Hi! I’m racing as a “pro†this year and just finished in the top 10 at 70.3 Maine in my 2nd race. I want to keep racing this season and am excited about my form, but traveling to the east coast, or really in general, for these events is a lot of $$$. Flight, luggage, hotels, rental car got me to about $1,800. I know we all have this issue traveling and it’s the same sob story over and over, but as I plan the rest of the year there is just no way I can take on this level of expense 3 or 4 more times. What am I missing? Are other sponsors taking this on for athletes? Are mom and dad footing the bill? Or are they just taking the risk and hoping for prize money?
There are as many stories of funding as there are pros doing the races. My advice is for you to find races with money that you can drive to. The ones where you might actually make some money too. Going to races where you really dont have much chance at $$, well that just ends up being a race for your head, and not your pocket book. I mean this race you just did, probably 3rd didnt even pay expenses, so until you are ready to fight for the podiums, maybe stay local while you continue to improve.
That’s what we did back in the olden days, slept on friends couches, drove 1000’s of miles, until then time when all those other avenues for making money started to kick in. Maybe tell us a little about you and how the race you just did went? Perhaps time to come out of the shadows and enlist the ST collective in your journey…
You aren’t really missing anything. Some pro’s have family money. Some make really stupid financial decisions and end up out of the sport within 3 years. Some try to make it by being really cheap (couch surfing, used equipment, self coached, etc). And then there are some pro’s who actually have full time jobs and aren’t necessarily trying to become a full time pro that provides a constant income.
If you are trying to become pro that generates constant revenue, you need to treat everything you do like a business. It’s no longer a hobby. Every decision and purchase matters. You should be asking yourself, what’s the ROI on this purchase/investment? Look at Oceanside 70.3 as what not to do as an up and coming pro. I think that start list had 50+ guys yet only 8 get paid. Why do half of those guys do that race where they know its going to be a financial loss?
This is interesting, thanks for sharing! If I could get my rent down to 8k a year I would have no problems! Everything Cody says does make sense here. There are some good takeaways and some obvious ones about ballin on a budget, but ultimately it sounds like my starting point should probably be to start aggressively reaching out to sponsors and see if anything sticks if I want it to be sustainable. Also, I have no idea how homestays work? For example, looking at racing Augusta, what would I do there?
For example, looking at racing Augusta, what would I do there?
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Homestays used to be organized by the race directors or pro liaison for each race. These days you can just try your luck by posting on local triathlon club Facebook pages or the individual event Facebook page and ask if there is anyone interested in putting you up. It is exactly what Josh Amberger did for IMC last week. He messaged the Penticton Tri Club who then shared it on the IMC FB page and there you go,a few minutes later,he was sorted with a homestay.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts. Of that list, I am the “have a full-time job†pro, self coached, second-hand bike, budget wheels, 1 race kit, eats fig newtons instead of gels when training lol…
Thanks this is super helpful! I will certainly go that avenue. I typically trying to show up the day before the race to save $ which isn’t great for the legs
like my starting point should probably be to start aggressively reaching out to sponsors and see if anything sticks if I want it to be sustainable.
Just a word of advice on the sponsorship front. Approach sponsors in a way that talks about what YOU will do for the company and how you and the sponsor align, etc and not a simply aviewpoint of “what will i get out of it” from a sponsor…especially when it’s a low level pro wanting to get sponsorship.
i work with many professional athletes and many of them winning the 70.3 or full ironman. Everyone but 1 of them had another job on the side to help with expense so that says a lot about how to manage the financial part.
Same for me as a professional athlete in my past…i always work on the side other jobs to make it viable financially. unless you are winning the big A races or placing on the podium at those tier 1 events, it will be difficlute to make it your main source of income and be sustainable.
you do it for the love of the sport, not for the financial part!
as for Travel, i rarely ever paid for accomodation, i always had homestay or stayed with other athelte on a couch. I drove or get ride with other athletes to races so no airplane if possible etc. You live on the bare minimum and make it as cheap as it can be. The best and happiest years of my life by far!!!
Aside from emailing the contacts of the tri clubs in the areas you will be racing, you might also try posting here. And, take up Monty’s offer to tell us more about yourself.
I used to run the pro homestay program for Alcatraz and Treasure Island years ago and we always had lots of people offer to host.
Thank you for that, the homestay program does sounds like a great opportunity to practically cut my travel expenses in half. I will certainly post here and elsewhere as I gear up for the potential of Michigan and Augusta.
Me: I never turned “pro†to make money. I just love to race and only did 3 races on a road bike before I realized I could potentially qualify as Pro with points after winning Arizona AG. I perused it strictly to get into Oceanside after it sold out since it is the closest race to home. Racing as a pro has made me love the sport even more because it’s made racing that much easier with no sellouts, cheaper registration fees, and way simpler race weekend logistics. I have no coach, no training plan, and have been learning on the fly about the intricacies to the sport, always very hesitant to ever overly commit financially to any additional expenses. My dream is to not make money, but just get to the point where racing 7 or 8 times a year is sustainable and it would be a huge bonus to potentially promote something positive along the way and make some new connections/friendships. Pretty simple!
Thanks for sharing your thoughts. Of that list, I am the “have a full-time job†pro, self coached, second-hand bike, budget wheels, 1 race kit, eats fig newtons instead of gels when training lol…
Look up the app Saturday
Will save you even more in race fueling, training fuel etc
Game changer for many here on ST
pennies for fuel that many, myself included, believe is better than even the expensive gels, drinks and blocs
Hi! I’m racing as a “pro†this year and just finished in the top 10 at 70.3 Maine in my 2nd race. I want to keep racing this season and am excited about my form, but traveling to the east coast, or really in general, for these events is a lot of $$$. Flight, luggage, hotels, rental car got me to about $1,800. I know we all have this issue traveling and it’s the same sob story over and over, but as I plan the rest of the year there is just no way I can take on this level of expense 3 or 4 more times. What am I missing? Are other sponsors taking this on for athletes? Are mom and dad footing the bill? Or are they just taking the risk and hoping for prize money?
Thanks for your thoughts!
What’s your name if you don’t mind me asking. Would be nice to follow your journey. If you don’t have a big social media presence you need to start because most sponsors are going to look at that.
Hi! I’m racing as a “pro†this year and just finished in the top 10 at 70.3 Maine in my 2nd race. I want to keep racing this season and am excited about my form, but traveling to the east coast, or really in general, for these events is a lot of $$$. Flight, luggage, hotels, rental car got me to about $1,800. I know we all have this issue traveling and it’s the same sob story over and over, but as I plan the rest of the year there is just no way I can take on this level of expense 3 or 4 more times. What am I missing? Are other sponsors taking this on for athletes? Are mom and dad footing the bill? Or are they just taking the risk and hoping for prize money?
Thanks for your thoughts!
I think that there are decissions to take like where do you want to live?
You need to live in a place when you can balance your cost with the money. In a área where you can get sponsors which made training and material Almost for free, and where you can have enought races in short distance that allow you to survive, and allow you to sale for the big races.
There are pros which could “support you” if you work for him as caddy or sparring. There are clubs which can provide you sponsors and material.
Triathlon is a minority sport. It is not easy to be professional anywhere. It is like to start as actor, you should go to Hollywood.
like my starting point should probably be to start aggressively reaching out to sponsors and see if anything sticks if I want it to be sustainable.
Just a word of advice on the sponsorship front. Approach sponsors in a way that talks about what YOU will do for the company and how you and the sponsor align, etc and not a simply aviewpoint of “what will i get out of it” from a sponsor…especially when it’s a low level pro wanting to get sponsorship.
Very much this ^^^^. Years back, I had a meeting with a big company as a potential sponsor for a team that I ran (tri/running) and knew someone else (we shared a common sponsor) who was making a pitch for his cycling team. He went in talking about all of the races their money would help him get to, and his meeting lasted less than 5min. I talked about some of the obvious things we could do for them, and then asked them what they accepted the meeting, and what they hoped that they could get from us. My meeting went on for 25min and got very positive feedback. In the end, neither of us got the deal, because within a week of the meeting, the parent company for that company announced major restructuring and layoffs, and weren’t in a position to sponsor anyone, but had they been in position to, I am positive my odds were much better… If you’re not sure what the answer to that question is, you need to figure that out before reaching out to companies, because they are usually looking at how they can get ROI for the dollars they give out in terms of sponsorship beyond just the warm and fuzzies about an athlete getting to 2-3 extra races for the season. And for that reason, reaching out to local businesses is a good starting point (you can still reach out to others as well), since you might be able to offer appearances, visibility in their local market, clinics, coaching, workshops, etc. that might be harder to offer to companies based far away.
