$185 to enter the San Francisco Marathon

uhhhh wrote:

Wasn't Chicago Marathon registration $185 this year? Not saying it's fair but as another poster said if 45,000 people are willing to pay that much why would the marathon charge any less

This is why there is SO much private equity chasing these production companies. The numbers look enormous, but as Competitor Group has shown, it doesn't pay out at PE rates.

I'm not sure why OP hates America. He doesn't have to run it.

Sit and kick uncomfortably wrote:

the closer you go to the event that the price tends to rise?please let me know if this is revelatory

This has been one of the biggest TURN-OFFS to me a race can do. When I get an email from a race 8 months away telling me the price is going to increase soon, I just delete them out of my list of races I may run. I will also NEVER enter a lottery of any kind to run a race.

There are far too many other races to run.

I ran the SF half marathon 2 summers ago, got 3rd place in my age division, but they never sent me the little plaque or w/e I was supposed to get. I wasn't really happy with the time but it seemed kinda stupid that I had to pay like $200 to just run down the streets, and they didn't bother to give me the $2 plaque that was mine.

$200 for the Half Marathon when "Sit and kick uncomfortably" paid $110 for the Full Marathon (early bird ?) !?

It would help if they published entry fees and increases for the various races

$180 for the Frisco cops and fire employees. $5 for the marathon.

Races are getting crazy. Signed up for NYC and it was almost $300. The big races are usually good to have some folks to run with but this seems a bit crazy. I know it costs a lot to shut down roads and provide resources for runners. But $300 worth of resources? I'm not so sure.

Old Kids wrote:

It's really gotten out of hand. Everywhere I look it seems like marathons and half marathons are charging $100+.

How much is that whole Disney crap now?

Yes, but what about the children and the homeless, San Francisco? Where is your heart?

bro science wrote:

Everything there is inflated. Place is run by democrats, the same idiots who think $15 minimum wage will cure all that ails.

Marathons are for rich hobby joggers

You have to kind of ask yourself this ---》 Why did to have to chsrgr $185 as opposed to $184? What expenses in particular required them to have a cost of $185? If they can't legitimately answer this then it's all a money grab for them.

I believe marathon organisers should breakdown their expenses right dow to the nickel so that people who pay the entry fee know exacly where every hard working dollar is going PERIOD!

Lets Break it Down wrote:

You have to kind of ask yourself this ---》 Why did to have to chsrgr $185 as opposed to $184? What expenses in particular required them to have a cost of $185? If they can't legitimately answer this then it's all a money grab for them.

I believe marathon organisers should breakdown their expenses right dow to the nickel so that people who pay the entry fee know exacly where every hard working dollar is going PERIOD!

And if they say they well we had tonpay a million dollars tonthe police dept for security then it should be known how much money each officer is receiving and for how many hours of work and how many officers.

How much money is spent on refreshments?

Now if these marathon organisers ask for volunteers to say hand out water at stations then they are saving themselves money.

Kind of wondering now that alot of these large marathons donate to charity. If this is the case that your entry fee cost is mostly going to charity then it should be voluntary to donate. It should not be mandatory to donate to a charity to run a race. Now also most charities have an administration fee so maybe only 80% of the donated money goes to where it needs to and the other 20% the people organising the charity get to keep 20% of the donated money. It's a money grab because 20% of say a million dollars is what... $200,000? For what? Does it cost $200,000 to hand out $800,000 to the correct people that need it? This is Bull S_it!!! Everything is about money. Everyines it for the money.

Why do you think ryan hall started a charity? Because he is a nice christian who wants have a great image when looked at from the oublic and to make a ton of cash at the same time. Start your own charity and start collecting your administration fee today. A sure way to get rich quick by asking for money or better yet.. makenit manditory somehow that people donate by charging them money to do the things they love to do!

Nothing is going to change if you lets runners sit down and your chair and read this thread. Get up off you lazy running azzes and do something about the situation. People talk about how things should chang but never make things happen. They just move onto the next isssue thsts bothing them and talk about it but dont do anything about it.

This is why we dont see a high volume of sub elite/elite distance runners in the US like we did in the 70s and 80s. Back then the entry fee cost next to nothing and people who really wanted to improve their running were able to afford to race more in marathons. Now it's all for the rich hobby joggers who socialize at these events and treat it like a greet and eat and jog event. Horrible thing what has happened.

Hggu wrote:

This is why we dont see a high volume of sub elite/elite distance runners in the US like we did in the 70s and 80s. Back then the entry fee cost next to nothing and people who really wanted to improve their running were able to afford to race more in marathons. Now it's all for the rich hobby joggers who socialize at these events and treat it like a greet and eat and jog event. Horrible thing what has happened.

Donald Trump maybe can help

Wow, so cool. Thanks for sharing.

It's sad to see how much money is ruining both our beautiful city and beautiful sport. I long for those days as much as my faster younger legs and I feel for the original poster because he is right. Politics, over time etc aside, this is a simple sport and should be accessible to all. The Disney & R&R events and other destination events have skewed this along with increased popularity of the sport.

If I had any free time, I would love to put on the event described at

Wow, so cool. Thanks for sharing.

It's sad to see how much money is ruining both our beautiful city and beautiful sport. I long for those days as much as my faster younger legs and I feel for the original poster because he is right. Politics, over time etc aside, this is a simple sport and should be accessible to all. The Disney & R&R events and other destination events have skewed this along with increased popularity of the sport.

If I had any free time, I would love to put on the event described at

Sorry, original got clipped.....Wow, so cool. Thanks for sharing.It's sad to see how much money is ruining both our beautiful city and beautiful sport. I long for those days as much as my faster younger legs and I feel for the original poster because he is right. Politics, over time etc aside, this is a simple sport and should be accessible to all. The Disney & R&R events and other destination events have skewed this along with increased popularity of the sport.If I had any free time, I would love to put on the event described at less then 10x the original cost. Maybe it can be done with minimal police involvement and road blockage? [I don't have enough free time to run more than 2-3 days a week, so it will be on my bucket list, like some fatty's walking the whole Big Sur Marathon (sorry, I didn't mean to get ugly here, but I also long for the days where I could sign up for a marathon the month before when I knew I was ready for it instead of 10 mths before because of it selling out)]

old guy 71 wrote:

I have an application for the 1979 San Francisco Marathon in front of me.

It was sponsored by PAMAKIDS Runners (a local running club: Pa, Ma and the kids) and Converse.

Entry fee: $5 before June 23; $7 late entry.

All entrants receive T-Shirts

72 pairs of Converse World Class training shoes awarded to different divisions (example Master 40-49 1st -10th)

The course was all within Golden Gate Park with a 2 mile out and back stretch along the Great Highway and a 4.5 mile loop around Lake Merced.

The politician wrote:

Hggu wrote:

This is why we dont see a high volume of sub elite/elite distance runners in the US like we did in the 70s and 80s. Back then the entry fee cost next to nothing and people who really wanted to improve their running were able to afford to race more in marathons. Now it's all for the rich hobby joggers who socialize at these events and treat it like a greet and eat and jog event. Horrible thing what has happened.

Donald Trump maybe can help

Once we stop seeing these charity road races and the entry fees start comin down, then were going to see a larger volume of runners who are faster and fitter. It should be about health and fitness and racing and not about charity and money. All those hobby joggers the thousands of them. Most of them run a marathon maybe once or twice a year if that. They are NOT there to get fitter. They are there to socialize with others at the race. Most of them don't even train throughout the yeatlr and don't know how to train and have no desire.

$185 or $135, the entry fee is probably one of the smallest cost factors when you go a race. If you live locally the personal economics are different. But if you have to drive or fly there... If you need a hotel room... Meals for the weekend...

Cost Breakdown wrote:

$180 for the Frisco cops and fire employees. $5 for the marathon.

Not quite, but close.

Police, fire, street/sanitation/permits and other BS fees add up. I'd be guessing that the total fees add up to at least $5 million for the SF Marathon. It's not just day-of stuff, but all the planning and post-work. And since we're in the post-Boston Marathon bombing era of more security theater, the race most likely pays for various 3 letter agencies to assist. Not to mention liability insurance, etc. It also requires tons of work to get the army of volunteers (shirts, swag, etc).

I don't know why private equity companies have a hardon for race management companies. Races, by and large, barely break even based on race fees alone. That's why races are shameless whores for sponsorship. They're more expensive than you think.