Another Great Finding From The Triathlon America Study: Were Stingy!
Here is some more data coming from the aforementioned Triathlon America/Active.com study, this time from Bloomberg.
- Were stingy! While we like to travel, we also like to find cheap hotel rooms. About 20% of triathletes stay in “luxury” hotels. I wonder if they took into account that most hotels significantly increase their price during Ironman events. When is the last time you stayed in a Best Western for 280 a night?
- We spend $1,275 annually on travel
- $717 on bike equipment
- $164 on wetsuits
- $107 on apparel
- $95 on running shoes (I guess my 175 dollar Newtons are contributing significant skewness to that distribution -Thanks LM)
- 40% of triathletes are women, up 27% since 2000. I’m not sure if they are talking about the 1700 person sample or if that is a population estimate. In either case, great news!
- When buying swimming and biking apparel, cost was the major deciding factor. However for running shoes, fit and brand loyalty outweighed costs.
Yes, I’m still trying to get the actual paper.
Results of the Active.Com and Triathlon America Triathlon Participant Study
At the Triathlon America conference, the results of a study designed “to better understand the behaviors, attitudes and motivations of both new and experienced triathletes” by Active Network and Triathlon America were announced today. The N for this study is 1700, and was composed of members from the Active.com® Lifestyle Panel. I haven’t been able to get more details from their website yet, but here are some talking points I culled from TheStreet.com.
- The study divided triathlon participants into four many groups: the newcomer, the practitioner, the veteran, and the lapsed athlete. I am either the practitioner or the lapsed athlete, depending on how much coffee I have.
- Women participation in the sport continues to grow. Females comprised 55% of the “newcomers.”
- 90% of triathletes have obtained higher education.
- 43% of triathletes travel with their families.
- We apparently have a “tribe”mentality, meaning we share core values and beliefs. For example, we all believe skin tight Lycra is appropriate wardrobe for pretty much anywhere.
I’m hoping some that this kind of work leads to better experiences for athletes and their families. I think there is a lot of work to be done with involving athlete families at races. My family was pretty much bored to death at Couer d’Alene last year. I will see if I can get my hands on the actual results findings.
