$1,000 for a 20:12 5k!! wtf??

So that you guys can all stop wondering about how someone THAT SLOW won THAT MUCH MONEY, let me clarify, as I am the girl who won the money.

A. I did run in college, but I graduated and am therefore eligible to win anything I damn well please. Furthermore, I went to Geneseo, which is not "some DIII school," but rather the 2005 DIII XC National Champs. It was my first race since graduating, on no training whatsoever, and I'm pretty pleased with how it went.

B. It was the first year charity race for my high school, so why wouldn't I run it? Not many people were running it and I thought my chances were pretty good. Clearly, I was right.

C. Yes, a high schooler beat me. I, however, have enough self esteem to not care. She's a great local runner, she couldn't take the money, I could.

D. You all know that if you were in the same situation, you wouldn't be complaining about the money, you'd be thinking, "Sweeeeeet, I didn't even have to run fast and I'm rich!"

Enough said.

In 2003, I ran the "Tour de Pain" in Jacksonville, FL. Three races in twenty-four hours. The series started with a 4 mile beach run on a Friday evening, then a 1 mile road race on Saturday morning and finished with a 5k road race on Saturday evening. The event was advertised with cash prizes for top 3 overall M and F. There was no Masters cash prizes. I finished 4th overall and was the first Master. The overall winner had just graduated HS and declined the cash in order to preserve NCAA eligibility. Ok, I thought to myself, wow, I'm getting moved up to the 3rd overall cash prize position.

Did I win 3rd place money? Nooooooo!

The race organizers said the top 3 overall winners were the only ones who could win cash. There was "no move up". In other words, the 2nd and third place winners got 2nd and third place money. No first place money was awarded. Despite my complaints, it was no use. I never got the cash prize. I thought the race organizers were being cheap bastards and I never ran that race again.

15 deep and 10 deep for prize money when the race drops off so much??? and it's $100 for everyone 4th and lower?! with so few people even in the race, how are they even making money off this thing? this is insane

sorry, 5th and lower...not much of a difference...

Furthermore, I never ran a race in Jacksonville that was being managed by the same folks who managed the Tour de Pain. To this day, it still pisses me off.

to "that girl"

That's great for you that you got that money. We're all happy for you. I think everyone is just curious though, how can the race afford to dish out so much money when there are so few entered in the race, and the goal of the race was to raise money for charity? Did the race loose money?

Not sure, actually--I know it was VERY well backed/sponsored and all the race entry $$ went to the schools... I assume that the donations and sponsored money went towards race prizes. I was thoroughly impressed with the whole race setup, and I know that it was all for the good of the schools.

Y'all should come run it next year, maybe win yourself some money.

I was there, I ran the half. I gotta believe the race organizers are taking a loss this year, or a really slim profit margin. There was an asterisk on the application, inferring that prize money was subject to participation levels. The way they made it sound after the race, the 'checks are in the mail' and we'll be getting the full amounts. I am aware that only 100 people ran the HM and 200 ran the 5k, and the money collected from entries looks like it covers the full prize structure. Still, it was a great event, especially for the inaugural year.

What you guys are not seeing is the other part of the event; the online donations from the 'Angel Runners' (people who donated but did not race). Nearly all of the labor was volunteer and like any typical road race, much of the food and other amenities were donated. So even if the entry fees barely covered the prize money, the event as a whole made some money. I think they were aware that their participation goals were extremely ambitious (25,000?!), but hey, there is plenty of room to grow.

Ha, I would hope that you thought so; $3,000/hour has a way of swaying one's opinion to the affirmative. That being said it is hard to imagine that the race directors expected 25k and got 300. Ooops, turns out it's not easy to draw the masses with prize money.Your specific needs aside, it would appear that the money would have been better spent on Deano, The Penguin, et al...

That Girl wrote:

I was thoroughly impressed with the whole race setup,

Word on the street is the half marathon results are 4 minutes slow?

Pretty quick times for Heath and Molz and Joslyn in that case! We should have sent Heath to Birmingham instead of Bauhs!

$2000 for over 67 mins in a half marathon wow I live in the wrong country. I really don't understand why the organisers would pay so much prize money and not make more of an effort to advertise it and attract a top class field. Over 20 mins for a 5k... $1000 that is just ludicrous but if you were 'that girl' yes you would be loving it!

I did earlier and they were deleted...

http://www.flotrack.org/members/sparklee

yikes, I stand corrected.

DIII pride is annoying wrote:

1. No one was wondering about "that slow girl" or even laughing at your expense, now we are. We were simply having an adult discussion about how rare it is that one would win so much money with 5k time over 20min. We were talking economics about a charity race. Are you disagreeing that a 20:12 5k doesn't warrant $1,000 or even $500? Did a 20:12 5k bring anything to the race?

The race offered a grand for the first eligible person who crossed the line. It's irrelevant as to what 'deserves' to win the money. Does running at any speed 'deserve' any amount of wedge at all?

Funny stuff about the 'adult conversation' though. All I really saw was immature tears and whining about a 'slow person' winning a nice prize and how they can faster but got nothing, boo hoo.

Yes, running a certain speed versus a slower speed can deserve more. The better a performace is, the more money a race or sporting event can TYPICALLY earn. The Boston Marathon can generate more revenue than the Bread run because of its tradition. They didn't get their reputation by having 20min 5k runners toe the front line, they have world class runners and a 115 year history (due to world class athletes)

The girl who got the money deserves the money, and those who are ripping her after her post are pathetic individuals.

While the race might not have made a profit off of entry fees, i bet you if they do the same thing next year their numbers will more than double. It sounds like they've made a good impression on everyone who ran, and are giving out a good sum....USATF should be ashamed that a race with 200 people paid out as much as some of theirs used to! If this race gets smart on how to get word out, and does the same thing again, they will easily get a few thousand runners at least.

You are a sh1thead. Hope you got a good nut by putting down someone that doesn't deserve to be put down.

I got $100 for winning a 5K in 17:44 the other week and felt somewhat ridiculous.

I guess she was lucky enough to have no one show up. I would be happy if I were her. It happens more often on the girls side than guys. There are always some guys out there ready to roll and their races are usually pretty deep. I have run 14:30's-14:40's on the roads (i'm a guy) and have won nothing in even the smallest races. The most I have ever won in a race is $400 for a low 14:40 race, the slowest I have ever run and won something - 15:30 and it was only $100.