall Street’s 5th striaght advance (CNN):
http://money.cnn.com/2009/03/16/markets/markets_newyork/index.htm?postversion=2009031610
Bank Stocks Surge (CNN):
http://money.cnn.com/2009/03/16/news/companies/bank_stocks/index.htm
Fed Boss Bernanke says “Recession to end in 2009” (MSNBC):
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/29719047#29719047
Oil Prices fall on OPEC Decision (BBC World News):
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7946202.stm
Controversy over Media’s Role in Meltdown (PBS Link- look on video page):
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/economy/
“Time to get into stocks is now” (CNBC Link).
http://www.cnbc.com/id/29677657
I’m not sure if there are enough of those “oblivious” people. It really depends on how you are compensated and how you gauge your own wealth. For instance, those who have 401(k)'s or a lot of company stock might have seen their net worth plummet even if it is temporary. If you are in a commissioned industry or get a large chunk of your pay in bonuses that you feel you may not receive this year then your perceived net worth AND income potential are down and you spend less. And then there are the people who are in industries where there are lots of layoffs. Those people will perceive a lower level of job security and will save more and spend less most likely even if in the end they do not end up with any real losses. The people who are not effected are those in secure industries where there compensation isn’t tied to “performance” (used loosely here to mean commission/bonus) such as health care. It is all about perception as you know so hopefully there are more of these “oblivious” people out there.
I have actually found triathlon has helped keep the budget in the black because if I wasn’t spending all this time training, I’d be spending money on other, more expensive things. I’m only doing 3 tri’s this year, ~$300 in race fees, $500 pool membership, yeah I’ll spend money on other stuff, but compared to what I would have spent skiing if I wasn’t training in the pool all winter??? Also saving ~$20/wk on gas by cycling to work.
It isn’t just “my” job. My wife, who is a teacher was pink slipped. Nothing to do with performance, just a reflection of the state budget woes and the usual 1st thing to hit the chopping block aka our children’s education. Thanks Arny!
I had an interesting conversation with a couple of guys on a training ride a few weekends back. They’re both high-falutin’ corporate types and they said they’re training for Ironman events this year because they were always too busy before now to do it. The lull is creating the opportunity for them to train.
We had two big tri trips - Australia in 2006 and Kona in 2008 due to my wife doing long course. Now we’re going back to what we’ve always done - local area sprints and olys. Probably about half a dozen races all within a maximum two hour drive.
Traveling to races seems to be a LOT cheaper right now. Airfare has gone way down from this time last year, hotels are at low occupancy rates, so they are making deals. Gas prices are lower. The only thing that seems to cost more is the price to take your bike. But all in all, it’s still cheaper than last year.
Fortunately my the company I work for is growing and my job is pretty secure.