Great article Alison. Most people don’t bother to do the math on the cost of their involvement with this sport. The ENTIRE cost. It is expensive. Very. What if we got a part time job instead of training 10-20 hours/week? How much does that add up to over 20 years? I hope you’ve got people thinking about an important question most of probably subconcicously answer every day when the alrm goes off - “What is living our dreams worth?”
Yeah? so where’s the Tri Jersey? Now that you’re on meds - FOCUS!!!
Thanks for the note, I feel honoured!
I debated about this one as it does feel a little like tattling. Was worried there would be a barrage of `how selfish’ critical mail.
I did save most of my receipts as I was curious what getting there was worth. I wrestled with whether these were “legitimate” expenses. Then I compared what I was spending on my sports (even the receipts you try to slide by, even the “what that? I’ve had that for a while now…” all those things together still didn’t add up to what other folks I knew were spending on their hobbies. Mine just seemed not to make as much sense to people, seemed to others to be more frivolous and self-indulgent. Initially I responded to these in a defensive way, then I got annoyed. There are so many worse ways to spend your money, why not spend it on something that ultimately gives back? leaves you feeling better not worse. I just couldn’t ignore that. To me that was something worth writing about.
The good news is the next five shouldn’t cost as much…so long as I stay away from the bike shows… the Expo’s…Endurosport…
Cheers,
Alison
"The ENTIRE cost. It is expensive. "
I’ve actually found it much cheaper than other hobbies I’ve been into - auto racing($$$$$$$), scuba diving($$$) and photography($$). A friend of mine has a set of golf clubs that cost as much as a state of the art tri bike(we both think each other is nuts). And his green fees/club membership are a lot more than any tri entry.
Tri doesn’t have to be expensive. An old bike with CH Aero cover and 2nd hand front aero wheel off ebay will do 98% as a $$ new bike with all the gizmos. Ten local summer sprint tris cost about as much as a single IM.
I believe there is actually a minority snob-ass element within tri that would like to make this an expensive elitist sport, but if it’s going to grow it has to be a participant active grass root movement.
We were discussing this a couple of weeks ago in a training camp on Gran Canaria, a couple of the participants claimed that they were spending up to 50% of their yearly income on the sport. The people being ambitious amateurs and not pros.
Anyway, Alison is extremely thrifty (that’s a positive comment). Her 5 year costs amount to around the total that I’ll be spending this year (two training camps, massage once per week, sports food and supplements, race entry fees, travel), not considering the new bike and race wheels I’m purchasing. OK, I live in an expensive country, just my PowerBar rations for one month add up to 120$US :-/.
Simon
I realize there are more expensive hobbies, but there are about - what 10,000? people doing IM’s in the USA alone, not counting the other people who don’t do IM’s but still are very active, big-spending triathletes. We’re talking about a lot of money for a lot of “average” income earners.
I suppose we are generally a very affluent group, so we know a lot of other ways to burn through some serious cash. But when you start to add up the flights to events, hotels, babysitting, supplements, time off of work, etc. you start to see the true cost. The reason I posted was to support Alison in her recognition that what she’s doing is worth a lot in terms of $ but also in value to her and her family. What is living a dream worth?
The other reason I thought it was a great article was because nearly all triathletes need to see the true cost so significant others involved can be duly appreciated for their support.
Your article was good. I, being a self-proclaimed cheap SOB, count all the pennies, and am alarmed at how much you can spend on this sport. As others point out, there are more expensive hobbies, but this is one where you are encouraged to spend $4,000 on a bike that you only use for races and $1,500 for wheels that you only use for races, for example. Doing an MDot race will cost at least $2,000 if you aren’t sleeping at a KOA campground.
Some people are more willing to spend money on their gear than others, some have more to spend. Folks outside the sport don’t get it, but they spend their money on 50" plasma TV’s, $60,000 Mercedes SUV’s, and $2,000 handbags. Every day, I see women on the train carrying handbags worth more than my bike.
A good friend of mine once said to me: “All income is dicretionary.” We choose to spend it on rent, cars, food, and other “necessities.” As long as you take care of your responsibilities, you can spend whatever you have left however you like.
The other reason I thought it was a great article was because nearly all triathletes need to see the true cost so significant others involved can be duly appreciated for their support.
As a Calgarian, I can only say: THAT is the most ironic comment I have read in triathlon circles – ever. Sounds like some serious back pedaling is in the works.
jerseys? Hid’s creation - how quickly you forget
Some things are best unknown. That is where the saying “Ignorance is bliss” comes from.
OK this migh coe off elietist, but…
Liked the article and would never argue about the sport being expensive.
But… the other day my wife was giving me a razzing about the amount of time and $$ I spend on triathlon. Everyone knows the discussion. She was being good natured because she admits to spending big $$ on things she likes that one could reasonable argue are frivolous or extravagant.
Well last night we were sitting in the emergency room at 10 p.m. for a minor issue, but one that needed a Dr’s attention immediately. Since it was no life threatening emergency we were LOW priority, which = very long wait. It was an eye opening experience doing some people watching.
Now mind you I have been pretty heavy during some points in my life. So I say this with some level of understanding and sympathy - but the average (I mean this in all socio-economic descriptive ways) American is HUGE, super fat, lazy, gross, generally extremely out of shape and unkept.
The hospital waiting room was filled with 90% obese people. Other than the one or two that appeared to have suffered from some accident that brought them in last night, I have to surmise that the majority people were there because of a malady that was in some way related, caused and/or affected by their carrying such an enormous girth.
This is the wealthiest country in the world. Yes we have very rich and very poor folks, but for the large majority of Americans they have some economic means. I would love to compare the gross $$'s and proportional amount of income that all the folks in the hospital waiting room were spending on their vice (mine being triathlon - others being food, liquor and cigarettes). My guess is that for a large majority the relative expenditure aimed at negative vice (I am qualifying vice vie my own values, perceptions and ethics – and of course my views can be debated) far out weighs expenditure on positive vice.
Bottom line, typically a $3000 splurge on a bike does not kill you, but eating $3000 worth of McDonalds may well. And even if the greasy clown does not put you in a coffin, it is very plausible that you will suffer health issues from eating such food in the extreme that will ultimately have a negative social and economic consequence for society as a whole (i.e. health care cost issues, missed work, etc.).
As I mentioned to my wife regarding our conversation about how much $$ I spend on tris, “The high price of triathlon directly relates to my good health (both physical and mental). I’m more than willing to pay it. I’m getting more than my dollars worth. Just look around at this waiting room and think about the other options for blowing cash and what repercussions there might be.”
You know I might not live longer than any of those fat folks I saw last night, but if I die tomorrow (knock on wood) no one will say, ‘what a shame, Rob killed him self by being so obese and out of shape. What a shame, he could have lived a longer life, enjoyed living and seen his three kids grow up.’ No I would be the good looking; healthy dead guy, and really isn’t looking good and being healthy what it is all about ;}
If this is the price we pay for triathlon and what we get out of it, then it is be best money I ever spent at any price.
great post. exactly what I was referring to.
Not only our health but also that of our children is effected. How many of us then go on to produce healthy, active children for whom the sedentary lifestyle is not the one they live and know at home. To me this active lifestyle of ours has the added ripple effect of producing healthier children who then themselves are not going to be huge medical consumers. What is that worth?
alison
Very true - something I just did not want to delve into in my post. But a true story -
For the first 13 years that I knew my wife I NEVER saw her work out. Not even a hint that she was interested in the idea of keeping the body fit through exercies. Now she is lucky to be fit without training, but alas that was begining to fail with the onset of mid 30s. Two+ years ago she started goign to the gym on a regular basis. Mostly for her self, but a very large driving force was to set an example for our two young daughters who will not naturally be rail thin. It is important what we do as parents.
Dude! You just totally justified my buying a Talon SL! Or better yet, a Blade! I’m calling the bride right now! ;p
Your dead guy point is funny. The slobs I work with are always giving me crap about how I’ll be that super-fit guy who drops dead while riding my bike or something. They just can’t appreciate the idea of exercise as something you want to do because you enjoy being fit.
Then that turns into an obsession, then you sign up for an ironman, then boxes from performance bike, trisports, and tri-zone show up on your door-step on the same day, …
Great post!
I am always getting questions at work about “how far did you ride your bike this weekend” and then they shake their heads in disbelief when I tell them. One guy asked me earlier this week if I was OK as “…you are wasting away.” Ha! Maybe, compared to everyone at work, but still a Clyde-gal.
clm
I had a similar eye opener last year, but in a rather surprising place. We traveled back to California for my parents wedding anniversary. During the trip, we took a day at Disneyland. I spent my college years living 15 minutes north of there and was quite familiar with the place. The eye opener was the number of Disneyland employees, young empolyees working after school, summer etc, who would qualify as being very large people. When I saw the first individual, I was surprised as Disney was always very image conscious. Equal opportunity employer, diversity, it is a new day. But quickly there after, it was obvious that the work force and therefore the prospective work pool of young people is comprised of a high percentage of very large people. It wasn’t that way in my youth. In fact, I ws a disbeliever of the news that reported that our nation’s youth (the U.S.) had a weight/obseity problem. Now, I know different.
I’m not a trained sociologist, but I do have an academic background in social research/topics. I have heard more than once within the academy (though I do not know if this has been scientifically/statictically proven) that a prime place to have an “in the wildelife” encounter with an ‘average’ American is an amusement park.
So - last fall I was at an amusement park that if named most everyone would know and consider national calaber (not Disney). Frankly put it was a gross display of humanity. The three most descriptive words to describe the ‘average’ American are - fat, dirty, obnoxiou. SImply sad.
What is Dean Wormer’s line to Flounder in Animal House, “Son ______, fat and stupid (can’t remember the first word) is no way to go through life.” - Well it seems the majority of American have choosen this path.
I was talking to a friend who is from England and only recently been in this country. I asked him about his impressions haveing lived in the US for 6 months. One of the first things he said was he could not believe how big (very nice way to say fat) Americans are.
Just one more of our social crisises.
“Son ______, fat and stupid (can’t remember the first word) is no way to go through life.”
Drunk, fat and stupid…
clm
I thought it was “… fat, drunk and stupid is no way to go through life.”
AH yes - thank you
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