So I am having a conversation a few weeks back with the director of the local running club.
When I mention I won't run the Rock N Roll 1/2 Marathon in Virginia Beach just due to the ridiculous cost of it, he tells me a story about how Elite Racing/Competitor the last couple of years has come to him wondering why attendance numbers are down.
He went on to say mention how he and the club view it as multiple things. Price, weather (early September), but the main thing being that when they first came to VB (10 years ago), this race was one of FIVE Elite/Competitor held around the country. It WAS a destination race and event. Now they have something like 25 races throughout the US, all times of year, in great locations.
He said Elite/Competitor refused to acknowledge that and basically said the local running club wasn't doing enough to promote the event. His mentality now is that they aren't marketing to the hard core runners but your weekend warriors who do this as their one "race" a year.