Are you more likely to run a road race if there is a cash prize?

Yes. There is a local race that has a small cash prize. I got $75 for 3rd place for running a 1:19 half. The winner ran like 1:13 and got $150. I realize I would never get $ in any other race.

I don't see a big gain though from offering a small cash prize. You will get a small group of good young runners but the majority of participants are the 25-30 min 5k people.

You need a gimmick, not a prize.

I hear you, but my main concern with the race is that if it is too slow, it'll eventually fall out of favor. The race can grow by about another 30%, but after that it would probably be too big. My thing is that we have a good amount of the joggers, but little support from the local racers. The course isn't an issue: it's a great course. I just think it's looked upon as a non-competitive race.

Thanks for your response. Keep lowering that Half time and take home the $150 next year!!!

It's the only reason to run a road race, what's the point of racing if there isn't any money on the line

You could add cash prizes for top finishers, as long as theybare they are under a certain time? As long as its reasonable, just so u don't get 23 minute victories

As well as small prizes for liking the page of your race ( granted you've already made one ) on Facebook, or for gettin new friends of theirs to run, etc,

I've often wondered whether a race is likely to be more popular, all things being equal of course, if there are a handful of competitive racers at the front. In other words, when RDs throw out a couple hundred bucks of prize money that will probably be taken by someone running 15:30, are they doing it just out of a sense of obligation? Do they feel like a race isn't a race if there isn't a little something on the line? Or do they actually think that it's a smart investment in purely financial terms?

Less likely. The full time talented 31:00 10km racers show up and 37:00 no longer wins...

The slower runners no longer win age groups and stop showing up too.

New Waterfall wrote:

There is a great race in town that has ~2,000 runners each year. No prize money. Winning times are typically slower than what you'd expect.

I'm lobbying to add some prize money to attract more of the local runners. Do you guys think that will help? Nothing major. Maybe $500 for winner and so on...

I would love to hear others' theories on this tactic.

Thank you.

Having been on a few race committees here are my thoughts.

1) A few people might be turned away and you might get a few people who would not have come. The people not showing up are the people who might win their age groups but with money available they know a faster runner(s) will come. So it could be a wash.

2) Do the added entries cover the cost of prize money? Let's say you have a $1000 pot for a race charging $20. You need 50 additional runners to cover that. (I am ignoring the small incremental cost of the additional 50 runners).

3) The vast majority of runners are not going to care. These days a lot want some sort of gimmick or cool, unique experience. I think those of us who want a certified course with accurate timing are shrinking.

These responses are all so helpful. Thank you guys for taking the time to respond. A lot of good things to think about, here. I hate the word "gimmick," but I think you are on to something.

Basically, we want this to continue to be a solid race in the years to come; we don't want to lose the "runners" to other area races that might be more competitive. At the same time, we don't want to alienate the base.

This is not a for profit race. It is for a local non profit and the race covers a lot of the year's budget (youth sports, education programs, etc.). We could afford to offer cash prizes, but want to make sure it will actually help (and not hurt) the race.

Thanks again. Sometimes I love this website.