A 100 miler offered $15,000 for 1st last weekend. Where does the money come from & when will the Africans start showing up?

How did Seth do?

Clearly, some sponsors see more value in this race than most see in domestic track. A better question is, “Why can’t track muster more prize money than a lightly attended ultra trail run?”.

It's not 22 miles. He would do terrible

The awards and small print are listed here:

runrabbitrunsteamboat.com

Money and Awards

kenrogers

Open link

Results are here:

ultrasignup.com

2023 Run Rabbit Run 100 Mile Hares - Results

Open link

Race fees:

The entry fee for the Sixteenth Annual Run Rabbit Run 50 is $195 if
you enter before before January 1, 2023, $235 if you enter January 1 or
after but before before July 15, 2023. It’s $290 thereafter.
We we will limit the number of entrants in the 50 miler to 200. We will have a wait list.

The entry fee for the Eleventh Annual Run Rabbit Run 100 is $325 if
you enter before January 1, 2023, $450 if you enter January 1, 2023 or
after but before July 15, 2023. It’s $475 thereafter.
We will limit the number of entrants in the 100 miler to 350 (Tortoises and Hares combined)! We will have a wait list.
A Hare is running for the prize money, without pacers, and must
complete the course in under 30 hours. For more details read our FAQs.

200 50 mile runners x $195 = $39000 (it might be more)

350 100mile runners x $325= $113750 (it might be more)

That's $152,750
Maybe they have enough sponsors to pay for all of the prize money?

Kenyans or Ethiopians are not even trying to compete at the Comrades Marathon in South Africa. A race which would be way more suited for a top Marathon runner.
A couple of South African Marathon runners tried a few years ago to run 100 miles on track. They failed miserably.

We (ultrarunners) said it here many times. It's a different skill set. 100 miles is a LOT longer than a Marathon 2+ hours vs 11-12 hours (on track) or 14-18 hours ( on trail) for the top finishers. A lot of problems occur in that longer time frame which never happens in a Marathon. They also would not have the mental capacity to manage a race like this.

And that's the reason why they not show up. Not in Steamboat and not at Comrades Marathon.

The entry fee for the 100 miler is $325 to $475, depending on when one registers.

With about `450 runners registered in the 100 miler, and a conservative estimate of an average of $400 paid per runner, they are taking in $180,000 in 100 mile entry fees alone.

Plus they get entry fees from the 50 mile runners, and any cash from sponsors.

They pay out a total of $80,000 in prize money. That leaves them with a minimum of $100,000 to put on the race.

That is totally doable.

There is a lot of money to be made directing running races. Trail races are less expensive to direct than urban city races as you do not have to pay for police and road closures.

The question should not be where does the money come from, but why don't more running races have better awards (or lower entry fees)?

You might want to re-read what you wrote about the "mental capacity" of East Africans....

Ultra Race directors make bank. They have to pay $50 for flags to mark the course, diluted electrolyte liquids, and orange slices + m&ms. Then they whine about no refunds. “ We can’t do refunds, we spent it all in the race”. whatever. Race directors are crooks.

And the race directors also expect everyone to work for free for them as "volunteers" while they rake in the money to their personal bank accounts

Run Rabbit has been overing over $10,000 for the winner (and now $15,000) for years.

The race director actually donates a ton of money from the race to charity I believe (and fronts the prize money himself I've heard). He's an awesome guy.

It's too bad it comes right after UTMB and some really big long European Ultras as that generally waters down the elite field quite a bit. However, it's a fairly tough 100 not only because of the high altitude, but the possibility of fairly warm and sunny days combined with sub freezing night(s) during the race. Gear management is really key in this one.

I'm pretty sure that there are a lot of letsruns users that could've easily ran 100 miles at 12 minute pace. It might be time to start training for ultras.

I’ve heard their uteruses fall out if they go beyond 26.2

Why would that be ironic?

Woooooossssssshhhhhhh!!

This race has had large prize money for a long time and is never competitive. If somebody comes over from “east Africa” and wins, it wouldn’t be all that impressive.

You are leaving a large chunk of information out of your reply. 99% of all race directors went out and got the sponsors on their own. They also create the course, mark the course, and yes recruit volunteers. In other words, the RD's stick their necks out. The event can sink or swim, and it all comes back tot he RD. They do the work, and get the reward.

Actually it would be impressive because it would be the first time that this would happen. I am also waiting for all of the 2:10-2:20 US Marathoners showing up there and get all of the prize money. That still has to happen.

Running 10:20 ish miles for a win, how hard could that be?

I wonder what overheads are like for an ultra? My club organises road races and it's an expensive business to pay for road closures, medical support, and timing. We don't even have doping control (I guess ultra races don't have that either). Road closures are the killer; we'd be able to offer decent prize money if we didn't have to pay to close roads