I think it’s likely to be a lot more successful in Europe, where most Euros don’t think Ironman is a such a big deal. A tri is a tri…and if there is a kick ass serie, people will show up…Here now is another story…ain’t a tri if it ain’t an Ironman.
Gotta admire these folks for taking a risk…but boy, does it show the power of the IM brand.
Go back to your pastries! As I said it’s an opinion, Jerkwaad. You don’t have to agree. State your opinion and get out of my ass.
Who peed in your cornflakes? You know what they say of opinion…
You dick. See post above. I’ll retract my comment if that wasn’t a personal attack but that’s how I read it.
"All I’m saying is that if they survive the year, they better hope nobody heard of them this year (which I actually think is possible and one of the reasons sign-up is so low). "
Well, again, I think that is not likely. They are advertising on this board and everyone here knows the deal. Word-of-mouth, which should have/could have been their most potent marketing weapon is going to work totally against them. Compound that with their flawed pricing scheme (I wrote my thoughts on that in the 101 forum: http://forum.slowtwitch.com/gforum.cgi?post=1355560;sb=post_latest_reply;so=ASC;forum_view=forum_view_collapsed;;page=unread#unread) and their fate is likely sealed.
The big problem with this postponed race is that the marginal potential customer (someone like me) is now off the board–I have too many other options to choose from that are far more convenient and offer lower risks.
I hate to say it–and I hope another investor comes on board to give them some breathing room–but it appears that the 101 series will not be coming down for breakfast!
Gotta admire these folks for taking a risk…but boy, does it show the power of the IM brand.
how so?
You should refrain from some of your comments…it wasn’t a personal attack. I was just stating that they are offering refunds unlike many other races. Feel free to go on whining though…but keep the insults for later…
I have to admit, waiting for all the 101 supporters and see how they spin this. Again, not that I did not wish them luck,
but as many have stated, the business plan seemed totally flawed from the start. And these folks are supposed
to be experts. Again, best of luck to them.
Just seems to me that the big bucks are following the baby boomers. They have the money, the time.
Do you think this mass is going to just keep going, and staying longer? Does having more 55-59 Agers in nationals
than 50-54 mean something? Seems pretty clear where the non emotional money market is, IMO.
Dave
Man, you’ve been registering for Tris lately??
Most races if not all, offer NO refund whatsoever if the race is cancelled.
Nothing, nada…
These guys offer full refund. I guess you always need a reason to whine…
Want me to send you my french passport for the whining?
If a company offers a product (in this case, a triathlon), and doesn’t provide it in violation of the contract of sale, that’s fraud. I don’t think when signing up for this triathlon that the RD was allowed to cancel the race “because”. There would have been disclaimers for weather, terrorism, or invasion by the French, but I don’t think that an internal resignation of someone would have been sufficient.
You can’t just decide not to put on a race without refunding the money.
i totally agree. finger’s crossed they bring some races to europe.
i still miss Nice. also, i did a very badly organised 4-120-30 in italy in 98 and still loved it.
cheers
uli
I guess I am one of the few people who do not think the 101 series is a big deal. Oh well for all of those that wanted to race I hope they can get their money back or find another event but personally it doesn’t matter to me.
I don’t know anything about the Euro market, so I can’t comment on how the distance will be received. But they’ve burned through a fair amount of capitol trying to start up here and the marketing has to be re-jiggered for over there (obviously, 101 miles has a lot less meaning). And if the distance was in such demand, wouldn’t there be a series or at least a couple races already? Maybe there are - I conceded above I don’t know Eurotri at all.
As to your comments above re: refunds, you’re dead on. NA sports has a quite amusing chapter in their sign up, all about sharing the risk how athletes must assume some of the risk even though the financial risk has been completely shifted to the athletes.
- Financial
NAS cannot accept the risk of a disaster for everyone. Each athlete needs to accept the risk of their entry fee. There will be NO REFUNDS or free entries to other future races. The money an athlete spends on an entry is spent developing that race. WHY?!
NAS does not save any money if a race is cancelled or shortened Prior to any cancellation or shortening of a race, NAS has ordered and paid for every supply and service needed for that race. NAS needs to pay for all race supplies or services
associated with that race, regardless of the outcome. Such expenses also include paying NAS staff/offices/warehouse/administration costs all year.
If NAS assumed all the risk and refunded every athlete in the race or provided each athlete with a free entry NAS would no longer be a viable business which is in no ones best interest. The refund policy is not an NAS policy alone. It is standard in the event business and there is a reason for it. We must all share the risk.
Of course, I think they’re assuming it’s something beyond their control, like a disaster, that causes cancellation.
101 seems to want to hold on to customers and thinks they’re going to last. Otherwise there’s zero motivation to offer a refund.
sounds like the end is near for the 101 series to this very uninformed casual observer. If they had 2000 people signed up I bet they would be able to figure it out. Low attendance at the races held and now this. Too bad as the distance seems like it would be great for me. It would be hard for me to commit to one of the races at this point.
No question this SUCKS for everyone involved and has been coming for a few weeks now. They are not folding. They just did not want to put on a race that was up to standards. There was no easy answer to this one.
that was EXACTLY my point.
Pretty much all races have rules of the form: hey guys, if we decide to cancel the race for whatever reason, you’re out of luck and can forget about a refund. You’ll get a 50c discount for next year or a priority entry in another race that you can pay yourself.
Some crap like that.
sure 101 does what is normal…but they’re the first to actually do it…so we should be quite happy.
You should do us all a favor and refrain from the KEYBOARD. And I read it as an attack directed at my post. My opinion of you hasn’t changed. You need to learn to keep your personal comments to youreself or expect retribution. If you can’t deal with the return then don’t fire the initial volley.
Gotta admire these folks for taking a risk…but boy, does it show the power of the IM brand.
how so? When triathletes think long distance tri, they think Ironman. Both distance and brand. When Joe Smith in the office thinks any triathlon, they think Ironman.
Why would I expect anything less from the French?
I think a lot of posters to ST have an overblown sense of its reach, influence, and concurrence of opinion with the U.S. triathlon market as a whole. An RD or shop owner could spam the hell of this board and not reach the vast majority of people who do triathlons in the states. There’s a lot of experts/mavens (Gladwell’s Tipping Point) on here, but I think the imagined reach is far less than the actual grasp. The series could have a ruined rep here and be just fine in the “real world”. Just look how many people here violently denounce IM and look at its sell outs.
you’re SO american
lighten up
uli
.