Is it me or is this magazine getting worse, by worse I mean shorter articles, less content and reviews aimed at making advertising sponsors happy. Does anyone have any alternative suggestions?
Not sure about the quantity of info, but the quality seems to be stagnating. Race reports still don’t go beyond the basics of who won and how. Gear reviews are nothing more than regurgitated press releases. Interviews are hit or miss, really, and the training section is really just the same things over and over again. I still enjoy reading it, but, man, maybe it’s time to switch to Inside Triathlon…
Yeah, tons of huge pictures that don’t have crap to do with the articles and don’t even have captions, so I guess it’s up to us to decipher exactly what’s going on in them. But it’s still fun to read. I still get excited about getting it in the mail.
Agreed it is getting thin on content.
I’ve never read their magazine, but insidetri.com looks good so maybe give that a try?
Agreed. Quality is running thin, with same training advice rehashed over and over. No captions on the pictures, and no really interesting gear reviews. Tinley Talks is about the only thing that I’m guaranteed to read on a monthly basis.
Used to get excited about getting it in the mail. Less now.
What I really hate is how one month it’s “do lots of hills”, the next its “go long”, the next its “intervals”, then its something else entirely.
If you added up six months of this ad-hoc advice, you would end up with 26 workouts a week, with no rhyme or reason to them. It’s all worthless without a coherent, organized plan.
I enjoy reading it each month. I thought some changes they have done to the layout are real nice.
I always enjoy the Tinley talk. He sure makes me think with his writing style, but that is good.
Lets see. Either I like it, pay for it, and read it. Or, do not like it, do not pay for it, and find something else to read.
I sure am not going to pay for something, let alone read something, I do not like.
Even a coin flip can solve this issue.
Dave
I think Insidetri is even worse then Triathlete mag. After 19 years I dropped my subscription to InsideTri last year. Was good when Lew Kidder was the publisher.
The only good in depth article I have read recently is the Kona coverage, however, this did not come until January so it is hopelessly outdated.
the best issues were the charlie yu conflagration and the swimsuit issue…
yeah, the first ever triathlete mag that i read was a swimsuit issue. it called to me from the magazine stand.
hahahah!! nothing like some hot, non-triathlete t & a, huh?
The more experience and knowledge you gain regarding triathlon and trainng, the less useful and interesting the mainstream mags seem to be. I mean other than the swimsuit issue.
They are all both garbage. Only good for looking at pictures.
The best triathlon magazine is, by far, Slowtwitch.
Though I think there is a pretty good ausie tri mag.
I agree that this it has very little content. I flip through it and think “is this an equipment advertising and race results magazine?”. I spend enough on equipment, so their ads don’t help me get anything I don’t already have, and I have very little interest in race results (although I understand that should have a section because their are people interested in them).
But, for your run of the mill age grouper (like me), there is not much useful information. I’d rather see more training info and some biography/personal stories/intruiging situations.
For some the benefit is motivation.
A much better magazine out there is HerSport. I gave my mom a subscription and suddenly she joined Curves and started riding the bike I gave her much more. That was a year and a half and 30 lbs ago.
Did anybody notice page 10/11? Andy Potts… funny opener on page 10: The razor´s edge. Page 11
: Andy with hairy legs. 
funny.
Axel
The March issue of Triathlete magazine is probably the worst issue I have seen. On the cover is “Heart-Rate Training: Think You Know It All”. I looked inside to see if there was any article about it. It was in Speed Lab in response to two questions. The questions were almost as long as the answers!
I use to subscribe to Triathlete, Inside Tri, Bicycle, & Runner’s World, but over the last few years I have not renewed these subscriptions because beyond the advertising there was very little new content or info to gather from these magazines.
Outside on the other hand still is worth reading.
It’s not just Triathlon magazines, it’s really sports magazines in general like Bicycling, Runner’s World, etc. The content is dumbed down and given to you as “chunk journalism.” There’s a recurring theme that cycles periodically, like “Great Abs–how to get them and how they’ll make you _______ better!” (fill in the blank with run, ride, swim, etc). There’s lots of photos and generally they are of pretty people some of whom are athletes and some of whom are simply models, or sexy equipment or both. Articles are indeed much like press releases and as was pointed out in “The Big Chill” about the length that the average person can finish while taking the average dump.
I agree that the best thing to do to improve them is to avoid them. Don’t buy or cancel your subscription and send a letter to the editor telling him/her exactly why you are cancelling. Just say no to chunk journalism. On the other hand, if you like that style, buy infrequently so that you don’t notice the repetitive articles that lack significant content and photos don’t all look the same so much.