The mean age of responders was 40.7 years old. Responders were overwhelmingly (79.0%) male and married (74.3%). The majority of responders had at least a college degree (97%) with 42% of readers having an advanced degree (masters or PhD). 50% of responders had at least one child; of those with kids, most had two (47.6%).
You've all heard that triathlon is not a poor man's sport. That is quite evident from this survey. The mean household income was $167,784! Only 1.9% of responders are in the income bracket which I am fortunate to be a part of (less than 25,000). Who wants to bet these are all graduate students? If a natural disaster destroyed all of their sporting gear, training products, apparel and shoes, it would cost most readers 10,000-14,999 to replace. In the past year, most readers spent between 2,500 and 4,999 on triathlon related gear. Just because triathletes are spending all this money doesn't mean we aren't money savvy. 60% own stocks or mutual funds, which is more than 5x the rate of average Americans.
Survey responders tend to use the internet several times a week for triathlon information. The most common things researched include (in order of popularity): gear and product reviews, race information, training information, nutrition information and product reviews Only 1% of responders claim to never visit triathlon related websites. The most popular sites? Here are the top ten in order of popularity:
ironman.com
all3sports.com
ebay.com
trisports.com
triathletemag.com
rei.com
beginnertriathlete.com
runnersworld.com
slowtwitch.com
nytro.com
Most responders race in 1-4 sprint (76.0%), olympic (84.7%), half-iron (77.6%) and iron (53.4%) distance triathlons per year. The other category options were "none", 5-9 and 10+. Most responders train 5-6 days per week (66.3%) with 3-4 days of biking (64.8%), 3-4 days of running (71.2%), and 1-2 days of swimming (50.7%) per week. Mean number of biking days was 3.0, run was 3.3 and swim was 2.5. 75.9% of responders use some sort of GU product while training (go GU!) with Clif and Hammer products coming in a distant second and third, respectively.
The most popular bikes are (in order): Trek, Cervelo, Specialized, Cannondale, Felt. The most popular wheels are (in order): Bontrager, Mavic, Zipp, Shimano and Easton. The most popular component is Shimano (92.3%) and the most popular tires are Continental (50.1%). Oakley is the eyewear fave (45.8%) and Speedo is the preferred swimsuit (61.8). The most popular running shoes are (in order): Asics (42.9%), Nike (23.6%), Brooks (22.7%--YEAH!), Saucony (16.6%) and Zoot (15.1%).
So that's the run-down. Of course we all know that we can't really extrapolate these statistics to all triathletes, they just represent the population of readers from this magazine who chose to respond to the survey. Although surveys like this naturally have some bias, I think some of these numbers are really interesting.
So, what do you think about this? Think it's accurate? Think it's a crock of bull---? Leave a comment below!
I love this post! I'm not at all surprised by the mean income stat...it IS an effing expensive sport between equipment,race fees and traveling.
ReplyDeleteSo glad you're back to blogger commenting!
ReplyDeleteEven though I am not a triathelete, I have a feeling this is pretty accurate. It is NOT a cheap sport and requires time dedication. Also, from my college studies (and graduate level) most anonymous surveys produce the most accurate information. Very interesting read!
poor grad student triathletes UNITE!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteWhat Mindy said :)
ReplyDeleteI'm a poor grad student triathlete too!! Haha. Very interesting post!! I am not surprised about how much the average income is or how much we spend per year!! Tri's are expensive! But totally worth it!
ReplyDeleteMy guess would be that to be good, you do need a lot of money and more importantly, time.
ReplyDeleteMakes sense after your reporting on most of them being divorced. Their highest priority in life are the triathlons.
Good survey and probably pretty accurate. This sport is addictive and i cannot believe how much $$$ I spend on it!
ReplyDeleteNike before Brooks?!?!? No way! I call for a recount!
ReplyDeleteTrek before Cevelo? That's a shocker!
ReplyDeleteSounds about in line with other surveys for the most part.
ReplyDeleteSurprising though as the male/female numbers around here for sprints are fairly even. Olympics and up tend to be more 3/1 male but 53.4% race ironman distance a year? That I call BS on.
Interesting report! My husband is a finance guy, so he likes to keep track of our tri-related spending. With two triathletes in the house, it's sickening to see how much money we spend on the sport! Just race registration fees are enough to break the bank! We could be spending that money on much less healthy vices.
ReplyDeleteBut, there's def a market to buy used bikes and (some) gear. Not used shoes or clothes or nutrition or ... you know what I mean. There are SOME ways to cut corners, but not many!
i cant imagine the total price i've put it this hobby of mine..the clothes and mostly for the shoes i use to buy such as brooks addiction, mizuno wave, and the latest was my vibram five fingers pair
ReplyDeleteSounds pretty accurate to me!! Or at least what I would *assume* to be true! Thanks for sharing this - gave me a couple new websites to check out!
ReplyDeleteVery nice information post by this blog owner I want to say thanks for it. I would be like to come again and again on this blog. Good job dear ! survey total station
ReplyDeletei cant imagine the total price i've put it this hobby of mine..the clothes and mostly for the shoes i use to buy such as brooks addiction, mizuno wave, and the latest was my vibram five fingers pair
ReplyDeleteInteresting report! My husband is a finance guy, so he likes to keep track of our tri-related spending. With two triathletes in the house, it's sickening to see how much money we spend on the sport! Just race registration fees are enough to break the bank! We could be spending that money on much less healthy vices.
ReplyDeleteBut, there's def a market to buy used bikes and (some) gear. Not used shoes or clothes or nutrition or ... you know what I mean. There are SOME ways to cut corners, but not many!
Nike before Brooks?!?!? No way! I call for a recount!
ReplyDeleteTrek before Cevelo? That's a shocker!
ReplyDelete