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£44- golly gosh, i didn't realise and your happy to pay! oh my god, i can't believe it i just can't believe it. Why why why!!! We all know what were paying for in Premier football matches, were paying for professional footballers on thousands per week. But what are we paying for here. What is the income of the GNR organiser, i don't know ,do you! But this is clearly a professional organisation. What about the clubs who are running 1/2 marathons at a cost of nearly £20. Why should recreational runners pay for another club's resources. That's a question i put to UKA sometime ago, and they said they were happy for club's to raise funds in this way and i asked why there are no drug tests in road running events(i was told they had not had one test carried out ever!). They said they couldn't afford it.
Excuse me, clubs are sitting with thousands in their account and from time to time they bleat about levy. In fact there was an organisation set up to run races because of the increased levy. So i say to UKA, do something to show your running the sport and are not treating it as easy money. That's what some clubs are doing as well(not all).
You and Mhairi Mccallum are obviously richer than me if they think £40 plus is a reasonable price. Please don't pay it, its ruining it for runners with normal jobs!
Equally club organised events - by runners, for runners - tend to be very good value. Examples would include the Cabbage Patch, Epsom Perch etc..
Commercial events - run for profit - in my experience are always poor value. Too many entrants, poor organisation, t-shirts that do not fit (the black Adidas London Marathon shirt is a classic example), disinterested marshals etc.. Further participants who do not care about running or participation on their own terms. These are not runs but events and should be approached with caution if seeking PBs or similair.
Excuse me, clubs are sitting with thousands in their account and from time to time they bleat about levy. In fact there was an organisation set up to run races because of the increased levy. So i say to UKA, do something to show your running the sport and are not treating it as easy money. That's what some clubs are doing as well(not all).
1. most clubs dont have thousands of pounds in bank acounts
2. hopefully a lot of this money is going to junior athletes
PH - I'm happy to pay because it's my one big race of the year, I do a load of smaller races, run and organise cross country races, marshal at other races and generally help out with club events. The GNR gets people running who may not have done so before, and it's the only half marathon in the north east between Redcar and Jedburgh, so even if I did want something cheaper I'd still have to pay more to travel.
Regardless of whether you think it's value for money or not, you can't ignore the organisation and the folks who benefit from it, aside from the the runners raising cash for charity, there are benefits for local businesses and tourism in Tyne & Wear which get a massive boost from this race.
I'd rather pay my 44 quid and run with all the atmosphere of the Great North Run than sit in a stadium and watch a bunch of overpaid blokes bimble round after a ball. All that said I do think that the GNR membership is a total waste of money and wouldn't fork out any more for a guaranteed place.
well done for raising the money
although that is a perfect example of someone being selfish as you have admitted you arent a runner and you running the LM and GNR which could fill up 2 times over which will stop a commited runner competing in this event.
i am sorry for being harsh but that is how i see it.
Mhairi - you are not being selfish. Anyone who wants to enter can, although they may have to get their (fast) arses into gear and enter in good time.
As was said above, there are many different reasons people run and / or enter events and thankfully most of the running community recognise this as a positive aspect of our pastime.
As for cost of entry, well you pays your money you makes your choice.
Just shows that these aren't primarily competitive running events. Effectively they're endurance events for charity fundraisers.
If they're the target market for the organisers, fine. The race isn't designed to be the type of race you want it to be.
There are other races that are designed for diferrent runners e.g. the white peak marathon. I believe that if you haven't hit the 1/2 way point at 2hrs you're asked to retire. I guess there'd be a lot of LM/GNR runners that'd complain if they'd entered that one?
Well Gary - i agree about the big races, but apparently the whole point of the London Marathon was to raise money - something in Brashers vision of what the event should be or something!!
From what I have been told by my fellow club members, the GNR is crap. Way over subsribed and far too busy. The advice I got was do it as a weekend away and run it to clear you head after a sat night out in town!
The GSR is better - but it seems to go up a fiver each year!! I've done it a few times but never again at those prices. The Cabbage Patch on the other hand is superb. A 'proper' race at £16 I think. I just hope the Great run lot don't get their grubby little money grabbing hands on it...
Staffs runner - its not harsh, but alot on here don't like the truth i'm afraid...whats wrong with a sponsored walk?
Phew - some pretty ignorant comments here.
I stand by what I said, that "different people run for different reasons". That is the nub of my contribution.
You may wish it otherwise, but there you are.
A race will typically contain three broad groups:
As far as I know, the great majority of races allow all these categories of runners to take part, so it's astonishing arrogance of anyone to proscribe the sort of runners who "should" or "shouldn't" be allowed to run in public events.
Get over yourselves. The great majority of 'serious competitive runners' I've spoken to are supportive of ALL race runners, regardless of their motivation or standard. If it wasn't for the cash brought in by the 2nd and 3rd categories, the sport would probably be unsustainable.
1. isnt it dangerous for someone who hasnt trained to run a marathon?
2. i was talking about how to improve the competivenes of running in the uk
3. what is your problem with 'serious competitive runners'- the serious runners help to push the serious elite to win medals at world and olympics which equals publicity for the sport and movativating more people to keep fit and run,
4. and yes i do support all race runners as i officate at athletics meets and coach primary school children athletics which is more than the walkers who only dust down their running shoes every year for the BIG tv events do for the sport of athletics.
1. isnt it dangerous for someone who hasnt trained to run a marathon?
Not sure about dangerous, but it's not advisable. What's your point? I don't think anyone here is advocating runnng a marathon without any training are they??
2. i was talking about how to improve the competivenes of running in the uk
Maybe you were, but banning or discouraging slower runners from entering public events is not the answer.
3. what is your problem with 'serious competitive runners'- the serious runners help to push the serious elite to win medals at world and olympics which equals publicity for the sport and movativating more people to keep fit and run,
Why do you think I have any trouble at all with competitive runners? I've said nothing that would give that idea.
4. and yes i do support all race runners...
Oh really? That wasn't the impression you gave.You seemed pretty scathing about slower runners.Good grief.
As a 'serious competitive athlete' I'm in agreement with RC. People have all sorts of reasons for competing in races, and there's room for everybody on the course! More to the point, hugely high-profile events such as VLM or GNR are often the introduction that novice runners need to start on the ladder of progress towards being a club runner/SCA. (This was certainly my case.) Besides which, when did this thread turn into a debate about the best way to promote better standards at the sharp end of competition??
One last thing - did I do a bad thing by high-fiving a giant squirrel at the 20 mile point of the Paris Marathon last year, on my way to a 2:44 to secure my Champs start at London? Am I not taking this running lark seriously enough?
I can't afford a rollsroyce - I don't ask motorists not to buy them to force RR to make an affordable car for me.
Runners price events differently - some people may target something like the GNR all year and then its good value.
There are a lot of other club events out there that are great and cheap. Clubs SHOULD make money on these events - so that they have the funds to put on the next event. A bad race could otherwise put the club out of business. If you want your club to price things differently - get on the organising committee - I'm sure they would be glad of the help.
Why shouldn't professional race organisers make a profit from their service of putting races on ? Presumably you work for no money then ?
Cougie,
I had given up on this thread as almost no-one agreed with me, that is certainly true at my club too. But someone has resurrected the thread again so well done to him/her. Why shouldn't professional race organisers make a profit- well i don't agree they should exist. Collectively, its only runners ability to pay pay pay that has brought them in. They weren't around 15 years ago , when we didn't pay incredible prices .
I don't expect to pay any more than £10 for a 10k and maybe £15 for a half. These limits are far more than i would want. Unfortunately, race organisers are guided by how much a full field of runners will pay. So consequently if a given race do not get a full field they will put the prices down the next year. That is not happening because of too many runners willing to pay whatever.
Hey, I remember the squirrel at the Paris Marathon from 2006! I also high-fived it on my way to a PB. Sadly not as fast as PhilPub (well done, BTW!) but I'm still proud of my sub-5 hour time!
staffsrunner - I take offence that you think i'm being selfish for entering a ballot which is essentially a lucky dip to see who gets in. If i could run an event I would give it a bash but unfortunately I cant - I've actually been advised by physios not to run but i can walk as far as i like. There are several events around that set a finish time - one is the Disney marathon in florida (not on my to do list as the thought of being surrounded by screaming kids does not appeal to me!) where if you get caught by the bus (i think at about 4/4.5mph) you drop out by default and are transported to the finish.
I would never dream of not training for an event even as a walker because then it is unfair on others who train/dont get in, however if my knee says stop, i stop. I am a charity/fun runner but i'm proud of it. the GNR and VLM do focus on them, which is why they stagger the starts based on estimated finish time - i also think it would be unfair on the seriuos competitors for them not to do that, not to mention dangerous!
This is an interesting debate on this thread however i think the main thing to come out of it is that it is down to personal choice as to what you think an event is worth. If you think it is worth £44 in the case of the GNR then you'll pay it - if you think its only worth £15 then you wont, simple.
I never understand the "robbed a place from someone else" attitude. Entering a race is the same as buying a ticket to any event - its product not a right. If a film is a sell out, should the cinema manager ask anyone who doesn't really like Keanu Reaves to leave because the local fan club have turned up?
And because these big events are product, they are subject to market forces, hence the price tag.
There are plenty of affordable races out there. I don't race a great deal and enjoy both the small races and a big city marathon, happily paying what the race director charges.
I can't help but feel there is a whiff of elitism in some of the previous posts - all these bliddy Jonny-come-latelys turning up and dragging the old boys club down.
Not really, just bewilderment that folk will pay these prices for some of the races like GNR. Completely within their rights, of course - it's just that the big organisations are getting away with this...and to be honest, it grates!!
There's soooo many better races out there..
I think you're missing the point. As has been established, most of us aren't going to be competing for a prize. That's not to say that we don't enjoy a race but at times, some of us want a big occasion.
Someone made the comparison with watching a football match. You can go and see you local non league side for a few quid or go to the FA Cup final for many quid. Doing a race like GNR or VLM is like actually taking part in the FA Cup final for most of us.
There are plenty of no frills races out there which work out to be very cheap but sometimes people like to do the bigger events as an experience rather then from a competitive aspect.
Fair enough BDB - We all take different things from this thing we do...
....or not, depending on how much ****ing snow and ice there is on the ground
I guess so.
We could all take up ice skting for the next couple of weeks maybe