The Chicago Rock and Roll Half Marathon costs how much!!

I paid $61.00.

Denver RnR has the same prices. Worse, they didn't even publish the courses before the fees went to the high prices (it's the inaugural year). Worse again, the now-published marathon course must have about 60 turns in it. That race will be a real meat grinder. Paying over $100 to run a crummy urban course, in the first year, at altitude...no thanks! But, nobody is making anybody pay these prices. The amazing thing is that these bad races fill up.

It is not amazing. We on letsrun are the extreme minority associated with road racing.

We are planning the 666 Energy Marathon From Hell (optional half) in the summer of 2012. It will be fun, and the entry fee will be minimal. You will most likely not set a PR but you will have fun. Plus you will get a free Energy Drink.

Stay tuned.

Extreme minority: true.

And the extreme majority is what keeps the money going so that Nike, Asics, Brooks, etc ... can put money into sponsoring athletes .. so believe it or not ... while the extreme minority of 'serious' runners out there like to ridicule those who are not serious, slow, run RnR races, etc ... they are the ones enabling the US to have as much of a return to the world stage as the US is having.

Lighten up.

Make the choice to not run it.

Competitor group really does not care. They know they will reach their goal minimums based on their strategy, and you are not a part of their strategy.

They are happy to have you along, but you are not who they are putting the events on for. You have the races you need.

Get over it.

They jacked up the prices on the Rock n Roll events this year and they're forcing you to register through Active.com, that's another 7 bucks on top of exorbitant registration fees.

San Diego's half is $125 if you don't sign up more than 4 months in advance. The full is even more insane.. $130 until 2/1 and $160 2/1-6/5. The race isn't Boston or New York, and the city bitches about the road closures!

Las Vegas is $145 for the half. I ran it before it was a Rock n Roll event. Rock n Roll isn't bringing these events to the cities, they're mostly buying up existing races and then jacking up the prices. The brand name just isn't worth it for me.

I'm done with Rock n Roll races until the prices come back down. There's plenty of halfs I can do for $75 bucks or less.

Yeah I have done the Philly Distance Run in the past. I will not register again now that it is officially the Rock N Roll Philadelphia Half Marathon. The cost is ridiculous and really not worth it. It's like oh maybe you will get an age group prize, but really it is just a bunch of junk they give you. I may still do it. Just the best way, BANDIT. People need to BANDIT all the rock n roll races. DAMN THE MAN. SAVE THE EMPIRE

this must apply mostly to the big city areas, for example if you go to southern or central Illinois (or Indiana) you can find many races for a under $35 dollors to include nice awards, food, and sometimes free beer. I remember someone telling me big city people don't mine paying to much for things....for example if I buy nice gun that is worth $1000 I could easily sell it for $1500 in chicago.

Wow - this thread is crazy. Races in Britain are way cheaper. I've never paid more than 30 pounds for a race, including London marathon. Most races in Britain are around 15 pounds.

billruns13 wrote:

I live in Chicago, and I was planning to do the rock and roll half until I saw the price $110.00!! Last year, it was $85.00, and I thought that was pricey. So, I'm officially protesting the 2010 Rock and roll Half marathon on August 1st. $110.00 for a HALF marathon! That's twice the price of most half marathons!

Cost for the Wisconsin FULL Marathon: $70. Cost for the Chicago FULL Marathon $135. What is Eric Clapton playing? U2? Nope, some lousy local bands you've never heard off. There's a recession on!! Save your Money, do other races in the area. You know it will never live up to the price.

Yeah, I am somewhat sorry to say that I HATE the RnR organization. They put a TWO-Page ad in VeloNews every month about the RnR Tri-Series .... swim 500m, bike 20k, run 5k ... PARTY like a ROCK-Star!

Woo-Wee! The first tri I ever did was as a 15-yr-old freshman and it was just that long except we had a MUCH longer swim leg and it was in a pool because this was in high school.

F*** them for taking out an ad that costs THOUSANDS each month to attract the douchebags that need to "party like a rock star!" F*** them. That is what that money is going to ... that and lining the organization's pockets.

If I were these organizers I would charge every last cent I thought I could get. Why? Because these morons are dumb enough to pay it.

As for me, I'm cheap as they get and rarely race at all due to the cost. I can find good free trails to run on in any direction from where I live. F paying through the nose to run on some asphalt somewhere with a bunch of clowns.

indeed.

i run 1 or 2 races a year. my presence is not missed. it matters to no one if i go or not. nobody cares. i use the $ i save to do something fun with my family like bowling or seeing a movie. we all win.

if i want to test my fitness i run a time trial on a marked path. for free.

F them. RnR, RAM, and TnT, etc - all of their ilk stole the sport. use twitter or a phone or a message board to get a group together and do your own race. who would stop you?

Not really surprised by the emotions/opinions displayed on this thread and I tend to agree with most of the points that have been made about the 'RnR' series. But come on guys how much do you get paid- have you been working at a McDonalds your entire lives? $100-180, while pricey, is not that much to spend for a race that you run maybe 2-3 times/year.

Ralphy wrote:

Not really surprised by the emotions/opinions displayed on this thread and I tend to agree with most of the points that have been made about the 'RnR' series. But come on guys how much do you get paid- have you been working at a McDonalds your entire lives? $100-180, while pricey, is not that much to spend for a race that you run maybe 2-3 times/year.

For me, it's all about value. I have a local half marathon that costs $50. On the same day, a Rock and Roll event (within easy driving distance) costs $100 (it was $85 until yesterday...and the race isn't for two months). Aside from slightly better competition, what is the RnR event giving me for the extra $50? Here's their list:

Flat, fast and Scenic course (So is the local race)

Live music every mile (Not a priority for me)

Spirited Cheer Squads (Not a priority for me)

Perfect Fall Running Weather (Same at local race)

Finish Line Festival (Not a priority for me)

Free Admission to Post Race Concert featuring BLUES TRAVELER (Would be cool in 1996)

Participant Brooks Tech T-shirt (NB Tech Tee at other race)

Commemorative Finisher’s Medal (Not a priority for me)

Utmost convenience: start, finish, and expo all within blocks of downtown hotels (Not a priority for me)

A free MGD64 beer at the finish line to all participants over the age of 21! (Crap beer)

Official Finishers Certificate (Not a priority for me)

So really, they're not giving me anything that's worth an extra $50. If I'm at the store and see two cartons of milk, both the same product, but one costs more, I'm not going to buy the more expensive one just because I can afford it. I realize some people don't have the luxury of non-RnR events, and some actually like the things they get for a ridiculous $100 entry fee, but it's not for me.

I don't work at McDonalds but I used to run 10+ races a year.

This year I've run 1 and am registered for Chicago this fall.

There is no f***ing way I'm paying 50 bucks for a 5k and 100 for a half and close to a grand a year on races. It's principal not the cash.

Organizers are more concerned with making it an "event" than a race for all the 5 hour marathon types.

They are obviously selling out, but they lost me.

Vern's no-frills 5k sounds wonderful.

here is a blurb about Vern

http://www.georgetownrunningclub.org/?page_id=979

Support these small races and have more fun.

ditto for All-comers meets, fund raisers for high school teams etc.

and thank the volunteers afterwards.

grass roots, not corporate running.

Angry San Diegan wrote:

They jacked up the prices on the Rock n Roll events this year and they're forcing you to register through Active.com, that's another 7 bucks on top of exorbitant registration fees.

Someone who knows this poster should call the police. It appears someone from the race is holding a gun to his/her head.

Point: no one is forcing you to do anything in this regard. If you choose to run the race, you follow their method for registration.

People need to recall the difference between "force" and "choice".

I have the cash to enter some of these races, but I don't like the feeling of getting a bad deal. Longer road races such as marathons where runners need aid stations and potentially other assistance are worth something, it's the "how much" that I question. $50 yes. $100 or even 150-200 no. $200 for a run is laughable really.

I run a business and I could charge my customers more, but I don't feel right about it...I feel I charge a fair price that represents good value. In my opinion, these RnR races are very overpriced...as are other races that put on less than awesome races.

Try registering for one of the RNR series and then get injured close to race day. FYI, plan on eating your registration fee. I wasn't expecting a refund. Instead I asked for a deferral to the following year's event. Thanks, San Diego, for being a bunch of d-bags.

Btw, if you haven't sworn off RNR events and just have to run their races, you should try doing a google search for race coupons. You can usually find a code somewhere online that will be good for $10 off.

Also, add active.com to the list of bloodsuckers. Nothing like paying $100 for a race and then an additional $10 or so for them to process your registration. It's online, a-holes! Do you really need $10 to dump the data that I typed into a spreadhseet for a bunch of lazy race organizers. Isn't it enough that you inundate the user with a bunch of ads and by default sign the runner up for e-mails and crap they don't want?! Active.com has been on my sh*tlist for a while.