Sunday, June 19, 2011

And pardon me, while I step up on this soapbox...


ARE YOU KIDDING ME?


*bangs head against the wall*

SHAME on you, WTC. SHAME.

And shame on the fact that there are apparently enough people willing to shell out over $900 in ELEVEN MINUTES to close out a race. I am sorry, but I gotta put my foot down on that one.
That is RIDICULOUS. END OF STORY.

Am I too poor for this sport? Is that where this is going? Because there is no way on earth I will ever participate in a race where the entry fee is almost $1,000. I don't come from that side of town.

And then what does this mean, really? That if you want to do a shiny, glittering Ironman race, you have to pony up your right arm, soul, and first born?

What is this sport about, anyway?

I tell you what, for me it's about hard work, persistence, dedication, and above all, community. A pox upon you, WTC. You may be taking your talents to South Beach here, but I sure as hell won't be.

/end rant/


20 comments:

Margot (fasterbunnyblog) said...

Wow that is crazy! I'm just a runner and hate that race fees even for halves are $100+ sometimes. Can't imagine what $900 feels like. Super frustrating. :(.

Christy @ My Dirt Road Anthem: A Runner's Blog said...

Holy crap! I could never afford to pay that for a race, that is a shame!

Krista said...

I agree that the price is absurd, however for the many, many triathletes in the NYC area the cost of race is still less than driving to lake placid, renting a house, eating at restaurants etc. It's crazy tospend that michif you have to travel, but I'd the race is in your backyard (and it is for millions of people) it's actually a good deal...

Trisaratops said...

@Krista, I hear you about the travel thing...it definitely adds up! My beef is more with WTC, who just a few years ago charged me $425 to do Ironman Wisconsin (which I felt was pretty steep, but I understood that there are logistics of shutting down a city for 17 hours) and then 5 years later after reports of how the median income for triathletes is $161,000 is now asking $895...and we are paying it. It just makes me pretty sad, because I feel like it's turning into such a business and that is not what I think this sport (at least at the grassroots level) should be about. But business is business, and no sport is immune, I suppose.

As for me, I think I'll stick with the little guys and non-WTC IMs/70.3s for now!

Anonymous said...

agreed. insane. looks like a cool race. BUT. insanse

Alili said...

Yeah, WTC is pricing me out of my bucket list IM (though my pick is Wisconsin). Really frustrating.

Miles of the Journey said...

I so agree. I am on a fixed income and WTC has essentially dropped me off the back. It will probably go over $1000 for entry now that WTC has seen what the market will bear. For a long time Long have I been lured by the hype of doing a real ironman; captivated by the siren song "you are an ironman!" But,I will get over all that.

Nelson said...

I totally understand where you're coming from, and wow, that is an insane amount of money, but looking at it from a business prospective, they sold out in 11 minutes!! Supply and demand says that they could have gotten more. Well at least somewhere between $895 and $1500 since there are community slots still available.

The athlete in me says this sucks, but the business man in me says that as long as they can sell out at that price, they aren't gonna budge.

Jumper 2.0 said...

It would certainly make sense that it would be considerably more costly in NYC than anywhere else in the country.
Aren't the other races @ $650?
I just don't get the "shame" of WTC!
Granted, I can't imagine paying it, just saying to be @ $250 more than Madison makes plenty of sense to me.

Trisaratops said...

They are up to $650?! Well, in that case, I guess it makes some level of sense. However, if that is true, then I have been effectively priced out of all Ironman branded events and I can't really believe that I'm alone here.

There comes a line where it crosses between "hobby" and "waste of money." I love racing, but I just am not going to pay $900+ for an entry fee. Call me old fashioned, I guess.

Karen said...

That is way more than I would think about spending. I hope Rev3 adds more full iron distance races in the future.

Mischievous Meg said...

It does seem a little unfair that an event (like any other sports event) that brings in tourists and money to a town should cost that much to an athlete. Other professional sports are team based with tons of corporate sponsors. When you're "going it solo," it seems outrageous to ask an entrance fee that high. It will become a rich person's sport - which is a shame considering just about anyone could train themselves for an IM with minimal equipment cost if they put their minds to it.

For cripes sake! You, TriSaraTops, have somehow managed to do these races without giving up your family and your job (which you are fantastic at, btw.) You are the exact model of athlete people need to be seeing, and it is exactly your type of athlete that will be priced out.

Shame. Shame. Shame. It's not about supply and demand. It's about equal opportunity to feel good about your achievements.

Trisaratops said...

This is a good conversation, and I appreciate all comments! Mischievous Meg, you are way too kind (and how's Alaska, by the way?!)

To be fair, I just looked up how much Rev3 Full Distance cost at Cedar Point, and it's $500 ($510 if you are not a USAT member). Factoring in that Sandusky is much easier to shut down than Manhattan, one can make the case that a race in NYC needs to be more expensive. I get that. My fear is that WTC will see how fast they sold $895 slots in NYC and jack up the price again, not just for NYC, but for all races. There comes a threshold and for some it's (clearly!) higher than others (yours truly). Maybe this is easy for me to say, because I did a WTC Ironman just as they were starting to sell out in a day (not even an hour back in '05!), so I got the "big-Mike-Reilly Ironman" out of my system before the floodgates of supply and demand completely broke loose. I just wish for everyone who wants to successfully train for and do a WTC Ironman to have that chance, and it doesn't seem like that will be the case much longer.

I am excited for other companies to get in the market. I can't say enough about how impressive Rev3 was last year. Maybe their entrance will help even things out a bit.

Okay, I am stepping off the soapbox now. Time to go train :)

Jumper 2.0 said...

I agree! I suppose technically I can pay for a WTC Ironman race. But I doubt I'm willing at these prices. @ $600 maybe, but it gets really sketchy at higher prices. There are simply more important things for me to spend my limited income on. It certainly would be cool to hear the "you are an Ironman" phrase, but the much cooler thing is accomplishing the distance. I don't mind saving a few hundred dollars just for the loss a little phrase at the end of a big accomplishment!

Anonymous said...

I so agree....and I have been in this sport for over 30 years and can say that I have seen changes that make me cringe and may make me leave the sport altogether one day.
When I started we didn't have anything (bike, shoes, clothing, etc. etc.) that was tri-specific and I still maintain that you can do longer tris without investing huge amounts on gear/nutrition and especially entry fees. I am sticking to the small local tris that only cost me $15 and are still full of people not full of themselves. I blame the fact that people could potentially sue if they get hurt/killed and the directors have to cover their asses somehow...hence the steep entry fees...(just part of it).
Trail running....shoes, shorts and some way to carry some water/calories. That's where it's headed for me!

Anonymous said...

There are a LOT of rich triathletes out there I guess. Used to be the guys who were lifeguards at the local pool that were challenged by the good local runner working at "Athlete's Foot"-and a triathlete was born. (sigh-the good old days!)

Mnowac said...

part of the reason I don't do tris any more.

Nat said...

It it incredibly sad. I did IM WI last year and was outraged by the cost of clothing even. I know I will do another ironman race some day but I am NOT giving more money to a "brand". Especially when they are gouging people.

The Salty One said...

I hate that competitive sporting events like marathons, half marathons, tris, etc are basically for rich people to check off items on their bucket lists these days. It's not about who worked their butts off and can run, ride, transition, etc. the faster than the could before, it's about who's willing to pay a ton of money to slog 26.2 miles in their expensive gear or whatever. We need to start a budget sporting event production company that focuses on offering quality events for athletes at reasonable prices!

Janet Edwards said...

There is only one reason I have not done and IM and it comes right down to money! SO WITH YA SISTA!