When did registering for races get so annoying?

zohan wrote:

You guys posting about "the good ol days of $5 races" are missing the entire point of this thread. Races can't cost $5 any more, that's a stupid and ridiculous thing to harp about.

Races can absolutely be $5. Here's a race series in central Maryland:

$2 for non-members, no frills, accurate courses

You don't get a finisher's medal or race photos, but who cares? There are races like this all around the country. Unfortunately, even those in this thread who complain about the cost of race entries rarely do these low-key events.

I too want to return to the days when there were about 2-3 races a year in my area, with poorly marked, guestimated courses, poor, inaccurate timing, and, of course, popsicle stick results.

Good times.

I understand what you're saying, as Broad Street (BSR) has REALLY blown up over the course of 2-3 years. 2011 (25,242) to 2012 (34,068) saw an increase of almost 9,000 runners. That is crazy!!

The 2012 BSR "sold out" in about 2-3 hours, shutting out many runners (including a lot of BSR vets) which necessitated a lottery system. In last year's lottery, 99.9% of people got into the race. This year, close to 5,000 people were not able to get a bib.

For such a huge race (one of the top 10 in the country), it is only about $40 to register. That includes all the non-essential crap like a shirt and goodie bag. Also, considering this race shuts down a main thoroughfare of Philly for half of a Sunday, that's really cheap.

zohan wrote:

You guys posting about "the good ol days of $5 races" are missing the entire point of this thread. Races can't cost $5 any more, that's a stupid and ridiculous thing to harp about.

t.

Dude, that's not what we are saying. We are saying those $5 races should be $15 races or at most $20. Do a forget the t-shirt option and go $12. There are still some races that have these prices and do pretty well.

We are complaining about the same 5k opening registration 10 months before the race and capping the race at some arbitrary number. They then start at $25 until 6 months before when they go to $30. Three months before the race they go to $35. The last month if they aren't sold out they go to $40 and day of race is $50. They then clutter up their whole website about whatever charity they are sponsoring making it VERY easy to donate extra money but virtually IMPOSSIBLE to find results from previous years.

easy to pleasy wrote:

[quote]zohan wrote:

You guys posting about "the good ol days of $5 races" are missing the entire point of this thread. Races can't cost $5 any more, that's a stupid and ridiculous thing to harp about.

t.

Dude, that's not what we are saying. We are saying those $5 races should be $15 races or at most $20. Do a forget the t-shirt option and go $12. There are still some races that have these prices and do pretty well.

We are complaining about the same 5k opening registration 10 months before the race and capping the race at some arbitrary number. They then start at $25 until 6 months before when they go to $30. Three months before the race they go to $35. The last month if they aren't sold out they go to $40 and day of race is $50. They then clutter up their whole website about whatever charity they are sponsoring making it VERY easy to donate extra money but virtually IMPOSSIBLE to find results from previous years.

Having raced in the DC area for years now, this^^ trend described above is very accurate. Races around here are ridiculous. Even 3-5 years ago it wasn't this bad, $50 for a 5K, races filling up in 10 minutes 6 months ahead of time, etc. I have to pick only a small number of races each year that I know will be competitive and worth the money.

I remember when we fussed when the entry fee was more than "A Dollar A Mile". There weren't 5K's and paying more than $5 entry for a 10K or Ten Miler was considered extravagant. I admire capitalism in all it's forms, and as many contributors to this thread have related, the two solutions if we don't like it (banditing or just not showing up) are really the only choices.

This is an interesting thread. Let's be honest about this:(1) Many races will bleed runners for as much as they possibly can and they don't come close to offering a quality product in return for the money. Race directors will justify this by rationalizing the "good cause".(2) Consumer demand elasticity will reduce this practice. Some races are of high value, if runners only purchase racing service from good value races, poor value races will decline.(3) Some expensive event races with all the extra's are worth it. I do at least one event race per year that usually includes both my running buddies and coworkers who really are not runners. Going to a big event including everyone, sharing experiences and fun and the after party is worth it to me.(4) I mostly run good value races with certified courses and electronic timing. If a race charges too much, on principal I don't go.(5) To bandit a race is to steal from all the participants. You can't justify that.

Steve Adkisson wrote:

I remember when we fussed when the entry fee was more than "A Dollar A Mile". There weren't 5K's and paying more than $5 entry for a 10K or Ten Miler was considered extravagant. I admire capitalism in all it's forms, and as many contributors to this thread have related, the two solutions if we don't like it (banditing or just not showing up) are really the only choices.

looking for options wrote:

I've always wanted running to go the cycling route: huge, mass participation events for the novices and semi-serious (like century rides) with small, focused events for those who are competitive (like crits).

I've always wanted to start a low-key Saturday morning race series. I want to set it up like a crit where we take over the parking lot of some office park, map out a loop course, and race. Try to keep the overhead as small as possible.

the athens twilight crit is another quality running event staged within a cycling event. there's a "qualifying" 5k in the morning, where the top 15 men and women are eligible to race a road mile, with prize money, in the evening on the downtown crit course.

i ran it one year and had an awesome time in the mile race in the evening. downtown was packed with college students who were getting drunk in the many bars and spilled out to watch races go by. one guy was trying to hand the runners some crap beer as an unofficial "aid" station.

personally i'd like to see more running events piggy back with crit events. it would be pretty fun to have races for time instead of distance too. run hard for 20 min then hammer the last lap! it would really bring an interesting element to the race!

Change @ Park wrote:

More and more, I fully appreciate Yogi Berra's classic quip: "Nobody goes there anymore; it's too crowded."

RIP, Yogi.

Ryan in Nashville wrote:

werew wrote:

I don't mind the process, but the cost is extreme. $40 for a shitty 5k and people think that's fair? Not this guy.

That's why I don't give a damn about banditing a race or three.

When I bandit, I start a street over--no corral--, I don't take anything from aid stations--carry a water bottle--, and I bypass the finish line. So, I don't actually run the full race, and my self-timing might be a little off, but that (PRs, time trial) is not important. Get over being time obsessed, and you'll free yourself from having to pay ridiculous prices to run a race.

Overpriced races truly are an example of how an unregulated free market can get out of control.

I also demand that all of the online content I view be free of charge and advertising. I'm NOT paying for something that should be FREE!

A crappy local 5K is charging $70 for runners and $40 for SPECTATORS. Spectators also receive a race t-shirt and access to the sponsor expo as part of their entry.

The answer to the op's question is September 15th, 2007.

You're welcome.