The amount of free time required to train for a triathlon also makes it less tractable for someone with a full time job and school-aged children.

Indeed, and not just triathlon training. I'm by no means extreme, I just try to do an hour of exercise per day, but I do look enviously at my peers also in their 40s who don't exercise and so have lots of time every week to do 'fun' stuff.

To the time required for exercise has to be added all the preparing of kit, travelling to pool etc I was up at 05:45 today and have just been able to start breakfast at 07:30. Oftentimes I wonder if it's worth it.

I've had two periods of "intense health" so far. The first was high school through college where I was racing and training year-round. The second was in my mid-late thirties when I had a "full time" job that wasn't terribly busy, and I had kids. I definitely think that the job has a lot to do with it, but geography does too. I move around a lot and can tell you it is much easier to train in San Diego than it is in New Orleans or Norfolk, Virginia. Another key element has been friends to exercise with.

I may be entering a third phase with another job transition which came with a move to a new location with world-class diving opportunities and readily accessible pools with lap lanes, despite working about as many hours as I did at my last job where exercise was next to non-existent simply because of commute time.

Wouldn't this be more true for middle aged though. I certainly had way more time in my 20's.

I guess it depends on your definition of "middle aged". They seem to be talking about people in their late 40s to early 50s who you'd expect to have grown-up (or at least high-school aged) children and a lot more free time, compared with 30-soemthings with small children.

If you want to compete in your local sprint/olympic triathlon, sure. You can get by with that - I even said as much in my post above. But if you want to compete in Ironman events, like the article's subject.. you're looking at 650 and up just for registration fees (with a pay to win lottery system I won't even get into). You will have a lot of trouble in longer distance events without a wetsuit (another 500 bucks). 1500$ will get you an OK entry level aluminum road bike, with low end parts and heavy wheels. Now you need to figure out how to train for the time commitment of the race (12ish hours for a decent amateur). You're looking at around 20 hours a week training. Who has that kind of time? Established adults. Most Ironman events require you to qualify by doing a half ironman in some set time as well. That means travel, more race fees, etc. People who do this devote a large portion of their life - money, time, and emotional energy - into doing it. I've raced bicycles for many years and these circles overlap a bit. I know a lot of triathletes, but I don't know many triathletes on a budget. Bike racers, sure - plenty of broke bike racers out there, kids, stay at home moms, hipsters.. but not in triathlon.

It's not a cheap sport by any stretch.

Wetsuits are $500? Are these special racing wetsuits?

Yes. The cost is somewhat due to construction and somewhat due to limited demand. They need to be pretty thin around the shoulders (1-2mm thickness) and impose zero restriction on stroke movement but reasonably thick around the legs (5mm thickness).

Having said that, for sprints in certain locales at certain times of year the wetsuit is purely optional, because the time gained from the wetsuit in the water is about equal to the time lost removing it in transition. For all longer distances it would be slower to race without one, though.

Over here you can rent one for the summer season for 25€. You will need a 100€ deposit, which is returned to you when you bring the suit back in.

Welded seams, skin tight and flexible joints.

Coming from tri suits I was pleasantly surprised to find surf suits to be cheap.

You don't need a $1500 bike. I've seen people do with $400 bikes, and you might even be able to borrow one.

Seriously, the marathon was originally a race done to copy the feat of an ancient Greek soldier who ran in what, sandals?

Pool or pond membership you have to pay for. Mine is $30/m.

Everything else is fashion or comfort. Like you say, you just need the basics.

Anyone who says this is a rich man's sport clearly doesn't want to do it.

About 1980, there was a "Tank MacNamara" comic strip, in which Tank, the ex-jock sportscaster, goes to a running goods store. The weedy clerk loads him up with training shoes, race shoes, trail shoes, these shorts, those shorts, warmups, etc., and Tank finds himself at the checkout with a pile of stuff and a big bill. His girlfriend says, "And to think the ancient Greeks did it naked." As I recall, Runners World magazine, or maybe it was Running Times, professed that it was not amused by the cartoon.

Greek soldiers didn't exactly wear Tevas, they wore a sort of boot: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buskin

Also worth noting that, as the story goes, the Marathon runner died upon delivering his message.