Marathons and triathlon costs rising 'exponentially', say organisers

The cost of organising marathons and triathlons has increased "exponentially" over the last few years, say organisers.

Always Aim High, the company responsible for organising the Cardiff Triathlon, estimated its yearly overheads had increased by 40%.

The company said it had seen fewer people buying tickets for its events.

The Newport Marathon, taking place on Sunday, also said it had experienced "considerable" cost increases.

But organisers Run 4 Wales said the price of entering the marathon had not increased since 2019.

Matt Newman, Run 4 Wales' chief executive, said the economic landscape for mass participation events was "difficult", particularly because "people have less money in their pockets".

Fay Bowen, from Newport, is running her first 10km (6 mile) race in her home city on Sunday.

"I started out thinking running would be a relatively cheap way of getting fit but soon found it wasn't as cheap as I'd expected," she said.

Ms Bowen said running had changed her life, but described the financial impact of the sport as a serious consideration.

"It's certainly been a bit of a barrier for me in terms of doing races which are further away from home. I factored in the cost of an overnight stay and the travel."

"I think you'd be looking at a couple of hundred pounds per race depending on where you go. I think in the current climate that could be a barrier for people."

Another Newport local running on Sunday is Lee Smith. He is running the marathon in memory of his "football mad, warm, fun-loving" twin brother, Dean, who died in a road crash at the age of 30.

"This is massive for me and the whole family," he said.

Despite Mr Smith's determination to raise as much money as possible, he said the cost of registering for the races was starting to concern him.

"It's not just about the cost of the race. It's the stuff you need to go with the race: the nutrition, the shoes, the equipment. It can all add up."

Mr Smith was given a discount to enter the Newport Marathon and the Cardiff Half Marathon. He said more incentives might encourage bigger numbers to register for races.

Chief executive of Welsh Athletics, James Williams, said more people are running in Wales than ever before - but warned those numbers were not translating into more people entering races.

"Half a million people across Wales are actively running every week. That's not necessarily translating to the number of people who are taking part in licensed events," he said.

"Event organisers are businesses so they must cover their costs and I think at some point unless local authorities work with our competition providers, we may see costs continue to go up."

Despite the challenges, Mr Williams stressed that "running is one of the most accessible and one of the cheapest sports", adding that it was "encouraging" to see more people joining the free weekly Park Run events across Wales.