Originally Posted by
miwoodar
I started from scratch last year. From the top of my head, this is what an IM cost me...just about 5K. No aero wheels. No fancy bike. A HIM would have been about the same save for a few hundred in the race fee.
The median income figure I threw out there means that 1/2 the participants are below that level. Clearly, you can complete an Ironman on a budget but to be competitive the costs can go up quickly. Lot's of 10k bikes. It's not hard to spend $20k/yr on training and races which requires a reasonable income and/or considerable sacrifice.