I’d like to host a premier outdoor track event in the Midwest. The vague plan right now is a series of high school, college, and unattached races for 2 hours or so in the evening, leading up to a pro/premier race (likely a full mile) under the lights with a 10k prize. Could I break even on this?
You may have to make it a mixed gender event and declare the fastest to win All.
Or else the never has been and angry about it SJW's may find you if you only give 10k to one man.
$25 an entry minus Direct Athletics or reg service fee = $20 a pop.
Unknown expenses include timer services, and usually meet officials get paid $50/day for their trouble. So you need $10K for men and $10K for women and $2K for sundry expenses.
Can you attract 600 athletes to a fledgling meet with potential competing meets? Sure some top runners will show up for the $19K, but that doesn't account for the multiple heats of average Joes and Janes you'll need to entice.
Answer is maybe...
Race director dreams wrote:
I’d like to host a premier outdoor track event in the Midwest. The vague plan right now is a series of high school, college, and unattached races for 2 hours or so in the evening, leading up to a pro/premier race (likely a full mile) under the lights with a 10k prize. Could I break even on this?
For that kind of money, you may attract pretty high-level people. I wonder if they will expect to be treated in a certain way, given complementary accommodations, etc. I’m not sure how it works. But 10k is a lot for runners.
No. You will lose $15K if you don't have sponsors.
You'll attract a decent amount of ~4:10-ish runners. I raced a road mile in Indianapolis this summer with only $500 for first (with bonuses up to $1250, including the 1st place prize money) and it attracted good talent: 4:07/4:08 was 1st and 2nd, 3rd was 4:19. The winner had actually run a 2:10 marathon the week before.
But the elites you'll attract will be B-tier Kenyans