This is something i’ve been needing to post cause i want to know if i’m the only one getting ripped off. Not sure how much everyody else on ST pays or would pay for a sprint tri but racing in miami there is a series of sprint triathlons called the Triathlon Trilogy setup by multirace. Entry fee is $80 and it isn’t even a full sprint the bike is 8 miles, other times they’ll mess up the swim or run and make it longer. Whats even worse is if you’re doing a relay the fee is $120, you’re paying more than an olympic! Any thoughts on this?
That’s more than I’ve ever paid for a sprint, even with late registration.
jaretj
80 bucks in a large city and you consider yourself being ripped off?
$80 is pretty steep for a sprint, but I think the races are a little bit more in Key Biscayne because of the overtime that has to be paid to police officers and the cost of permits…they do have to shut down one side of a major bridge. I personally would not pay $80 for a sprint, I would rather find an olympic distance race for a few bucks more or wait until another race comes up…I think $60 is a reasonable amount for a sprint depending on location. Check out Exclusive Sports (Publix Family Fitness Weekend) Miami Beach Tri coming up.
I live in a small town so prices here are a little lower than in big cities, but ~$50-$60 would probably be my max for a sprint distance race. $45 sounds more like it to me. There are even some Oly races around here for ~$85 or so if you sign up early enough.
Funny you should ask because I was just having a conversation in the hallway yesterday with a fellow triathlete about a sprint race this weekend and she said that she wasn’t that interested because she had a wedding to go to and she didn’t really feel like paying $47 for a race that would be over in an hour. The real kicker: she is the defending women’s champion in this race!
Unfortunately here in the Seattle area many sprints are in the $70 range (even with pre-reg), and if you’re not a USAT member then you also have to add the $10 day license on top of that, putting us at the $80 mark on many races. There are cheaper races (generally the smaller venues) that I also do, but if I had to guess I’d say $70 is the norm around here.
Now, for some of these more “expensive” races, the organizers have local police either closing traffic or directing traffic @ intersections, which I’m sure costs $$, while some of the smaller races don’t have that expense because they’re held in out-of-the-way places.
For me, if I feel the race was well-organized, had participant safety as a key goal, and decent support at aid stations and post-race, then I won’t feel too bad about the entry fee.
I wouldn’t rule out a sprint completely at that price, but it would have to offer a little something above and beyond just a race. An unusually interesting or scenic location, for example, or a really good post-race party with lots of extras.
I’d also maybe do it if the time and location were especially convenient to me. I spent about that much on a sprint race this summer, so that I could do it while I was visiting my parents out of state.
not trying to be a prick but how does one get “ripped” off if you willingly pay the stated price for something and it is delivered as promised? if its to expensive then dont pay it. if the market will bear that price point then it would seem that is the right fee
I think triathlons are overpriced…but I’ve never put one on either so I don’t know what the cost is to the organizer.
But why do people feel the length of the race dictates what you’d pay? If the race is longer, they should pay ME for the extra pain and suffering! About halfway through the run I’d pay them MORE to get the race to stop!
That’s why I just don’t do sprints- it’s never worth it to me. Even $60 feels like a rip-off- I’d much rather train longer, and for free.
I think triathlons are overpriced…but I’ve never put one on either so I don’t know what the cost is to the organizer.
But why do people feel the length of the race dictates what you’d pay? If the race is longer, they should pay ME for the extra pain and suffering! About halfway through the run I’d pay them MORE to get the race to stop!
It goes pretty fast…these are some real numbers for my sprint.
swim $3.50 each swimmer in the water 1.25 each swim cap 2.00 printing on each cap $5.00 timing $7.00 shirt (tech, cotton is $4.00) $7.50 - printing on each shirt $2.00 numbers and stickers $2-$5.00 typical post race food (presuming that participant does not feed their family with multiple trips)
Add police, ambulance, insurance, potty rental, fencing rental, sign rental, permit fee’s and on and on.
Fact of the matter is that for a sprint race or a half race the cost per person and to host an event is about the same - thus a sprint and a half have about the same entry fee’s involved.
Supply and demand. I would not support the demand side at that price. I’m not convinced that triathlon’s popularity is a good thing.
I’m in the same boat. The team is doing a couple of races (including the Lindsay brown race at air force), and they both come out to be over a hundred dollars for an Olympic. The kicker is that USAFA only charges their kids 65 dollars to do a race that they charge everyone else, even collegiate competitors, 95 for.
can’t say I care at all if the legs or short or long.
accurate timing would be nice though
$80 seems pretty normal comparing to houston and austin
This is something i’ve been needing to post cause i want to know if i’m the only one getting ripped off. Not sure how much everyody else on ST pays or would pay for a sprint tri but racing in miami there is a series of sprint triathlons called the Triathlon Trilogy setup by multirace. Entry fee is $80 and it isn’t even a full sprint the bike is 8 miles, other times they’ll mess up the swim or run and make it longer. Whats even worse is if you’re doing a relay the fee is $120, you’re paying more than an olympic! Any thoughts on this?
Thanks for the info, it helps to understand.
Did sponsorship help defray any of those costs?
If you signed up late for the Chicago Triathlon either sprint or oly it would have been 155 plus the active.com fees. I wouldn’t be happy about it but since the city of chicago is in such bad state financially it doesn’t surprise me that fees would go up from the city to cover the costs of police etc…
Most sponsors of small races are “in kind”. So, I get free product from Hammer, free use of trucks from Rock River Ford, and discounts on items. Pepsi helps out a ton with very low cost on bottled water and Pepsi products (but none is free). Scnucks market (Logli here in town) gives me use of a 52’ trailer with a refer unit on it to be sure that my ice stays ice and the cold items stay cold…but I pay for fuel.
Really the only folks I know who are getting cash for races are big companies with national exposure like NAS and WTC. Me, for instance…I can meet with a prospective sponsor but they want to see an ROI. I can take my demographic information from Active.com and show that X number of folks live in Chicago, X number live in Madison Wi and on and on…but how to convert that to an ROI for a local sponsor is impossible. The local banks know that the race will not bring them more clients as they live outside of the city (and we have more local folks helping out than racing).
Oh, one other shock I got two years ago was a few minimum fee’s from folks…so, some charges that you pay “per person” such as timing and water safty - you may get a shock of a $3,000 bill as that would be their minimum…no matter how few folks you get to a race.
Ouch!
Ok, I’ll quietly pay whatever you decide to charge.
Even at the prices I’ve been paying ($55 or so) I’m still grateful the event was there for me to race.
I have no problem with a $100 sprint, maybe even a little more, but I am not going to do any sprint that has only a 7 mile bike unless it’s up a hill.
Multirace, $250 for a freaken half thats not official and $150 for an Olympic is absurd… Id rather sign up for St Anthony’s and have a quality race than race a Multirace event
Btw you training slacker?? I got 3 hrs on the bridge on monday you game?