Triathlon Becoming The New Sport Of Executives

More and more executives are “going from the boardroom to their bike or pool, instead of the golf course.”

Andrew Katz is a 35-year-old married father of three. He’s spent thousands of dollars on sports drinks, nutrition bars and athletic gear. He’s co-founder and principal of Prusik Group, a New York-based retail-real-estate firm, where he’s more likely to suggest a bike ride than a golf outing to colleagues.

In short, he’s your average triathlete.

According to a study initiated by USA Triathlon, the average triathlete is a married 38-year-old with an income of $126,000. Forty-four percent have kids living at home; 60% are male. They spend in excess of $4,000 annually on bike gear, athletic footwear, race fees and nutritional supplements. Nearly half have traveled more than 500 miles for a race.

The demographics are intriguing. Factor in the explosive growth the sport is seeing, and it’s enough to make any marketer look twice.

An estimated 2.3 million people completed a triathlon last year, a 55% increase over the year before, according to a recent report from the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association. Likewise, the number of races has more than doubled to 3,486 sanctioned events in the last six years. (Even so, races are often mobbed — next year’s New York City Ironman sold out in 11 minutes, despite an $895 price tag, the highest entry fee in the sport.) Last month USA Triathlon announced it had reached 900 official clubs, with more than 140,000 members, nationwide.

Read more: Adage.com