Where does the 6 million + $ go that is raised by the 2010 Chicago marathon?

Most of it goes to putting the race on. The extra police don't work for free. EMTs don't work for free. Timing isn't free. Set-up and clean-up aren't free. Marketing, registration, website, paid employees etc, etc.

much is spent organizing the race, setting it up, blocking off all the streets (the city probably charges mad coin for that), providing things like shirts and a medal for every hobbyjogger who runs, jogs, marches, powerwalks, or crawls all 26.2 miles, advertising for the race

I forget if it was last year or two years ago, but Mary W of the NYRR stated that the entry fee for the NYC Marathon, although the highest in the country, doesn't cover all of the costs of putting on the race.

I'm sure Chicago is in the same situation.

Every leech in the city wants a piece of the action.

You should volunteer to work on the race committee of a local race. You will learn something.

Most of it goes straight to Obama's political coffers.

lets say that 1 million goes toward prize money. The left over 5 million is enough to pay 166 police officers a yearly wage at $30,000. I'm sure someone is pocketing a lot of cash here.

hopefully to the people who really deserve it appearance fees for the elite athletes.

I'm sure that's where sponsorships come into play.

How is it that a concert promoter can get a few thousand screaming Lady Gaga fans into a concert, pay for the venue, Miss Gaga, traffic control, etc. and do it all without unpaid volunteers? Correct me if I'm wrong, but a ticket to see Lady Gaga is on average much less than $135.

Don't they have to pay the city of Chicago to basically rent out the streets for a day? Thats got to be a significant expense.

Why is it not ok for people who put on a race to make a profit? It is hard work putting on a race and I'm fine with them making some money as a result. I personally would never pay $135 to run a marathon but if that is what the market bears, then so be it. If you don't like the price, then do what I do, don't run it.

A concert takes place in an arena; a race takes over much of a city.

'Why is it not ok for people who put on a race to make a profit?'

If they report where the money is going then that's ok.

$135 to run, just goes to show, there a lot of idiots around!

I remember a story about a boxer watching a bout but not competing. Someone was injured so the manager came up to him and says "put that burger down your on in 10." The boxer say "give me $12 dollars now" The manager tells him not to worry as he will get his purse at the end of the night to which the boxer exlaims "I want $12 now, I sure ain't paying to watch myself fight!"

ukathleticscoach wrote:

'Why is it not ok for people who put on a race to make a profit?'

If they report where the money is going then that's ok.

$135 to run, just goes to show, there a lot of idiots around!

I remember a story about a boxer watching a bout but not competing. Someone was injured so the manager came up to him and says "put that burger down your on in 10." The boxer say "give me $12 dollars now" The manager tells him not to worry as he will get his purse at the end of the night to which the boxer exlaims "I want $12 now, I sure ain't paying to watch myself fight!"

LOL!

What Else wrote:

I'm sure that's where sponsorships come into play.

+1

How many full time staff does the Chicago Marathon have?

If it is like TNT over 50% goes to overhead of getting these people to the races, feeding them, making them feel superior to the other runners, etc. Oh, but 75% of every dollar raised goes to research. Right.

The athletes get paid.