Are Triathlons Too Expensive? | GTN Show Ep. 389

Are triathlons getting too expensive? After last week's show discussing whether triathlon is dying, we were prompted to follow up on one of the reasons why triathlon participation is declining: the cost! Are entry fees affecting the "decline" of triathlon?

Plus, we're talking about a triathlete winning the Winter Spine race, a very fast half for a triathlete (or any runner actually!), T100 2025 contracts & much more!

⏱️ Timestamps: ⏱️
00:00 Welcome to the GTN Show!
00:43 This week in the world of triathlon
03:43 Montane Winter Spine race 2025 ❄️
06:38 Joe Skipper’s holiday swim & Laura Philipp’s post
07:55 Sam Laidlow’s cruise race & schedule
09:23 Tri News
09:28 RaceRanger at age group race (Challenge Wānaka)
11:55 T100 latest 2025 contracts
12:57 Andy Potts retirement
14:02 Are triathlons too expensive?
22:28 Tech News
24:36 Tri-Spy
25:38 Say what?!
26:33 This week on GTN

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What’s the most expensive triathlon you’ve ever entered & was it worth the money? 💰

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[gtn]

What’s the most expensive triathlon you’ve ever entered & was it worth the money? 💰

[TriathlonDan]

Entry fees are a small part of the ‘get to the start line’ cost in triathlon as we know, add in bikes and wetsuits and it’s thousands. Running still has that ‘get to the start line’ cost comparatively low, hence participation shooting up. Making road/ drop bar bikes more socially accepted in triathlon would be a good step towards lowering both the perceived and actual cost of entry to the sport. Good discussion Heather & James 👍

[TheTinyMouse]

There’s a company down here in the south of UK called Challenging Events, they do something that I 100% agree with, when you volunteer for their events they’ll reward you with credit towards one of their events or a Free entry. I think more companies should take on this approach

[wyattanton]

You ignored the part where Ironman bought up lots of local races and then cancelled them to monopolize the market and drive prices up

[KyleLanmon]

I love the idea of splitting the age group into competitive and non-competitive

[forgetful]

It is bloody expensive, especially when you consider how you want younger folks to get into the sport...

[w.nas.]

its not just the entry fees. The kit is crazy...1000 dollars for garmin pedals? Bikes at 6-10k$$$? the cost of getting to these places to race? the list goes on.

[jonasvieth]

I’m happy to pay for being safe in the water, closed roads and getting cheered on during the run. After all I want my first ironman to be an event and a half. What I don’t need are fancy goodies. That’s why I chose a local race with a sub 500€ entry fee. For anyone starting with our beloved sport, probably olympic or sprint distance, a big financial hurdle is the wetsuit. Yes you can rent one but that adds to the event costs and you’re experimenting on race day. The good thing on the other hand is that triathletes are quite inclusive and you won’t be judged by your gear. So don’t try to impress with kit, impress with speed and power 💪

[thenayancat]

Which marathons are 300+?? I've paid for 3 entries so far. Albeit 2 were smaller events ("only" 5k entrants), £70 or so. Other event is a big city marathon in the UK, about £100.

Plenty local 5k-10k races for £20-£50 too and I'm in a big city. Even cheaper trail races going. Plenty of 50k++ ultras for £100-150.

Ironman Wales, starting prices about £650.

[suttonfarms]

Entered and completed Chattanooga's full ironman in 2023....it was nearly $1, 000. Swag was alright, got a bag, the cap of course, a t and a medal. Did a half ironman in 2024 and it was nearly $500. This year I'll do local races; Olympic distances, sprints and some marathons/half marathons in lieu of ironman to save money. Doing Ironman is a treat that I'll give to myself every couple of years, but definitely too expensive to do yearly.

[sebastienbrochard]

Triathlon is my hobby, and I'm training mostly to keep fit.

Because of cost of races and cost of getting there, I only sprinkle a year with a couple of events.

[jayclay]

I like the segment where they question if triathlon has become too expensive, followed by a segment about a bike that cost up to £10, 000

[RhinoJoeOutdoors]

It’s a gamble. Signing up for a big event and there is almost no deferment for Ironman events. If you get injured or seriously ill you can’t defer and that’s a lot of money to give up. I wanted to sign up for a full IM race but it’s too much of a risk and not enough reward

[bethanygodfrey]

After many years of putting it off this year I’ve entered my local sprint triathlon, half the cost of some of the others I’ve looked at and this year it’s thriving with both sprint, Olympic and even some junior events. I think as much as I’d love to do more events I might just stick to the local events where it’s smaller and cheaper

[samg]

Escape From Alcatraz- basically a longer/augmented Olympic distance race for the price of an Ironman. Worth it one time, but not an annual race

[torbenb.]

With a small club of about 40 members, we organize a local triathlon annually. We ourselves are not happy with the entry fees. But unfortunately, we are forced to regularly increase prices. Our goal is to offer a great competition for new and ambitious athletes. Starting with Mountainbikes to high priced Time Trial bikes. Beyond that, we also want to keep club membership fees low and have financial support for club activities. But it's getting increasingly difficult. As a result, we are currently reducing our events for members to avoid having to increase entry fees too much. It's not allways all about profit. It's about having fun and to surround yourself with great people. That's one of our club values.

[marcuswills]

At the beginning of 2024 I decided to track everything I spent on Triathlon for the year. I already owned bikes so didn't include them. Of the total cost only 14% came from entry fees, and a couple of races were "expensive". Top spend was Travel/Accommodation at nearly 40% with Kit/Equipment just over 30%.
I agree with Helen at around 19:25 where the cost of entry appears higher (excluding big brands) because the general public have less disposable income so the issue is exasperated. Most local race entry fees are more than acceptable.

[aliherbert]

The most offensive price for me is with ironman when you qualify for a worlds and then pay double the price for the pleasure of attending something special you have earned it should be half price not double. And then to have to foot the bill that same day is brutal as i found out after Weymouth in September 2024 .

[kerrynball]

The leader of our club explained that the road closures are a main reason for the big $$$. There is a higher expectation than there was in the past, for example a traffic controller on every blocked intersection rather than just some barriers with controllers on the big ones only.

[DigininjaRobin]

My most expensive event is either my first Ironman where I did so badly I had to go back two years later to put in a better effort, or last year's Challenge Almere where I wasn't planning to go back but then won free entry so going to have to cover all the travel expenses again.