So, there really is not much chatter about this series as triathlon seemed to become a Challenge/WTC face off…but Toughman seems to be pretty quietly building a pretty substantial brand.Kudos to them. Nice to see another player, and by all accounts, doing it right…under served markets, quality races, focus on the half distance. They get a little bigger and they can possible pop a “Double Toughman” and maybe finally challenge the WTC grip on that distance. Or…what if THEY merged with Challenge? Now THAT would be interesting.
Where are their races concentrated? I’ve never heard of them out here on the West Coast.
I heard dudes punch chicks at the Toughman
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Neat. I did not know that had many races - all 70.3 & Aquabike. The one in Indiana looks interesting and pretty close.
http://www.toughmantri.com/
Edit: They need to update their website with event info for each race - courses and other logistics.
Johnny:
We’d enjoy the company in Indiana on May 30/31, 2015
Here is the link: Toughman Indiana Half/AQB, Sprint and Toughkids
The race page has a link to what ST folks said about our race in 2014.
Awesome course, great volunteers, awesome shirt/swag/finisher medal just 45-min east of Indy in beautiful Richmond, Indiana!
Thanks!
They started in NY and like Rev 3 and Challenge are somewhat NE focused, but they do have races in Alabama, Wisonsin, Minnesota, Washington and Arizona. Here is their site: http://toughmantri.com/
Johnny:
We’d enjoy the company in Indiana on May 30/31, 2015
Here is the link: Toughman Indiana Half/AQB, Sprint and Toughkids
The race page has a link to what ST folks said about our race in 2014.
Awesome course, great volunteers, awesome shirt/swag/finisher medal just 45-min east of Indy in beautiful Richmond, Indiana!
Thanks!
Thanks for this Steve. I had a difficult time finding this.
Looks like they came to an agreement with a local HIM in WI - formerly known as High Cliff - now Toughman WI. I agree with the poster that stated the website would benefit from an update, specifically linking each race - so participants can research route, lodging, results, etc. The main page doesn’t show this, and I had to search to confirm the WI race was High Cliff. I suspect they are licensing these races, as the WI race isn’t branded 100% toughman, e.g. same website - different title/header. As long as the fees stay the same, this is a good thing. It will be interesting to see if they gain traction with they “Toughman Championship” in Sept - maybe that is the carrot to get more FOP (but not KQ) participants, and raise the brand awareness overall.
It looks like Toughman FL was the Gator Half.
What is the qualification process for the “championship” race? I can’t find it clearly laid out anywhere on the site.
As mentioned earlier, the Toughman website is terrible.
Same company from Wisconsin that had High Cliff had the now Toughman MN (Chisago Lakes Tri). So it seems like Toughman has been branding/buying existing races much like Ironman/WTC has.
It looks to me like ‘licensing’, as opposed to ‘buying’. In that - TM is offering some sort of incentive for these RDs to brand/align themselves with TM. If TM was purchasing - I would expect the old websites to not get updated - AND the TM website to be more fully baked. As I stated, I hope this doesn’t add a ‘tax’ on participants, in the form of TM ‘branded’ tshirts, medals, signage, etc - but that is likely what is happening.
Competition is great, especially in a field like triathlon where it seems every race organizer is backed by a profit seeking entity (unlike marathons, which mostly are handled by non-profits).
Toughman needs to work out the kinks. The Westchester race this year made a mockery of competitive integrity with a huge percentage of the competitors cutting buoys on the swim course.
More triathlons, the better.
It looks to me like ‘licensing’, as opposed to ‘buying’. In that - TM is offering some sort of incentive for these RDs to brand/align themselves with TM. If TM was purchasing - I would expect the old websites to not get updated - AND the TM website to be more fully baked. As I stated, I hope this doesn’t add a ‘tax’ on participants, in the form of TM ‘branded’ tshirts, medals, signage, etc - but that is likely what is happening.
I think this is correct. The long standing RD here in Alabama launched a 1/2 this summer and it was a Toughman. Most people probably just thought that’s what they decided to call it because it was a 1/2 and in mid-August, which is/was brutally tough. All they really knew though was that it was a new 1/2 distance triathlon being put on by the same RD group doing a bunch of the other sprints and oly’s in the region.
Disclaimer: I’m a Toughman ambassador. I was presented the opportunity and eagerly accepted it because I like what Toughman is about.
From my perspective, Toughman gives us, as consumers, choice. Dan had put out a thought-provoking article back in April about the state of triathlon:
http://www.slowtwitch.com/Features/State_of_Tri_4285.html
When you look at the triathlon event market as a whole here in the U.S., you’ve got the 800 pound gorilla still trying to grow in a market that appears to be flattening. There are a lot of great independent events out there that are struggling to keep their share of that market. We’ve also seen Challenge come in (which I think is a good thing - more choice), but then have watched Rev3 go away. We also have HITS and then a bunch of long-standing events throughout the country from Setup and many other regional companies. As consumers, we still have choices. We need those choices.
In essence, Toughman is providing a means to keep events going, that may otherwise struggle on their own. I think Toughman provides a couple of things to make those existing events better - 1) they have an age-group championship that actually pays cash, providing an incentive for some, and 2) Toughman provides a network of Race Directors/race teams. They leverage the experience of the local race teams to put on the event with the quality it has had in the past - that’s essentially the minimum standard. They raise that minimum by adding those local race teams to a collective, allowing them to work together, get ideas from each other, etc. In essence, they can learn from one another, while not necessarily competing directly with each other. Richard Izzo can also provide feedback based on what he sees and envisions, and the standards are raised across all events.
As you said, Toughman is another player, and doing it right. They are working to build the brand using existing quality events focused on the half triathlon distance. I think this cooperation of events is key to their survival and a sign of things to come. It’s not unlike what Ironman has done to be the success they are - they also used local talent to expand the brand. The big difference I see is that this is not a “big” corporation of shareholders looking for their return on investment. Personally, I feel whenever shareholders and equity groups start becoming an integral part of the equation, the focus is lost. We forget about the thing that made us special to make money, and only focus on making money. Right or wrong, that’s my perception of where Ironman/WTC is today. I have a hard time supporting that.
If you get a chance to do a Toughman event, you really should give them a chance. While you’re there, look up Rich and chat with him - he’s a heck of a nice guy, and I think you’ll quickly see how passionate he is about the sport, the people who work hard to provide us with events, and the people who participate. He’s got the experience as a competitor, volunteer, and Race Director. He really cares about triathlon, and uniting these events under the Toughman banner is his way of helping to support our sport.
He loves this sport as much as I do, and if I can help spread the word that there are great alternatives out there, I am glad to help out.
Here is some info on the qualification process:
http://toughmantri.com/event_toughman.shtml
Age Group Qualifying slots for TOUGHMAN Championship Half NY
19 and under-2
20-24-3
25-29-3
30-34-10
35-39-10
40-44-10
45-49-10
50-54-10
55-59-5
60-64-5
65-69-5
70±2
male and female
So, pretty straightforward, as far as qualifying slots go. No rolldown or anything like that.
Richard and I had talked about this a couple of weeks ago - being able to see course maps and stuff like that is obviously important. The website just got a bit better:
http://www.toughmantri.com/event_races.shtml
Now you can get an information link to each event, along with the registration link.
I just also noticed a mention of Toughman New Mexico on that page…
Edit: Fixed the link and my bad spelling…
Very nice. Thanks for updating. The New Mexico race could be awesome!
forget HOW to qualify, I would settle for information on where and when somewhere on the website
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