BigDuh wrote:
More races should allow transfers. That would cut out any confusion. I'm sure the change can be made with about 10 key strokes.
With the way races are now, you have to register many months in advance. Allowing people to sell their bib or give it to a friend would eliminate any fraud. I know I hate to register 6 mo out then have to watch that spot go unused if I'm injured or "life happens".
I both agree with you and don't.
On the "don't agree" side... The main race I work for used to sell out fast and for a few years we allowed transfers. It bit us in the butt and did very little to stop people from just giving their bib to other runners. "Give 'em an inch they'll take a mile". Now we sell out a lot slower, sometimes not at all. Because of that, financially it doesn't make any sense for us to offer transfers if we still have bibs available for anyone to purchase. (We're a not-for-profit, race "profits" are usually not high if at all.) We do offer deferrals, so if you enter and can't run for whatever reason you can get a reserved spot for next year at a reduced rate.
On the "agree" side... Yup, it's super easy to set up a transfer system. We did it ~10 years ago with less experience from other races to draw on. today it's a lot easier than back then.
My opinion...If you don't want to sign up for races months in advance then don't patronize races that require that to happen. There are plenty of races out there it's easy to avoid those races if you choose to. If you sign up for a race months in advance then out of respect for the effort the RDs are putting in, accept the terms the race requires.