It’s boom time for the three-sport event
By: Justin Feil
If you fancy yourself on the tip of trends, then you have some serious training ahead of you, even more serious money-spending ahead, to keep up with the latest fitness craze triathlons.
Maybe you were a part of the first running boom, widely measured as between the mid-1970s and the mid-1980s. You wanted to emulate Frank Shorter, Bill Rodgers or Joan Samuelson and you started running.
Perhaps you were just a bit too young for that first that boom, but you’ve been a part of the second running boom, which began in the mid-1990s and is considered ongoing. The newest trend is about more than just running, as more than 10 million Americans report running at least 100 days a year, according to the latest American Sports Data. The trend has turned toward running marathons, with marathons setting records for selling out and expanding at ridiculous rates.
In 1994, the Chicago Marathon had just over 10,000 participants. Last fall, it was capped at 37,500 for the second straight year. But folks are looking for a different challenge and the triathlon is calling even as marathoning’s popularity continues to surge.
Two months before the Chicago Marathon will be run, 6,500 are signed up to participate in the Chicago Triathlon, though they won’t all compete at the Olympic distance, and the numbers of those interested are continuing to grow around the country.
In 1999, USA Triathlon had 50 registered clubs. That number jumped to 130 in 200. In 2000, there were just over 21,000 full-time USA Triathlon members. Two years later, that number had almost doubled to 40,299.
Make no mistake. The triathlon boom is upon us even if the logistics of it, let alone the physical demands of it, make it a tougher sell than just running, which requires an $80 pair of shoes, a pair of $20 shorts and a $10 T-shirt.
That covers just one event of the triathlon. According to usatriathlon.org, 28 percent of triathletes spend $50 to $100 on swim equipment and 35 percent value their bike at $2000 to $4000. More than 50 percent in all spend at least $1,500, which makes the triathlon decidedly more costly than running. Even race entry fees are gaudy, as much as $400 for some ironman events, five times the highest marathon fees, and races are much more limited in numbers than running-only events.
It’s difficult to find a suitable swim venue close to a long enough road circuit for a bike race that can lead to a running course. Add in legal concerns for organizers, and it’s becoming a bigger headache to put on triathlons, even as interest grows.
The triathlon appeal is catching on with those looking for something new. Demand is heavy for high-profile events. The Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon filled its quota within two hours of the start of on-line registration.
A friend who recently purchased a bike in that 35-percent price range of triathletes is getting back into triathlons after competing as a teen for "a break from just running." And while he disagrees that the triathlon’s participatory popularity is growing, by just spending the money for a bike, he’s committing to the sort of cross-training required of triathletes. It’s the sort of monetary commitment that seems likely to keep athletes involved in the triathlon.
We already have three other friends in common who are training for ironman triathlons that encompass 2.4 miles of swimming, 112 miles on the bike and a marathon (26.2 miles). It’s something that every year is blown up into a documentary by NBC, a documentary so good that more and more people are considering it a possiblity.
"Besides the seduction of Hawaii, most people get into tri’s for the physical and motivational benefits," said one friend, who swam in college and is sponsored for triathlons. "I’ve met a bunch of people who used to do just one of the three disciplines, but were either getting burned out with it or their body was getting too beat up and injured. Triathlon offers a nice structured way to cross-train and learn new sports, which keeps workouts a lot more fresh and interesting, while lessening the wear and tear on certain parts of your body."
More and more people are choosing to wear and tear their bodies with triathlons, in which two of the disciplines aren’t as pounding on the body as running. Despite higher costs and overwhelming demand for events, triathlon numbers are on the rise, making it the latest fitness boom.

