SC Half Ironman Half Full

I'm always curious to see how many local triathletes sign up for the SC Half Ironman in Greenwood at the end of the tri season. It's not a race most athletes do each year. The distances are 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, 13.1 mile run, so it requires a serious commitment to training volume.

Typically, this is a goal race. A race you mark on your calendar in January, and start training for months and months in advance. You've raced several sprint and Olympic distance triathlons and you're ready for the next challenge. For some, it's a stepping stone race, because before you can dream of completing the full ironman distance, you know you have to tackle the half. Just the natural triathlete progression I guess.

This year, I was surprised to see how low the total number of race participants were compared to previous years.

2004 185
2005 263
2006 380
2007 423
2008 567
2009 253

You can see that the total number of participants has gone up each year, a steady pattern of growth. Then, this year, 314 fewer entries than the previous year. Why the dramatic drop in participation?

I couldn't figure it out at first. This is a Setup Events production, and well organized. It's a race that's been around for six years and has a very good reputation.

Was it the economy? No, I don't think so. Local race director Paul King was quoted earlier this year stating that entries in his five local races were not down at all. In fact, the CSTS series sold out in record time (I've heard he's adding a 5th race to the series next year by the way). Plus, if you believe the statistical data provided by Triathlete Magazine, triathletes tend to have higher household incomes which translates to more disposable income, making them a little more recession proof as a demographic. The triathlon scene seems to be weathering the economy just fine.

Then it hit me. The new Augusta Half Ironman! That's it. A new half ironman just across the Savannah river in Augusta - parts of the course go through Aiken County. So, while this race is based in Georgia, it's not much longer of a drive for SC athletes. Plus, it bears the official Ironman brand and is part of the official Ironman series, making it a qualifier for the 70.3 world championship.

Also appealing, particularly to first-time half ironman racers, is the swim course. The swim is with the tide and thus swim times are a good 15 minutes faster for the average swimmer. So, if this was your year to tackle a half ironman, Augusta was an easy choice. Moreover, if you do race the SC Half each year, why not try a different course?

Bottom line, I think Augusta took a large chunk of race entries from the SC Half, and could continue to do so. I don't know what that means for the future of the SC Half, but this is a trend that will be interesting to watch.