Today I’m sharing about how to do a triathlon when you don’t have money. This could also be called, “How to afford a triathlon when you’re in your 20s, just out of college, and weighed down by thousands of dollars in student loans.” Triathlons are expensive and I’m not only talking about the race fees. There’s a lot of stuff you need just to be able to race.
If you know anything about triathlons, you probably know that the largest age groups tend to be the people in their 30s and 40s. From USAT: the “Majority of USA Triathlon members are ages 40-49; this sector of membership is continually more than 30 percent of the overall membership base.”
I think that a part of the reason that it’s so big for those in their 30s and 40s is because of the money! Triathlons are NOT cheap! These settled-in-life adults start doing triathlons when they’re more financially stable and not just starting out on their own.
I did my first triathlon last year and I spent a good amount of money to gear up for the race but my set up was minimal in comparison to most other bloggers and people I know. I don’t have a bike, a bike trainer, and I don’t have money for gym memberships or personal coaching.
This year isn’t going to be any different for me because I still don’t have money to invest in more/better equipment. My sister is also doing the triathlon with me for her first time but she’s a poor college student and she’s not even sure if she’ll do another tri (Hopefully she will!).
You will probably have to fork over a good amount just to sign up for the race so I’ve created list that will hopefully help other beginners that are just getting started to help save some money.
Here are my absolute bare minimum basics that you need to do a triathlon with a few add-on ideas to spend a little more on if desired.
