Yes, but we’re talking about a trip to Kona, not living and working there. Yes the exchange rate hasn’t helped. Another Brexit dividend.
I’m not sure about that. Plenty of EU racers on the ST thread complaining of a woeful exch rate also.
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I know, what I’m getting at is based on that!
A £5 box of cereal in the US and everything being expensive is a bit of a broad statement.
I hear it a lot from people who go to London, Paris, Barcelona, Rome and then moan how much everything was.
Really? Where did you eat?
Somewhere super touristy, or did you seek out a local trattoria/bistro and sit “au bar”?
Do they even eat out in the UK?
We went to Chester the other day, meal for three with no alcoholic drinks and no dessert was £70 (including the US style tip)
breakfast at the cycle cafe was £35 for three of us.
Three fish and chips (with drinks and sauces) were £39.
A 45 minute water park session was £19 each.
Various picnic items from Rhug farm shop came to £31.
That’s £213 before you’ve added in the £65 fuel and parking and also a couple of meals at home.
So that’s £300 for just two days out in the UK.
America’s best selling cereal is Cheerios.
A quick look on Walmart/Amazon shows a standard flavour, standard box is $3 
I am absolutely not saying your brother is a liar, just sometimes the statements need be weighed up.
I think the USD is strong atm.
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Nah, even when the exchange rate was good US super market prices are scary - the UK just has really cheap supermarkets. Other things are not.
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Not trying to entirely hijack this thread but I’m still sorting out my trip to St George in October. It’s not quite as eyewatering as Kona but is adding up, despite me travelling alone and not particularly fussed on standards of accommodation, as long as it isn’t in gangland town!
I’ve got another rollover race as well which is adding to the burden and although it’s not far away it is deceiving on the US map as it’s that big. So it is becoming more of a business trip than a holiday.
Issue is also travelling with the bike, it adds a good few £00 to the flight as well as the faff at the airports, I’ve looked at shipping it and hiring bikes and it’s borderline whether they are worth the extra money. Sadly KLM don’t seem as reasonable as BA
Problem is I’ve already spent over £1k on the races etc. so I’ll be quite out of pocket if I decided not go and I am really looking forward to Utah, but ideally would have stayed longer, but work might prevent that.
It’s not like I can’t afford it and the Poet in me says I should spend some and enjoy life now, but it has been a very expensive year already, at least next year isn’t as bad ATM.
I think it was @Jgav who said he’d been thinking of buying a bike after paying off the mortgage but is having second thoughts now?
I think I should stick to fell running, about £10 per race and there’s always another one soon after!
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Lol yeah, I’m costing up the travel accom and bike hire for Lanza and it sure makes park run seem good value 
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Just watched the GTN video where they talk about Skipper’s comments. They had a guest presenter from GCN and she was genuinely shocked at the costs for pros and AG, and basically said you’re all mad, it’s not worth it, choose another sport.
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Yes I agree it’s potentially a marketing tool, and posted as if not by him.
And yes pro athletes are mostly driven by the intrinsic love of the sport/comtition same as all of us, but when they try make it their professional career then it is a very valid point to consider cost Vs rewards. Need to weigh up loss of sponsor exposure, but for many, especially those lower down the field and have been to Kona before and had the experience, its an expensive commute to go to work.
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There was a lower level pro who used to post on ST and did a full breakdown of his income and expenditure. From memory he was only making ends meet by living out of his car and sleeping on friends’ sofas at races.
Makes sense for hte pros to go with PTO events if they continue this kind of prize money structure, numbers from the recent Edmonton Open
Yeah know Cody Beals and few other pros have come out with similar.
And although it’s a separate discussion, I’m not necessarily saying they should have a better lifestyle for trying to make a living out of a hobby. Money comes from providing what other people are willing to pay for at the end of the day, and even I as a moderately engaged triathlete contribute essentially zero financially to their lifestyles beyond entering my own races.
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Pro Triathlon has only ever paid ‘well’ for the top athletes; the also rans are constantly scratching an existence. Can’t be too many doing it with a family, as it just doesn’t pay enough.
I still don’t miss it. Maybe I will in a few more years.
Does Ironman triathlon need a pro field at all?
I’m thinking it’s a minority of the field/tourists generated by the event that know or have watched any of the Pros.
I like watching more than most, but would I go to fewer events if there was simply no pro layer at all? Probably not. We’d get more YouTube clips from amateurs to fill the void there.
Maybe TT could start tracking amateurs like Tri247 tracks Pros…
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Really though, Kona is child’s play when it comes to expensive hobbies.
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In most sports I imagine it would be difficult for the very top layer of athletes to perform as they do if they also had to hold down a job at Greggs in Staines. So a few put it all on the line to try to make a living from their sport. In any sport, that must be a tough nut to crack, but imagine being a pro hammer-thrower or , I dunno, caber tosser.
I think with Track & Field, you’re either part of a National Federation team or an amateur. Highland Games stuff is also a ‘hobby’ sport I think, even at the highest levels!
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I know of a international level field athlete who works part time as a physio. But her accommodation and travel to big events (like Wotld Champs, CWG, etc.) is covered by British athletics. Don’t know what happens when she is at Diamond League events.
ETA: she did have a fund raiser for help with coaching fees a few years ago but as a result of that her level improved enough for it to br covered by .UKA
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I knew a few 2nd tier track athletes who paid there own way around Europe to compete in invitational meetings. They pretty much all retired once they got family commitments. I managed to compete at national league level, got all my expenses paid, including flights and hotels to league matches, but never made the step to international events.
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Shot Putt?
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