Bump it back up!!!!!!!
Bump it back up!!!!!!!
If you can't see how Galloway and his adverts are responsible for rising race entry fees, you're blind as a bat and/or deceived by the great liar Galloway himself!
the nyrrc is for all intents a monopoly on the local scene, but there is the odd race in cp that is not on of theirs, and back in Sept. there was a race in harlem not affiliated with the nyrrc. but the course was long by a quarter mile.
Central Park is increasingly being run as a profit center. The Conservancy, the nypd and the parks dept. are all interested in at the least recouping their costs for supporting and facilitating nyrrc races. This seems fair.
The problem, though, is the nyrrc has been too successful in attracting "runners" for their races. They get 3 or 4 *thousand* people for a 5K - or a 4miler, the flavor du jour in ny racing lately - so the costs and logistics of staging these races is going up and up.
And the ironic - or predictable - result of all this is that race quality and elite times are getting worse. They have screwed up several races this year, including both the Manhattan and Staten Island halfs. It's embarrassing.
I am increasingly of the mind that serious racers need to stop participating in events that are overpriced and underraced. I'm tired of getting gallowwacked everytime I show up for a race in central park. Like someone posted earlier, why not just have friend of a friend of a friend word of mouth races - guys just show up at the appointed time and place and run a race over a known distance and the winner gets all the guinness he can drink by 6pm.
Let's apply the Fight Club model to running and f*** all these penguins.
bump
There is one reason why race fees keep going up: people keep paying them. Race directors are naturally going to charge the most they think they can get away with...just like any other business.
If ALL runners were to shun the expensive races and stick to the smaller, bare bones cheap races, the expensive ones would have two choices: lower their prices or cease to exist. If you don't like the expensive races, vote with your wallet and don't go to them.
good point.
we put on a cross country series here in binghamton.
two dollars per race.
top three men/women get their name in the paper the next day.
fresh pond was my inspiration.
keep it simple, you'll like the folks who show up.
GP wrote:
Is it just me, or are road races getting exponentially more expensive, much more than the rate of inflation? Some 5Ks in my area are now charging $25. One half marathon charged $45! It seems that the days of the $10 race are gone. Some smaller club races are still in that range...therefore these are the races I often frequent.
It may come as no surprise that I blame the Galloway/Penguin effect for rising race costs. In a time not all that long ago, all we runners wanted was an accurate course, some water at the finish, and a little trophy to the winner. Now, a race has to have custom made t-shirts, bands along the course, a gormet meal at the finish line, finishers medals, a post race party, timing chips, goody bags, ect. ect. When races became parties, they started charging us all more to pay for it. A race now has to be an "event."
Let's bring back racing and save the parties for Saturday night.
Ha! I remember when those prices were expensive. Today, a $45 half marathon is a bargain!