$171 for a New York Marathon entry

also cheap wrote:

And what is wrong with your local marathon? Think of the cash you'd save.

if he's a "sub-elite" as he says, then your question is stupid.

You're paying appearance money.

Paul Radcliffe alone receives about $200,000 in appearance money.

I can't find the budget for New York but in 2008, the London Marathon paid more than $2,000,000 in appearance money, $50,000 each for an elite PR and a time bonus.

The $156,000 in prize money was a drop in the ocean.

Everyone in NYC is on the take. NYRR has to pay off every city agency imaginable to pull off the marathon. NYC Sanitation even gets a huge lump of money for cleanup, overtime pay, and union bribes.

amazing point wrote:

also cheap wrote:

And what is wrong with your local marathon? Think of the cash you'd save.

if he's a "sub-elite" as he says, then your question is stupid.

If he's worried about paying his own expenses as he says, then he's just another hobby jogger like the rest of us. Run local if you're concerned about costs and not good enough to get others to pay for your running.

I don't consider myself sub-elite, but I am fast enough to qualify for sub-elite status at NY or Chicago. If you want you can call me a hobby jogger. I'm just looking for a marathon where I can maximize my potential. I wasn't expecting any race to pay my entry fee, but I also wasn't planning on paying $171. If I wanted to be a big fish in a small pond than I would run my local marathon, but my goal isn't to win, its to run as fast as I can. I know NY isn't the fastest, but I tend to do better at large marathons where there are other runs to pull me along.

Maybe the US is finally ready for a couple of high caliber marathons to be performed Japanese-style, with low costs to the competitor but rigorous high performance standards.

Japan has it's big three of Fukuoka, Tokyo and Lake Biwa. These are considered "silver label" races by IAAF standards, but are cheap (like 30 USD entry fee) and very prestigious. They pull runners from the field if they don't exceed designated way point splits. These are big media extravaganzas, and very exciting to watch.

Could this happen in the US? Could it happen to an already established race, and survive? And what would it mean for hobby joggers racing faster than 6:00/mile pace, who probably can manage without the frills or the hoopla that costs $171, or $250, or whatever per athlete?

Nope, not a priority for USATF, RRCA, nor anyone else who controls pursestrings great enough to do this. If only RRCA were more powerful. I would LOVE to see a Fukuoka type race in the US.

Turning Japanese wrote:

I would LOVE to see a Fukuoka type race in the US.

Same here. One of the elite clubs (Hansons, Zap, Team USA MN, Team USA Cali) could host it. Put it on a flat, criterium style course (5K-10K loops?) near their location during a time of year with ideal weather. Make it loke Boston used to be, with qualifying standards that are actually meaningful, like 2:40 for open men and 2:55 for open women. Perhaps NYRR could do something like that in CP for a spring marathon.

Are you serious? wrote:Can someone confirm that teh NYRRC actually pays the City money for police support on the day of the Marathon?

I don't know anything about New York first-hand, but I know that every race I've ever been involved with has had to pay for off-duty police presence. The police agree to cover the event, but the event picks up the wages. This applies in small-town 5K races, and in big-city marathons.

I enjoyed watching the OT Marathon in Central Park and would certainly show up to see this style of race locally.

But how big a factor would the entry fee be? Is that extra $141 really the barrier preventing us from holding Fukuoka style races? As has been observed pages ago, the entry fee is the tip of the iceberg for all the non-local athletes after they pay for airfare and lodging.

Are you serious? wrote:

Can someone confirm that teh NYRRC actually pays the City money for police support on the day of the Marathon?

I don't think they do. The event brings around $200 million in to the city. The average marathoner stays 6 days along with friends and family.

nsmb wrote:

I enjoyed watching the OT Marathon in Central Park and would certainly show up to see this style of race locally.

But how big a factor would the entry fee be? Is that extra $141 really the barrier preventing us from holding Fukuoka style races? As has been observed pages ago, the entry fee is the tip of the iceberg for all the non-local athletes after they pay for airfare and lodging.

$141 is the price of a pair of running shoes or a couple of massages. It will cost that much for a pair of decent tickets at the New Yankee Stadium.

Its New York. Its one of the Premier sporting events in the world. I've checked the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and right to run the NYC marathon ain't on there.

Your entire family can be there watching you for free. Over a million spectators will be there cheering you on the whole way (except the South Bronx where they'll be giving you a suspicious glare).

If the entrance fee was $500 there would still be 40,000 people at the start line on the first Sunday of November.

Where do people get off complaining?