OK, I made the leap to try to qualify for Kona at IM Utah. Anyone else registered yet?
Heck, no. WTC keeps raising entry fees despite a struggling economy, and shrinking their pro purses. And they expect us to float $550 their way, 14 months before the starter’s gun even goes off. Please. My only hope is that there is a low demand for this race, and it will force them to open their eyes to reality (i.e. lower their prices and/or increase the pro purses).
I’m not a race director, and I’ve obviously never seen their ledgers, so I don’t have a great idea of what the cash balance looks like, but seriously? Raising prices and continuing to offer relatively small purses, in these times? My gut reaction is that they’re taking advantage of us, and just lining their pockets. Hopefully, I’m wrong.
Last year, when the stock market and the job market seemed healthy, and most people had more disposable income, $500 for an Ironman was a lot more reasonable. Now, $550 for an Ironman just comes off as greedy and cold.
I love Ironman races, I think they’re great events and can be very inspiring. But it just seems like they’re using their relative monopoly to take advantage of us, sometimes. I hope Team Challenge succeeds in building a reputable, successful alternative to Mdot. Not because I want Mdot to go out of business, because I don’t. As I said above, I think Mdot is a great, positive force. I just hope that real competition from Team Challenge (and a sense of reality about our economy) will encourage Mdot to lower prices, increase pro purses, and maybe even offer a higher quality product than they already offer.
you say taking advantage of, they say providing a service.
Ironman, like any other business, is a “business model”. Business models exist in order to funnel money from the general public into the owners pockets. They sit around and figure out in what way that they can cause your money to go into their pockets and then they do that. You can’t resent them for it.
having said that, I applaud your choice. $575 seems way high.
Yeah, I figured that would be the response to my post, and I totally understand. I’m not saying they’re “bad people”, they’re business-folk, just like the owners of any other corporation. They have a right to make a good living, just like everyone else.
I guess I feel resentment because there is (in my mind) a difference between Mdot and other corporate brands. I tend to feel that the the spirit of Mdot is really “owned” by the triathlon community, and not a large, seemingly faceless, corporation. I would like to view the WTC more as caretakers, or stewards, rather than owners.
I don’t feel any resentment towards other companies making money off triathlon (bike companies, coaching businesses, wetsuit companies, etc…). It just seems that there is something unique and special about the Mdot. I can’t quite put my finger on it, and I probably sound like a naive idealist, but charging that much for a race just seems to take a little bit of the luster away.
This race has some appeal to me since my husband has dreamed about mountain biking in Utah…just wondering if St. George is a good place for mountain biking which would make this trip and win/win for our household!
This race has some appeal to me since my husband has dreamed about mountain biking in Utah…just wondering if St. George is a good place for mountain biking which would make this trip and win/win for our household!
There are tons of great mountain bike trails in the St. George area. Bryce, Zion, & Brianhead are all close by. Did the Brianhead 50 a few years back. Awesome ride.
Like booze in a sports bar, the IM series is getting watered down. As recently as two years ago, you couldn’t trade a limb for general entry or charity spots into an IM race. Now, there’s over 1100 community fund spots available for the taking (if you consider $1300 taking). I’m not going to take personal shots at the WTC because they are a business - nothing more, nothing less. That said, I do think that they’re spreading themselves way too thin with the abundance of new 70.3 and 140.6 races. Most of them look very appealing (St. George included), but it’s my opinion that people were willing to pay the premium in return for some degree of exclusivity - when race slots were somewhat coveted. Now, they’re in danger of over-selling the name, and losing the general appeal.
Bottom line: each individual needs to decide, for themselves, the price they’re willing to pay to compete in any given event. If you like a merchant’s product, but you don’t like their prices … shop elsewhere.
OK, I made the leap to try to qualify for Kona at IM Utah. Anyone else registered yet?
There are at least 10 of us from Mesa, AZ that are already registered for IM St. George. I would love to do Kona again, so I will be in full game on mode along with some of the others in our group. Looking forward to it.
Speaking of booze, Utah is FINALLY getting rid of its strange laws pertaining to bars:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090319/ap_on_re_us/utah_liquor_laws
I just hope Ironman has learned some lessons from its failed attempt at an Ironman in Utah in '02 & '03.
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I signed up and then immediately regretted it because I was pushed to and Ironman update page that informed me we will be able to win slots to Ironman C D’A at Boise 70.3 this year. I would actually prefer that venue and the extra month to train. Am I stuck? Or does someone know a strategy for backing out / transferring registration that doesn’t involve forfeiture of multiple hundreds of dollars? Either way I’ll be racing something early in the season and up for some long training rides in winter gear if you are game. BTW, I’m coming off a knee surgery last fall and hoping the ZIPS from your Slice upgrade will be treating me really well this season. Definitely echo SW UT as a very viable Mtn. Biking destination to the poster with that question.
HUH? Hvae tried to registar for LP, Pentictan, Moo or others? Sell outs in 24hrs and some have to be on site. …Personally, I will not do mdot’s again. Not worth it. I will stay with the Vineman’s and Silverman’s
I think I read correctly that the IMCDA slot is for this year (ie the week after Boise 70.3!), not for a 2010 spot.
HUH? Hvae tried to registar for LP, Pentictan, Moo or others? Sell outs in 24hrs and some have to be on site. …Personally, I will not do mdot’s again. Not worth it. I will stay with the Vineman’s and Silverman’s
Yes, I have tried. I’m registered for LP. The point that I was making is that for '08 IM events, general entry AND community fund slots were gone within 3-5 days of registration. At present, there are still 1100+ community fund slots to 5 different races. Yes, it’s hard to get general entry to most popular races (WTC-owned or not). But it’s clear that the value of gaining entry is diluted when there are so many spots still lingering. In the past, 200+ people were willing to pay $1000 to get into each of the NA Sports events. Higher price and registration difficulties are not the only issues.
There are some incredible rides in St.George. Google “Gooseberry Mesa” and you’ll see what I mean. (Although technically it’s not in St.George, but not too far away.) Anyway, you will absolutely have some of the best mtb in St.George. Check with the local bike shops for great rides.
Anyone think its possible to do both the race and ride the mtb trails (within the same week)? MTB before the race as a taper or afterwards to get the LA out of the legs?