Mark Allen probably made as much money as anyone in the sport during his legendary career as a 6-time Ironman Hawaii champion, 10-time Nice International Triathlon winner, and winner of the very first ITU Olympic distance World Championship in 1989. As a humbling indicator of the status of this still-new sport was the fact he probably made much more from sponsorships than some very modest prize purses. Since his retirement in 1996, Allen has kept in touch with the sport as a triathlon coach, author of fitness books, a motivational speaker and as an overall fitness expert/consultant which regularly takes him around the world to various triathlon capitals. In his work as a television commentator post-retirement, he has seen the debut of triathlon in the Olympics, the explosive growth of Ironman races around the world and the current flowering of many new race series.
Allen is thrilled about these signs of growth of the sport he loves. But he feels that there is something missing. Allen feels that something is a little too conservative, too limiting in the vision of most movers and shakers assembling the framework of triathlon in the 21st century.
It’s prize money. While Hy-Vee and the early days of the Life Time Fitness races made great breakthroughs, much of the sport’s races still offer professional prize purses whose scale has not raised much since the mid-1980s. It’s true that many good business empires were built gradually adhering to the principle known in business schools as “every tub on its own bottom” – meaning do not build and invest ahead of the market demand. The consensus wisdom was that “If you build it, they will come” did not apply to tri-economics. But Allen believes that shorting prize money is stunting the growth of the sport at a point where it is ready to reach critical mass and take off.
Slowtwitch: Can triathlon continue grow as a predominantly amateur participant sport without the professionals to attract media to the events?
Mark Allen: I think you need both. I think the biggest growth happens when you have races which put age groupers together with pros at the top level. Just look at events that don’t have age groupers and pros. The Olympics – they have the very best pros but there are no age groupers and what type of growth do we get out of it? I just don’t know if they have done a lot for the sport as a whole. If you look closely at events which include top pros and age groupers together, they have been huge for the growth of the sport.
ST: Are there more factors in the equation? Are beautiful challenging courses a decisive factor in creating buzz and increasing popularity?
Mark: Look at 70.3 Worlds in Clearwater. It was a lousy venue for that event but it launched a worldwide Ironman 70.3 series to become a huge deal. It is hard to say what would happen if top pros were not involved in it. I don’t know if there are any rare individual races which have certain ambiance that are great if the pros are few and far between. Both things make the sport grow
ST: What do you think would be the key to raising the sport of triathlon to a new level?
Mark: I think if one thing missing to really catapult triathlon sport to another level would be having real prize money throughout the sport. If you turn on the TV and watch the French Open tennis or the Masters golf tournament -- whether you are into it or not you know this is a top level sport. Part of it is getting the athletes paid a good deal of money for their efforts. Until race directors and sponsors raise the bar and compensate the pros financially for something close to what the athlete is worth, triathlon will never be perceived on par with those types of events.
ST: How good are triathletes compared to the World class cyclists, runners, and swimmers? To golfers and tennis players? Some critics say the sport is for mediocre generalists?
Mark: When you understand that the sport is about combining all three on a single day, I think the level of performance of triathletes is on par with the best of any sport. I was just at the Ironman 70.3 race Pucon, Chile and saw Daniel Fontana and Reinaldo Colucci duke it out in butt ass cold rain and hail. They were flying. I have never seen conditions like that in triathlon. For many of the athletes, it was the hardest thing they had ever done. The day after, the athletes were all telling stories about how epic it was. At the time they hated it but now it was the best story watching two guys and it made you wonder, ‘Geez, how do they go so fast?’
ST: While the race directors are struggling to make a living and offer what the market demands, it does call to mind the Joanie Mitchell song about the great street musician who “played real good for free.”
Mark: When I was looking at the pros in Pucon, I wondered, ‘Just what are these guys making? Now what was that worth?’ Big prize money across the board is the main thing missing from the sport. Certainly people can make lot of money at 70.3 if they win a lot of races. If they win the Ironman World championship it is worth $110,000 plus some small bonuses. That is nothing to sneeze at. But the level of that performance, compared with other sports, is a $10 million effort. But he or she gets a fraction what that effort took to produce in talent, courage and hard work.
ST: Would more people making real money make the sport grow in importance and make everyone more money?
Mark: I think so. But you would probably find not many people agree with me along those lines. Most race directors look at what they will spend this year and what they will make this year. But given the dynamics of television and media coverage, it is hard to get big time sponsors asking for $20,000 prize money for your event. It is easier to ask for $2 million. That is a different mindset and a different framework for prize money. Most people go, ‘OK, this is all we can afford.’ However, if your prize purse is $5 million and the winner gets a million dollars, all of a sudden there is a sport where people sit up and take notice. People can relate to that. Who doesn’t want to earn a million bucks? I think that would raise the level of everything.
ST: What about surfing? Surf related products and fashions are a multi billion dollar industry and that business is driven by the enthusiasm of millions of amateur surfers and wannabes?
Mark: Surfing has raised the level although they do not offer much prize money. But sponsorships are huge. Why? Quicksilver is in Nordstrom. I do not think Zoot, as fine a company as it is and as attractive and well made as their products are, I do not believe Zoot is in Nordstrom. While they and many other triathlon-oriented sportswear brands may eventually rise to that level in the marketplace – triathlon has not yet at that level of mass market awareness and popularity.
ST: Surveys have indicated that the US triathletes are a prize demographic with high incomes which often quite outmatch even the most successful professionals. Perhaps this is one reason that professional triathletes are undervalued? Is this true around the world?
Mark The people who participate in triathlon are different in different countries. In some places the average triathlete is more a working man, which I believe is true in Australia. In Latin America, it’s the more the top notch CEO you see on start line. And obviously that is true here, too.
Mark: More competition within the races is it is great. If Ironman is the only show in town, it is easy to call the shots about what prize purse should be. It’s similar to racing. If you know if there is only one pro, one guy who wins every race – it is not likely that the race directors and promoters will raise the stakes.
The Chilean surprise
Speaking of raising triathlon’s public awareness and impact to a new level, Allen had an interesting opportunity arise when he traveled to Pucon that had nothing to do with prize money. Something about an invitation from the First Lady of Chile to help launch a national fitness campaign.
ST: How did this thing happen?
Mark: I went to Chile to make appearances at a workshop with triathletes in Pucon, talk to the general public about health and fitness in Santiago and finally take part at a symposium for coaches and athletes at the National Olympic Training Center. On the Thursday before the Pucon race, the Chilean national census came out with a disturbing report that the nation was falling into disastrously bad health habits. Soon thereafter I got a call asking if I could come to Santiago after the race and meet with Chile’s First Lady and Minister of Health at Chile’s equivalent of our White House. Somehow they found out that I had written a book with Brant Secunda -- Fit Soul, Fit Body: 9 Keys to a Healthier, Happier You – and they must have thought ‘Here is a guy who can tell us how to combat health issues facing Chile.’
ST: How did things develop?
Mark: They were not 100 percent sure until 3 PM Monday I would actually meet with the President and First Lady. At that point, the guy who set it up for me said ‘You will need a suit.’ We raced to a shop and grabbed a suit which needed to be taken in. They said I don’t think we can get it done by tomorrow. So the guy calls up his mother and asks her to find some old gals who could do a suit. Five minutes later, we were driving halfway across Santiago to find two old gals sitting behind sewing machines. They got the suit dialed in and sewed up. By 12:40 the next afternoon, we were off to see the First Lady.
ST: According a story in a Chilean newspaper, that census showed that “two out of three Chileans are overweight, one in four is obese, and there are enough morbidly obese Chileans to fill four national [soccer] stadiums. The census also revealed that 1.2 million of a total population of 17 million has diabetes. What did they want you to do?
Mark: I ended up in a private one hour meeting with the First Lady of Chile Cecilia Morel. She does something like what First Lady Michelle Obama does with her “Let’s Move” campaign here in the US. She and Health Minister Jaime Manalich were planning to launch a national health initiative February 1st. and they asked me to speak to a national press conference January 18. The Minister of Health, who runs the biggest hospital in Santiago, knows what bad health habits costs the nation down the road. So he said “Do you have any ideas -- four or five things – that our citizens could do to get started to change things?” I told them ‘If I can help out you guys with this issue, let’s do something.’
ST: What happened next?
Mark: After the meeting, we went to the second floor of the Palace de la Moneda, which is where all the real stuff happens. We went into a big room and while we were standing there this massive group of TV and radio guys with cameras raced up the stairs. It was a herd of 50 or 60 media people. I asked ‘Who were they there for?’ They told me “They are here for you!’ I thought ‘OK. Right on.’ The First Lady Cecilia Morel spoke a few words about the national health campaign. Then I said a few words and then the President went into more detail about it all. It was totally wild and really cool that they recognized me and the message Brant Secunda and I have been trying to out there. Not to talk simply about how to train and race triathlons, but reaching out to a
ST: What was your plan?
Mark: I suggested a call to each and every person in Chile to commit to what I called the 30-30-30 challenge. One key element t make it accessible to everyone was that it was simple and absolutely free to participate in. Every day for a 30-day period citizens of Chile should make a commitment to engage in physical activity, cut back on the intake of bread to one piece at each meal, and get to sleep 30-minutes earlier.
ST: Why these three goals?
Mark: Physical activity- whether it is working out in a gym, jogging, walking outside, gardening, swimming, dancing, riding a bike or hiking in a park- physical activity has so many positive benefits to a person's physical body and to their emotions. Thirty minutes per day of activity can help you lose weight, combat depression, bring a sense of well-being, reduce stress and help you sleep better at night.
ST: Why target bread?
Mark Chileans eat an average of X grams of bread per day. By cutting back on your intake of bread in each meal you will naturally eat more foods that promote good health like fruits, vegetables, and good quality protein. You will also find that you eat less between meals, have more energy throughout the day, and because you will lose weight you will experience less joint pain, better concentration and more even moods.
ST: Why more sleep?
Mark: A lack of sleep makes having good health very difficult. It causes you to overeat, to put on fat especially around the belly, to eat more carbohydrates than is healthy, and can lead to depression, low energy and poor concentration at work. By getting even 30-minutes more each night for 30 days you will see a dramatic improvement in all these areas.
ST: By the time this thing kicks off February 1, you were long gone. Who will inspire the people?
Mark: I suggested that the Health Minister and other famous Chileans take part and signal the beginning of the national campaign with a 30-minute walk that begins at the palace.
