Ironman Training: What Does It Cost?

Cost is always the big question, whether you’re planning a vacation, buying a car, or diving into triathlon training. If you want to jet off somewhere, you’re checking airfare, hotel prices, and if the food’s gonna break the bank. If you’re eyeing a new car, you’re looking at financing and insurance. Same deal with Ironman training.

I get asked all the time by friends, family, and strangers on the internet, “How expensive is it to train for an Ironman?” Great question. I asked myself that same question a million times before I started my first Ironman 70.3 training block. Truth is, it can be relatively inexpensive or pretty dang pricey, depending on how expensive you want to make it. You don’t need a $10k bike to start – just a few basics and some hustle..

The cost to train for a full Ironman vs. a 70.3 is pretty similar, with the main difference being registration fees (full Ironmans cost more). Let’s break it down bare-minimum style for a 6-month training block. You need a bike, a place to swim, and running shoes. Sure, it gets a bit more complex, but you don’t need the fancy bike, the Roku wetsuit and trisuit, the portable bike compressor and a $1k+ Garmin Bike Power Meter. In my July 70.3, I saw $20k bikes and $300 mountain bikes — guess what? Both crossed the 56-mile mark.

I know what you’re thinking: “Over $3,800? That’s a lot of guacamole.” You’re not wrong — it’s pricier than a marathon or gym membership, but it’s spread over 6 months. And like I mentioned, there’s ways to get that cost even lower, let’s explore.

Registration: $500

Next to buying a bike, registration’s one of the biggest costs. Ironman 70.3s run $400-$600 before fees and taxes, so let’s call it $500 on average. Full Ironmans hit between $800-$1,000. Lots of variables — like how popular the race is or how late you sign up.

Save Money: Register early for a less popular race to get closer to $400. Smaller, local triathlons are even cheaper.

Travel: $850

This is a huge factor when picking your race. If you’re flying, budget $300 round-trip using sites like Priceline or Expedia. You won’t be clinking champagne glasses with models, but you’ll get there. For hotels, a decent 3-night stay (my rule of thumb is how comfortable would I be taking a black light to this room?) runs about $550. I recommend getting to your race two days early to settle in and hit the expo without rushing, but on a budget, one day’s enough.

Save Money: Pick a race within driving distance. Crash with friends or family near the race to cut hotel costs.

Swim: $550

Most rec centers charge $5-$10/day or $50/month for unlimited pool access. I was a complete newbie at swimming, so I hit the pool 3-4 times a week to get better at it. A monthly pass made way more sense than day passes, costing me about $300 over 6 months.

Then there’s the wetsuit. If your race’s open water is cold — below 60.8°F — wetsuits are mandatory. Between 60.8°F and 76.1°F, they’re allowed for age-group athletes, and most folks wear them because they make you more buoyant and faster. Above 76.2°F up to 83.8°F, they’re optional, but you won’t qualify for age-group awards or world championship spots. You’ll likely need one, so budget $250 for a solid wetsuit — cheaper if you shop smart. I hunted for deals online and scored mine without breaking the bank, but steer clear of used ones; they tear easy and aren’t worth the hassle.

Save Cash: If your gym’s got a pool or you can swim in a lake or safe river, you can ignore pool fees entirely. That’s $300 saved right there.

Bike: $1,208

Don’t fall for the fallacy that you need the $20k speed concept bike with electronic gear shifting and a carbon fiber frame that would make Optimus Prime envious of its composition. Luckily, unless you’re a pretty tall guy like me, finding a used bike on Facebook Marketplace or used bike sites (like BuyCycle.com) for around $300 shouldn’t be too hard. It’d be ideal if you could find a road bike in this range. You don’t need to be looking for a fancy time trial bike or triathlon bike; a road bike will be more than perfect for your everyday training and race day. I used my brother’s father-in-law’s bike he graciously gifted me for my whole training block and 70.3 race. Even though I don’t fit on it perfectly, it more than got the job done.

Even if you can afford the super boujee bike, it’s probably best to make sure you enjoy triathlon training and Ironman racing before coughing up a bunch of money to buy expensive gear that you’ll never use again after 6 months of training. And if you have a bike you’re training on and riding a lot, you’re going to need to get that bike tuned up. Bike tune-ups are crucial for checking for worn brakes, loose bolts, misaligned wheels, or wheel fragility. Regular maintenance prevents wear on components like chains, cassettes, and brake pads, extending your bike’s lifespan. These tune-ups can cost anywhere from $225-$600 over a six-month period depending on the complexity of your bike, so let’s take the mean cost of those two numbers and say you’ll probably spend close to $413.

Most likely, if you’re on a budget, you won’t have a bike computer or power meter, which are pretty important to interval/tempo training for the bike. Plus, if you have to deal with the cold, lots of rain, or periods of terrible weather, biking outside won’t always be an option. This is where a stationary trainer comes in. These are a super good investment. You can get a great stationary trainer, like the Wahoo Kickr, for $300 on Facebook Marketplace. But if you do get a stationary trainer, you will need a stationary trainer subscription to use it. I recommend Zwift, which costs you around $20/month. So let’s say $120 for the 6-month training period.

Bike shoes? You can skip ‘em on a tight budget — regular sneakers work fine for basic training — but I’d grab a $120 pair if you can afford it for better power transfer.

You’re absolutely going to want a helmet for your bike, and you can get a decent one for $75 on Amazon. Now this is something you absolutely should not settle for. A helmet is designed to keep your skull intact and your brain inside of said skull, so let’s not settle on a good helmet, right?

Save cash: If you can get a bike free, like I did, that’ll absolutely save you some solid cash right there. I still believe stationary trainers are pretty crucial, but if you think you can get by without one, then you can save money on not buying a stationary trainer or the subscription. That possibly $720 saved. But once again, I wouldn’t budge on the bike tune-ups or helmet.

Run: $270

This one’s pretty easy. A good running belt to keep your phone and some running gels in is $20 on Amazon, and mine has lasted me for 18 months. Don’t spend too much on one of these.

For running shoes, you can probably get away with some solid running shoes for around $125 a pair. If you stretch it, you can probably get by with two pairs of running shoes over six months, bringing you to around $250. Realistically, it’d be better to get a third pair of running shoes in that period, but you could definitely get by with just two.

Miscellaneous: $300

I firmly believe some form of a smartwatch is beyond crucial for training. Tracking your sleep quality, calories burned, heart rate, distance on your swim, bike and run workouts is a massive part of Ironman training. You can get a good quality Apple Watch, Garmin, or Coros for around $300 used. Probably even cheaper, but you want to make sure whatever watch you buy will have a battery that’ll last for 6+ hours of tracking your efforts on race day.

Fueling: $225:

Fueling: This, ladies and gentlemen, is so dang important. Running gels, powdered carbs, electrolytes, Honey Stinger waffles, or whatever floats your boat and works for you is so crucial for these big effort workouts. When I would have my long bike rides, I would have 100g of carbs and a scoop of HydraNu in each of my 24oz bottles, plus some additional carbs in my pouch that I could munch on or eat to make sure I was keeping my energy levels high and prepared for my post-bike run. If you realllllly stretch this out, you might be able to get away with only spending around $225 in intra-fueling (mid-workout fueling) over a 6-month period, but you will most likely quickly find you will need to increase that cost depending on how your body reacts to fueling while exercising and its performance in general.

This brings our total estimated cost to, drum roll please, $3,903.

If you register for your race early and don’t book a mega popular one, you can save some additional costs. If your race is within driving distance and you can stay with someone for a couple nights, you can save some additional costs. If the gym you go to already has a pool or you have access to open water swimming, you can save some additional costs. If you can get a bike free, feel you don’t need a stationary trainer and therefore a stationary trainer subscription, you can save some additional costs. This is just a rough estimate of what an Ironman race may cost for the average guy or gal who may not have the best access or flexibility when it comes to getting stuff for free or training at a bare minimum.

I hope you were able to find this insightful! If you plan on signing up for an Ironman race or triathlon soon, tag @gtyperformance on social media and we’ll be glad to help you with any questions you may have or tips we learned along the way.

Have a great week!

Michael

GTY Performance