I was considering doing IM Tempe in the Spring. I’m sure it will fill, but without me. 425.00 dollars, are you kidding me! What are they giving me that St. Anthony’s for around 125, or Ultramax, or Ironstar did not give me. I don’t want to be cheapie but come on. All those other races were wonderfully run and I had a great time. I would love to complete an Ironman but if my wife sees a $425 bill she will be a little upset and I would not blame her. I guess my 1st full Iron distance event won’t say Ironman on the medal.
it will cost a bit more to close 138 miles of roads than 30miles. thats a ton of extra police officers needed. Then there are portajons, traffic cones, traffic barricades, extra swim bouys and the list goes on.
I’ll agree that $425 for a race is steep. What i find even more amazing is that out of the 2200 expected maybe 300 have a outside or better shot at qualifing
it will cost a bit more to close 138 miles of roads than 30miles<<
But not $425 worth. It can be done for less.
Ultramax $275 (money goes to charity)
Vineman $255
Duke Blue Devil $275 (money goes to charity)
Grand Columbian $235
All prices are lowest/earliest entry prices.
clm
Im glad someone started this post cause its been eating at me as well. Ive WAS planning on doing an m dot next year and was hopeful the price would stay at $400+active fee. So I hop onto active to get the IMA total and with the Active fee the price is just under $450. I guess I’ll just hit another “unofficial” iron race. Thats okay with me though.
I just dont understand it. My times are not in qualifying range quite yet, so whats the point. This post comes up frequently. Still, its a shock everytime the price goes up. Why do athletes accept this? I hope a revolt happens shortly.
I’ve done IMFL and GFT. One official Ironman and one generic. I enjoyed them both. The mdot race was $150 or $200 more but the difference in quality was also noticable. Everything is there for a great experience at both but considerably more in the official event. The WTC event had much more flair. Lots more giveaways merchandise from sponsors and a bigger expo. Although in 2001 the single bike vendor was woefully understocked. The finish line was a lot more elaborate and dramatic. There was the Ironmates tent where your entourage could monitor your progress on computers or make signs to place on the course. Support at GFT was adequate but much better at the Ironman race. Specifically - better aid stations on the run course and the changing tent bag pickups etc were far better at Ironman than at GFT. GFT’s award ceremony was pretty mundane and started an hour late. I’m glad I spent the extra to do the mdot race the first time but I’m going back to GFT this year for the second time. After that, I plan to find an mdot race where I can hope to qualify. I’ve got to cut an hour off my time first though.
The cost is significant but a couple hundred dollars isn’t a huge amount considering all the other expenses and the fact that you’ll only do it for the first time once.
Larry
I have already made up my mind to NEVER do another IMNA event following IMCDA '04… The prices do not justify the rewards by any means.
Keep in mind that not only is IMNA jacking the Age Grouper for $400+ in entry fees, but for IMCDA at least they “suggested” to all the local hotels/motels/camp grounds etc… to require a 5 night minimum stay and if anyone found a room for under $150.00 per night they either lied their ass off about not doing the race or were at least very lucky.
This is especially annoying to me because I live about 90 minutes away from CDA… Why in the hell would I want to stay a week in a town only 90 minutes away?
$425 entry
$750 minimum lodging
$Meals for five full days
I’d say the focus has shifted away from the athlete completely in the case of IMNA and it’s starting to show more consistently in the race reports etc… A boycot would be great, but when the average annual salary of the triathlete is $108,000 I doubt any real attention will be paid to the rising costs.
If I sound “DIS-IN-FRANCHISED” it’s because I am. Triathlon has become a money game more than a training/racing game… It’s one of the only endurance sports I know of where you can actually purchase your way into a better finishing position.
I don’t disagree, although that is pretty much the going rate for M-Dot Ironmans. The Soma Half is $165 (also has qualifying slots), so a better bargain per mile on roughly the same course, and I already thought it was overpriced relative to the now defunct Cactus Challenge half at $120. I rationalized it by saying I don’t have to travel, which is a much bigger expense than race entry. Travel internationally for an Ironman and plan to burn an easy $3000, much more if you stay after and have fun, bring the spouse, etc. 4 nights in Tempe should run you under $1000. On the other hand, if everyone was like me there would be no motivation for Tempe to host the race since they are obviously counting on people to come and spend money.
It’s in print that IMNA guarenteed tempe 6000 paid hotel nights. Now you know why they suggested a 4 or 5 night min.
the link is on another thread about this race.
Hmmm, I see… well, if that’s what it took for them to get permits etc. then so be it. But to pull a double wammy with the minumum stays and increased rates is nothing but pure greed. I know of one place in CDA that’s a few blocks from the start/finish that normally charges under $50 per night during the season… Now there rates for the minimum stay are $150 per night. This is with nothing more than a dorm sized fridge, basic cable, and one queen bed… Oh yeah, I think they give you soap.
lets see 2 spare bedrooms, a full size fridge, pool in the backyard, 1.5 cuddly dogs, 20 min from the start, airport transfers and I’m thinking a mere $109 per night.
6000/2200 = 2.7, so that doesn’t seem unrealistic if Tempe has 2200 hotel rooms nearby. I’m sure Scottsdale, Phoenix, and Mesa will get their share. Plus, everyone knows someone who moved here, there’s no natives (Hohokam are gone).
Travel internationally for an Ironman and plan to burn an easy $3000, much more if you stay after and have fun, bring the spouse, etc. 4 nights in Tempe should run you under $1000.<<
Ah come on, you can’t compare traveling internationally to Tempe. 
(I lived in Tempe two years.) I love to travel, so the cost of travel will be there anyway. Going to a race in a great location is a plus. And, depending on the locale, it is possible to do it cheaper internationally. For IM NZ, I will probably be able to do it under $1,000 using miles and staying with friends and my buds who just went to Brazil spent more on finishers gear and drink than they did on travel.
clm
Of course I am not trying to say you don’t get anything extra traveling internationally vs. Tempe, just that when you figure the total cost of doing an Ironman, the difference between a $150 and $450 entry fee is not such a big percentage of the cost. I’m afraid to add up what my wife and I burned through in New Zealand but I’m sure it was over $5000 after 3 weeks stay, despite the entry fee being a little lower. I’m not rich by the way.
On the other hand, Tempe has it’s own brand of “scenery” that many find particulary alluring, whether it is better than New Zealand’s sheep or not I cannot speak from experience on other than for looking at 
I started this thread earlier, and I think you are missing my point. Its not that I cannot afford the fee, just that it is way over the line. I do 4 or 5 big races a year. This year Powerman AL, $60, St Anthony’s, $125, AG Nationals, $80, Ironstar(1/2 here in TX) $105 and last year 1/2 Max, $125. All were first class events. What is it that IM is doing for me to justify over double the cost? Sorry, I will do Ultramax next year or Blue Devil, the money will go to charity and my wife and I will leave behind a few thousand in hotels, rental cars, meals, etc. IM is not a charitable organization, we should not treat it as such. $425 is a rediculous amount of money for an entrance fee.
No, actually I get your point and agree completely. As far as I know, the only reason the price has to be that high is because that is what the market will bear. You can’t justify the cost of M-Dot races by doing a feature by feature comparison with less frilly events.
My point is, there are a lot of costs involved in doing an Ironman. If $200 or so extra in entry fee is a bigger factor to you than location, date, course, etc, then you are going to find a lot of other financial dilemas to deal with before you get to the starting line. This has nothing to do with how much discretionary money you have, but it indicates how much you are willing to dedicate toward your race. Your clearly experienced enough to figure that out, but for the sake of arguement let me set down a few related costs:
- coach or no coach? ($300)
- new tubies or old tubies (tires)? ($200, 300 if you get a spare)
- extra nutrition products for training? ($200)
- new racing or training clothes? ($200+)
- buy a bike case? ($200-$450)
- upgrade your bike? Wheels ($800), power monitor ($1200), new saddle ($100)
- swim gear? New wetsuit $300, new googles and swim suit $50, training toys?
- race souvineers? ($100 easily, $300 if you let yourself go)
- travel costs, either next to nothing or the largest part of your budget.
It’s easy to use that $200 up somewhere else.
Anyway, good luck to you whatever you decide.
It seems we’re deserving of a “whole in the head” trophy. Only now for a different reason…
the entry fee is steep, no doubt about that. I have done Hawaii three times, Canada twice, been to watch Lake Placid twice, watched Florida twice, and been to Great Floridian three times. When I go to a race like Great Floridian, I have much lower expectations that when I go to an IMNA race. Last year for example, at Canada, at midnight, the spectator stands were full, people cheering in the final finishers. At Great Floridian last year, I jogged in with a client at midnight and there was about 6 people there at the finish line, and 4 of them were volunteers/race personel. I know for her it was a bit of a disappointment, being her first Ironman and there really wasn’t anyone there to cheer her in. You can say all you want how unimportant that might be, but for some it is a big deal. Everything about an IMNA race is a big deal. They have all the hype and they deliver.
I haven’t done any of the other non IMNA iron distance races so I can’t speak for them. One year I had a bike wreck at Great Floridian at the 50 mile mark and was bleeding pretty bad. At the special needs station at the halfway mark, they didn’t even have a first aid kit, let alone proper personal for such a problem. I had to drop out at 80 miles because the bleeding wouldn’t stop on my arm and shoulder. I don’t know if this same thing would have happened at an IMNA event, I don’t want to test it out.
I’m not saying I wouldn’t ever do a non IMNA race again (iron distance), but I certainly wouldn’t go in having high expectations. To me they are more like doing a smaller local race, only they are an iron distance race.
All that being said, I entered Arizona today, to the tune of $623. Entry, plus service fee, plus $75 clothing package, plus extra carbo and awards dinner tickets. I got the clothing deal because I know come race week I would probably want to buy some shirts, and by that time they will be twice the price at the expo.
You’re right on the money, Cathy. You go to a race like St. Croix because it’s in St. Croix. You go to Lake Placid because that’s where the race is.
To further your point, my wife and I are going to Maui a week after Lake Placid. Four nights at the Holiday Inn Lake Placid x $269/night plus tax ~$1200.00. (I’ve been to Lake Placid, there is nothing there for me besides the race.) Seven nights at a three star hotel on the water in La Haina: $130/night + tax ~$1,020.00. Hmmm. Even the place we’re staying in Kauai is only costing us $600 for 4 nights.
Sure, I could stay at a campground, but my wife doesn’t want to stay in a campground, and she sure doesn’t want to drive 15 miles to the race start at 5AM like she did last year for Tupper Lake. I expect to pay a lot for lodging when I go to Hawaii. The fact that 2 weeks in Hawaii with my wife is only $1,000 more, including airfare to and from, and between the islands, than 4 days in Lake Placid(including race fees) is kind of silly.
They should do an IM in Vegas. Nice smooth roads with little traffic, no hotel gouging, and you can spend all your time before the race wandering from buffet to buffet. And if they want some hills, they can just have the course go up Mt. Charleston.(Now that would be fun. 90 degrees in the valley, 40 at the top of the mountain.)
Larry:
My experience with the two races was pretty much the opposite.
Also, when I went down with a near terminal asthma attack at IM Florida I told the marshall who arrived 15 minutes after I had taken off my helmet to just send the sag wagon not the ambulance. He said he would. I waited an hour and de natha and ended up riding back to the race site, risking another attack. Also, except for one year when Fred Sommer didn’t have enough porta potties available, his races are well run. I’ve done over 94 races and counting and I’d say considering the massive numbers he puts on the roads (too many, Fred) he does a very good job. His staff and volunteers have always been great to me. The goodie bag at IM Florida was almost laughable last year, too. And, you had to buy your own finisher’s shirt at IM FL, whereas Fred gives you a shirt and the usual medal at the end. (FWIW, these last comments are about minor issues to me. SAFETY is always key.)
Ride and race safely,
-Robert
first off, i agree, $425 is a LOT of $$ for a race fee. that said, my wife and i are both doing out first iroman races this year (IMLP and IMFLA). being that they will be our first ironman races, we both opted for IMNA events. the way i see it, it’s much like buying “name brand” anything (cars, clothes, appliances, electronics, etc.). when you buy certian brands, you pretty much know what to expect for your money based on the reputation of the brand and the past performance of that brand. sure a no-name option might be just as good, but it just as easily might not be. thankfully, here in north america there are tons of great races to chose from (many mentioned here in this thread). if you feel the cost of one is too high, you go buy the other one.