[quote]Ebenezer Duggar wrote:
The idea that prize money and sponsorship for elites comes from the entry fees of the masses is a tired myth. Big marathons have title sponsors like John Hancock or ING that pony up the cash. The entry fees cover the added costs of people who are on the course for 4, 5, even 7 hours and therefore require prolonged shutdowns of traffic, mass transit, etc. Also, back in the day, runners didn't get excited about the idea of a band at every mile or post-race buffets or pre-race feeds or any of the bullshit pack runners dig.
The title sponsors wouldn't be there to pony up the money if the masses weren't there as potential consumers of the title sponsor. Do you think TCS would sponsor NYC if it was only 200 or so elite or semi-elites? Ummmm No.
Hell, if anything, the pack runners have made things more difficult for competitive runners (not elites, but your decent 6:00 per mile guys) by driving up entry fees and making it harder to get bibs if you don't make the elite cut-offs. A guy who can run 2:45 shouldn't lose out to a guy who runs 4:45 simply because the latter has a faster reaction time when online registration opens six months before an event and the field fills up within a few hours.
Most of the large races have gone to lottery systems, not "reaction" times. Also, the influx of 4:45 guys have led to the increase in number of races available. Used to be that you had to travel if you wanted to run a marathon since the choices were very limited. Now there are nearly 1000 marathons in the US to choose from and at least 2 quality marathons in each major city each year.
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