A growing sport
Dressed down, in a faded navy t-shirt and cargo shorts, Struzzieri joined the volunteers assigned to provide athletes with refreshments along the course.
“Normally we put these bins out the night before,” said Struzzieri, as he quickly loaded containers onto the trailer of a beat-up SUV with Florida plates. “But here the bears will take our food.” Most of the snacks provided to the athletes during the race contain a high degree of sugar.
Saugerties’ most famous businessman has been running big events since 1977. When he decided to expand the HITS empire into triathlon management last year, Struzzieri was going against the conventional wisdom that triathlons, long the domain of a small and dedicated group of endurance nuts, weren’t a good money-making venture.
But Struzzieri thinks the sport’s appeal is growing. He had many friends and acquaintances who were involved in the sport, and through them he came to see it as the elitist antidote to the obesity epidemic. Competing in triathlons is not just something you do casually; it comes to define you in almost every possible way. So on the money side, that intense affiliation creates almost endless marketing opportunities. For example, in October, there will be a week-long triathlon camp at Diamond Mills Hotel & Tavern, the 30-room luxury property owned by Struzzieri that opened last year. The full program packages include accommodation at the hotel, meals, and personalized instruction. It’s $3,000 for two people, with alternative training programs available for non-triathlon level guests.
‘We’re on our way to a world-class event here’
Hal Cooper, head mechanic at the Bicycle Rack in New Paltz, said that although it may take a while for the momentum to build, he anticipates that the HITS Hunter Triathlon will become the premiere go-to race in June. His boss, store owner Mike Kilmer, knows Struzzieri very well, Cooper said.
“Tom was Mike’s assistant coach in their sons’ soccer league a few years ago. At the time, Mike had no idea who Tom was,” said Cooper. “Mike’s out on the course right now digging gravel out of somebody’s back. We’re here to volunteer as tech support to the cyclists, it’s really good exposure for us.”
“I think we’re on our way to a world-class event here,” said Cooper. “It’s very scenic, and the production values are so high.”
John McGovern, 48, owner of Catskill Mountain Multisport in Hurley, was on hand as well, playing the bagpipes. His employees were following the bikers in a van.
“The music tends to jazz the racers,” said McGovern, a veteran competitor himself.
McGovern describes the series as “very athlete-friendly, with a grassroots feel.” He said he knew many of the participants as customers already. For these athletes, running shoes need to be replaced every two or three months, and they also buy lots of sports nutrition products. Catskill Mountain Multisport sells Hammer Nutrition, one of the event’s corporate sponsors. But the HITS races aren’t overwhelmingly corporate; at least not yet, he said.
“We stage an annual race in New Paltz that’s just running and biking,” said McGovern. “But I don’t know how you make real money with this. What I do know is that if you want to improve, you run with the runners, you swim with the swimmers, and you bike with the bikers. The 800-pound gorilla in triathlon is WTC, the World Triathlon Corporation, which has a habit of staging the same race in the same area as any start-ups, to wipe them out.”
On Saturday night, McGovern enjoyed a “phenomenal” dinner at Diamond Mills Tavern, together with a group of extremely athletic friends who were observing the Hunter race but not participating for a variety of reasons, including cost. But Woodstock resident Henry Collins, a fellow member of the Hudson Valley Triathlon Club, lost a wager after drinking “a considerable amount of Ommegang Hennepin beer,” said McGovern. “He’s out here today, honoring his bet.”
