race fees! (Page 2)

Pictures...now there is a money-making scam!  I don't mind paying for the service of having a nice professional picture of me in action but the prices tend to be unreasonable IMHO.  Especially in the digital age where is costs virtually nothing to snap off several thousand photos and post them online.  Sure, someone has to sort and organize by race number to make it easy to find them.  And yes, it costs $ to make prints when folks order them but if I can go to CVS and make a 8X10 print from a digital file for $7.95 then it shouldn't cost $20+ for the same from the official race photographer who no doubt pays less for materials.  Hell I'm happy to buy the digital file and make my own prints but that even costs $20-30+...and there is close to ZERO expense to the photo people for providing the digital file.

$75/13.75=$5.46 per mile.

Anyone who has paid $9+ for a hamburger at one of the theme parks won't be surprised to pay $75 for a triathlon or $100 for a marathon at Disney.

Cheaper than golf, from what I understand. At least I don't have to pay green fees everytime I run or ride my bike.

Better for your health too.

Tris are definitely getting pricey, particularly the more popular and better organized ones.  But then, it's really never been a cheap sport.  At a minimum triathletes have to outfit themselves with a bike, helmet, running shoes and find (and usually pay) for a place to train for the swim.  The increase in fees was inevitable with the large scale organization of the sport, and the corresponding increase in demands placed upon organizers by local governments, insurers, lawyers, etc.  We've probably been getting a deal for years. Now it's time to pay the piper!

Last year I competed in my 1^st Tri and I loved it! I got so much into the sport that a friend and I decided to create a multi-sport management company a do our first sprint race this year in MA. At first glance it might seem it isn’t that complicated to develop a small event. However, when you start dealing with town permits, insurance, volunteers, sanctioning, and all the logistics necessary to deliver a SAFE and professional race all the costs start adding up very fast. You have to pay a town to grant you a permit and divide a section of it for the biking/running legs. Assure a clean water where racers can swim. Pay policeman to guard intersections and guide traffic, pay certificate safeguards for the swim. Have medical staff on call in the event of an emergency. Convince and motivate 30 or more individuals (depending on the race size) who will volunteer and work for just a T-shirt and free refreshments to help you foreseen the racers safety. Invest in different venues to promote your race and offer something different for your participants. Convince sponsors to believe in your race versus the other 100s out there, etc. After dealing with all these elements I can tell you that even when a fee of $50.00 for a sprint might seem a bit high it really isn’t. Of course it is a Race Director’s responsibility to deliver a well organized and safe race. And as a participant you should always expect/demand that for your entry fee, whether it is $40.00 or $100.00. I definitely think a $95.00 fee for a sprint race is excessive, but it is up to you to determine if the race is good value or not. Research the race website. Email the race directors with every single question you might have. If it is a new race, check if it will be USAT sanctioned, and even contact the USAT region coordinator. If it isn’t new look for feedback from previous participants, etc. For our fortune the sport is growing by the day and there are several great choices out there. The most important thing as a racer is for you to finish your event safe, with a big smile (if possible) and with a lot of new friends. As new race directors those are our race priorities.

Though our race concept and most logistics had been already established, we are still seeking to get as much feedback as possible from fellow athletes so we can deliver the best possible beginner friendly race. This thread is awesome feedback for me and I want to take this opportunity to invite you to check out our website and share with us any ideas/comments or suggestions. This is our race website: www.3way-racing.com

Some of the things we want to make different is to have a life lane and extra safe guards through out the swim leg to make it less intimidating. Also we’ll include a beginner’s wave (which is not new but it is a great concept). All athletes will wear race number, name tags (so people can cheer up for you throughout the race and break the ice), your age group as usual and either the letter “S” for singles or ‘T” for taken (for those athletes want to mingle)

For prices the top finishers will receive gift certificates from stores such as Tri-zone, aqua sphere, Fuel Belt, Fitness Centers, sports basement, local bike stores, etc. so winners can choose their own price. We’ll offer the classic T-shirt, medals and a goodie bag filled with samples of different products that you can use instead of just a brochure's goodie bag!

We’ll offer 2 post race socials, one right after the race with food & music, and a post-race night party where participants will be able to celebrate their great accomplishment. During this party we want to reward some of those participants who didn’t finish first but still are winners with fun prices and a raffle. Some ideas are: the coolest female and male tri outfit, the best female and male beginner performance, etc. We need more suggestions for the rewards!

Any ideas, suggestions; critics and/or comments are welcome.

Last but not least, remember that there are several races through out the year for you to pick. So don’t settle for any race. After all we are all training very hard for several months to accomplish our goal and we should expect to receive the best possible experience during race day!

Jorge