Does Molly Seidel get her appearance fee?

if you have to finish, we should call it a finish fee

She was paid to run well and not to gut out a 2:30. If she continues to have difficulties in running at her previous level, the appearance fees will dry up but it’s likely yesterday was just a bad day for her and she will rebound just fine.

Shades of "Flight of the Concords." After Jermaine Clement spends his entire per diem and his manager tells him that the amount was alloted for the entire weak, he says: "They shouldn't call it a per diem...they should call it a per weekem!"

The appearance fees can vary, along with other restrictions. Some appearance fees are guaranteed but the athlete isn't allowed to run any other marathon within a certain time period after the race (so that they don't drop out and save themselves for a different race in two weeks as a backup plan). Others are 100% if they run under a modest time standard and 50-75% if they have a bad race.

What I don't like is how the appearance fees have gotten to the point where most people get more money from their appearance fee than the actual prize money. The person who runs the fastest often does not get the most money. It has gotten to the point where a lot of people are getting twice as much appearance fee money or more as they earn from actual prize money. People who have one good race a long time ago milk that appearance fee for years instead of that money going to the overall prize money and letting the current fast people to win it. African runners who typically win the overall race are getting the short end of the stick because they are often offered less prize money because they are a dime a dozen and the coordinators don't want to give them a lot of appearance fee money unless they're a past champion or an olympic medalist.

I wish appearance fees would be done away with and the races should beef up the advertised prize money amounts.

What is wrong with this?

Is that when he had to become a prostitute to make ends meet and he calls all his ex-girlfriends to tell them they owe him $20?

Did you mean less appearance money? I thought prize money amounts were fixed for most races.

I wouldn’t mind seeing a race offer $1million (or some large amount) for some breaking the American record. Same way the Japanese do. See more (American) runners go for broke.

Requiring a finish in order to collect an appearance fee is pretty sickening. Outside of sponsor dollars, marathoners only get to make money when they race, which for most is two fulls a year and maybe a few other lesser 1/2s and other road races. Seidel aggravated a hip injury and would have had to risk a very long and serious injury in order to finish the race. Requiring a finish basically puts runners in a position where they have to risk their professional careers just to secure a paycheck.

Sickening? Talk about hyperbole.

How is this any of your business?

It all depends on what's in the contract for the appearance fee. If the contract requires appearing but not finishing, then that's what it requires. If it requires appearing and finishing, then it requires appearing and finishing. Each company is going to have a slightly different way they set these up and it will likely vary athlete to athlete.

Mostly, they want to draw your attention to the race. Once they accomplished that by having their star line up, they've accomplished that goal.

This is the most true thing ever written on this site. There could be a PhD thesis on this trend and its causes and implications

Seems like a case of showing up is half the battle. All the promo and press is done prior to the race, so she fulfilled her duty. The performance in the race is mere formality. If she DNF's too many times, then no more appearance fees in the future.

Steve Jones

Jones has remained as understated as he was as a competitor. Although self-assured and full of dry humor, he was—and still is—nothing if not earnest and hard-working. (When he had to drop out of the 1983 Chicago Marathon because of an injury, he offered to return his per diem athlete fees to the race director because he didn’t feel as if he’d earned it.)

Yeah, you're only looking at this from the fan's POV. From the professional athletes' POV, it's all about guaranteed money in all sports. Imagine training for months for a marathon, then having a bad race or having bad conditions and ending up with little money for your efforts. Also, the reason races pay appearance is for them to have big names to advertise -- say, Kenenisa Bekele. Remove appearance fees and you remove big name athletes from your race.

Didn't Mo get like $500,000 to run London one year?

Maratons are a business. Who do you think generate more money for the maraton: Galen Rupp and Jakob Ingebrigtsen or Kenyas 20th best maratoner who would be the winner?

Appearance fees are a way to get publicity. You dont want 30 no-names competing for a good time and a prize, you want someone to put on the race poster.