today at IMAZ, I bought my wife a VIP pass since she had our 4 year old and 9 month old with her. I bought the upgraded VIP with medal package so my son got to meet me right after I crossed the finish line and put my medal on me. By far the highlight of both of our days. I had a rough day, but the end was awesome! Then we go to the VIP tent and have dinner watching others cross. Well worth the $500 it costs. Just putting it out there as it was a nice gift my wife really appreciated as they got 3 meals, snacks, and had tents to stay out of the sun.
I know some will attack this who are anti-WTC and say they are just about making money. True, but they do put together a good product. With how much I spend on races, travel and all my wife puts up with, it was well worth it.
I wouldn’t slam WTC for this, they’re just providing a premium product that some will use; whether or not it’s worth $500 is just personal opinion. Some would say you were a mug, but I bet your family are very grateful to have a long day made that much easier.
Training for Ironman with a baby - a VIP ticket for your wife is only touching the surface =)
today at IMAZ, I bought my wife a VIP pass since she had our 4 year old and 9 month old with her. I bought the upgraded VIP with medal package so my son got to meet me right after I crossed the finish line and put my medal on me. By far the highlight of both of our days. I had a rough day, but the end was awesome! Then we go to the VIP tent and have dinner watching others cross. Well worth the $500 it costs. Just putting it out there as it was a nice gift my wife really appreciated as they got 3 meals, snacks, and had tents to stay out of the sun.
I know some will attack this who are anti-WTC and say they are just about making money. True, but they do put together a good product. With how much I spend on races, travel and all my wife puts up with, it was well worth it.
Box seats to a major league event in their series. Seems like a fair price for families that want the special treatment. No different than going to watch the Arizona Cardinals but instead of Larry Fitzgerald being the star they are going to watch, it is a family member…win win.
$500 is certainly a premium given the amount of time they’ll actually see a family member on the course. I’d have probably said, come watch the swim start, then come to the finish line around X p.m and use the app to double-check. Then in the next days, with the $500 I’d buy her some flowers, take the kids away for a day while she has a spa treatment, then take her out for a nice meal.
At the end of the day you’re spending $500 on her, but it’s still all about you. Why not spend the money making it all about her? That said if you had two $500 bills in your pocket, maybe you’re a legend and did both
I got hooked up with a couple of VIP passes for IMAZ yesterday, where the whole time I was thinking to myself, “wow, this would have been fantastic for my family when I raced.” Excellent viewing spots for the swim, bike, and run, great food, and nice places to rest if needed. I think it is a great thing to do for your family if you can afford it.
Ha ha…a good deed toward your family doesn’t go unpunished by Slowtwitchers. I’m guessing this guy probably takes care of his family fairly well in addition to the VIP program. Sounds like a pretty good deal. Memories with the family are well worth it.
Pretty cool. I had not heard of the VIP program in detail before. Was it $500 for the whole family? I have a wife 2 kids and possibly my mother for IMMT this August. $500 for 2 adults and 2 kids would be worthwhile .
$500 is for one person if you do be medaling: family member is there just across the finish line and puts your medal on. My son loved giving me my medal and it made my day after not having the race I had planned for. I now also have some great photos of my family and me less than 1 minute after crossing the finish line with the finish banner in the background.
Kids under 6 are free. I think it was $150 for kids over 6 and $250 for each adult. My whole point is it isn’t cheap, but if you can afford it, it is a very nice package. And in the grand scheme of things, this is a small % of the amount I spend yearly on equipment, race fees, travel to races, etc. I will definitely do the VIP for the family again and wish I had been aware of this for prior IM. That is the reason I posted this thread.
To other above who question the money, yes my wife deserves and will be getting more thanks in others ways. This was just a small gesture that made her spectating day nicer/easier.
Considering the other option, and I witnessed this twice on the live feed, of picking up your child and crossing the line with them only to be DQ’d I’d say that is money well spent! I’d much rather have the result, have family taken care of for the day and have them there right at the finish. And having your kid put the medal around your neck has to be priceless!
Ha ha…a good deed toward your family doesn’t go unpunished by Slowtwitchers.
Sorry if it came off like that. I was just looking at the relative value of $500 within the context of a race day versus a non-race day. It was a nice thing to have done for his family. I was trying to be a couldda, not a shouldda.
I did the VIP thing for my wife at Canada last year. Got her on the shuttle to the lake with me, shuttle back and a comfortable place to hang out while I rrated. Unfortunately we had friends up from Vancouver that came up mid race so she didn’t get to hang out in the finish area. And I bought her a spa day at Scandinave for the record. definitely worth it for me
When comparing the VIP experience to watching a professional sporting event you get to see your loved one crossing the finish line on one of the most important days of their lives as opposed to seeing some over paid loud mouthed professional athlete…
Very cool of you to do this for your family. I watched a bunch of people lugging kids around and they looked miserable.
I did, for free, get to see Rinny running an biking in tight little blue pants, so that was my reward. And Amanda Stevens running in minimal clothes was pretty sweet too.
