Is road racing outpricing the ordinary person?

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Comments

  • Lardarse, you don't have to go every session, we run at least two sessions a week but only do 1 at most and sometimes family commitments take priority. It all depends what you want from your club membership and what commitment you want to put in. If they run something like a midweek league or handicap race why not just go once a month for that if fuel costs are an issue?

    Granted my club is only a 10 mile round trip, but my nearest Parkrun is 15 miles away (Preston) and although it was a useful tool to get me started in races, I too dont really feel the need to travel a 30 miles return journey to run a 5k anymore. We have a club event on Town Carnival day in the height of summer and that will do me.

    Parkrun ia a fantastic tool though to get people started, no doubt about it.

  • ps - £5 for nine miles each way in fuel, what are you driving?!

  • and for league races there is always a lift share amongst club members

     

  • lardarse wrote (see)

    Like wise my "local" Parkrun (hey theres always a one nearby, bullshit) is 28 miles away, £16 return in fuel, and no, apart from maybe once or twice a year (as a tune up) I can't see the point in driving 45 minutes each way for a 20 minute+ race. If the only "local" races are going to cost you up to £20 in fuel you may as well do one thats a distance you actually want to do (I don't want to run 5k, can't see the point) and you get a medal and a day out for, either way.

    Uh?

    What bullshit is this then? That sounded rather abrasive/annoyed.

    It seems that there is an underlying tone from one or two posters that they want races/runs provided that are:

    1. At exactly the distances that they want to run
    2. With exactly the right size of field.
    3. At next to no cost or free.
    4. No further away than their local chippy.

    and crucially,

    5. Without they, themselves, lifting a finger to do anything to contribute.

     

    How do cheap/free club races come about? By magic?
    How do free parkruns come about? By magic?

  • Some people seem to be confusing parkrun with mobile phone service providers.

  • Abracadabra image

    As the old saying goes: "you can please some of the people all of the time...."

  • PhilPub wrote (see)

    Some people seem to be confusing parkrun with mobile phone service providers.

    quality image

    if you want one closer to home get off your bum and do it yourself, simples.

  • If your 'local' club is too far away, start your own! If your 'local' parkrun is too far away, start your own! My understanding of parkrun is that they actively help normal folk to set up their own parkrun event. And if you want a local race, start your own! I know people who have done all of these things.
  • WilkieWilkie ✭✭✭

    My local half maras (I can think of 6) are under £20, on the roads, no pig shit.

    Same for 10k races - quite a few within 30 miles, and nothing like the prices the OP mentions.

    Seek and ye shall find.

  • Your local running club may be 9 miles away - but as has been pointed out - you dont need to attend every session. Plus you may find that other members live by you and you could run with them (if you wanted to).

    I'd really not consider 9 miles to be that far. You could always run there or cycle ? Or get a lift from someone ?

  • http://www.runnersworld.co.uk/events/viewevent.asp?sp=&v=2&EN=72462&ms=

    £18 for 10k; £16 for 5k

    just used the events search for 10k's in East Sussex. This is the only one that wasn't subscription only.

    Similar from a search on West Sussex
    http://www.runnersworld.co.uk/events/viewevent.asp?sp=&v=2&EN=70606&ms=
    Cheaper at £13 / 15

    Chichester 10k £15 / £17

  • I do a variety of distance including 5k's and I dont see the 5k's as a lot of travelling for a 20 minute ( I wish ) run. The cycling down there is good as is the cycling back and, you get to know people there after a while and can be chatting at the end for half an hour. So its a good couple of hours with a race in the middle which is totally free.

     

  • Lol... I wasn't complaining (except about the extortionate fuel duty which is running the country into the ground... image) about running clubs, local races etc. I already travel the 9 miles to the area where the club is to see/collect my daughter 3 times a week, I can't "kill two birds with one stone" and do both in the same trip purely because of timings, otherwise I would. So making even more additional trips, sometimes on the same day isn't really feasible. I've thought about cycling, but then there's a time factor and I just wanted run, not cycle and run.

    I was saying for me, at the moment, doing a few "local" bigger races at maybe slightly inflated prices is more cost efficient (and downright easier) than joining a club, getting there regularly, I wouldn't want to join a club and only go once a month, to me that would seem wrong, like you're just using them, I wouldn't feel "part" of the club.

    As for the fuel cost that was done through google maps, and may have been exaggerated slightly image

    Start my own club? Yeah right, me and the badgers, foxes, rabbits, pheasants, weasels, stoats, rats, chickens, dogs, cats and octogenarians who live in the 24 houses that make up the megalopolis that is my village. That'll be a good club.

     

    Oh, and for the record, my glass isn't half empty, what a ridiculous phrase that is.

    My glass is fucking empty! image

  • derek hughes 4 wrote (see)

    I do a variety of distance including 5k's and I dont see the 5k's as a lot of travelling for a 20 minute ( I wish ) run. The cycling down there is good as is the cycling back and, you get to know people there after a while and can be chatting at the end for half an hour. So its a good couple of hours with a race in the middle which is totally free.

     

    That's fair enough and if I had a parkrun 9 miles away i'd happily do it several times a year, but mines 29 miles away, if I cycled it, it would take me an hour and a half at least to there and then I wouldn't want to race.

    Again, for the people who can't seem to understand the difference between comment and complaint, i'm not complaining! It's no ones fault that there's not a parkrun closer, and before anyone says "organise you're own" yes I could, but I honestly cant think of any local park where you wouldn't have to do 10 laps to make up the three miles, you don't get "big" parks in the countryside here, there's no point in them because you can just walk outside.

  • WilkieWilkie ✭✭✭
    lardarse wrote (see)

    Start my own club? Yeah right, me and the badgers, foxes, rabbits, pheasants, weasels, stoats, rats, chickens, dogs, cats and octogenarians who live in the 24 houses that make up the megalopolis that is my village. That'll be a good club.

     

    You'd be almost certain to get the club's VLM place, though! image

  • I dunno - I'm sure i've seen a few badgers running VLM. They love it they do...

    LA - whats the difference in time between cycling and driving 9 miles ?

    Leisurely 12mph cycle would have you there in 45 mins.

    Driving at 30mph would take you 20 mins.  So overall 50 mins longer - but youve saved money and done cross training. 

  • What i asked was a simple question in difficult financial times but did'nt expect so many sarcastic remarks, bloody hell some of you need to take some chill pills, we've all got the same interest & all entitled to their own opinion , just except it what it is, a question on a messageboard.image

  • Have you SEEEN the price of chill pills lately ?

  • I'd have to drive miles to buy chill pills,
  • You could always try the local pig farmer, he might be doing them on the cheapimage

  • They don't farm pigs round our way
  • You could set up your own pig farm!

  • I'm afraid there's not much demand for pig farming in South Wales but when it comes to Sheep..........imageimage

  • join one of the gwent running clubs and you get 5 free road race of about 0k in summer and 5 free corss country races in winter,..................sortedimage

  • Bluebirds, simple answer - yes. I agree alot of races seem expensive. I am a  Mum of 3 on maternity leave and find it hard to justify £25 + for a race when other things are of a higher priority. My local parkrun is 30 miles away. Stroud hm was £18 and well organised. Cost certainly limits the amount of races I can do at the moment.

     

  • Vicky, that's exactly my thoughts, i'd love to enter more races but can no longer afford it & the same as you there are thing's of a higher priority, so the races i enter are now down to a handfull a year. I know people have mentioned parkruns & maybe i'll give them a try although it's not really a distance that relly  interests me.I do think a lot of races are solely put on for making a quick buck rather than the runners interest.

  • I can't think of a single race I have done in the last 5 years where someone "has made a quick buck"
  • Dave The Ex- Spartan wrote (see)
    I can't think of a single race I have done in the last 5 years where someone "has made a quick buck"

    The Great South Run - 25,000 participants, £40 each. That's one meeelion pounds. Somebody's making a lot of money.

    I'm not saying that's necessarily a bad thing. I don't see why organisers shouldn't charge as much as people are prepared to pay.

  • nevre done that one and never fancied it.....image

     doing the pudding run  next weekend.i bet they give us a smaller christmas pudding this year and water down the sherry at mile 4...........i expect they are going to pocket all the extra moneyimage

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