I'm running the VLM 2012, and also want to do the New York 2012 marathon.
I'm searching for the cheapest and most hassle-free way of doing it. As far as I can see, the cheapest way of doing this is:
Pay for a "Flight and Entry-to-marathon" package (£945). Then pay for your accommodation separately.
You don't have to fund raise. But if you do, then you can get some cash back by hitting certain targets (£250 back if you raise £1,250, for example.
All in all then, you're likely to be spending at least £2K on this thing.
Comments
With the time I spent searching for cheaper options, I could have just gone to work and earned the extra it costs to go through an operator. For now I'll just enter the ballot and keep playing on the internet.
I've been looking on the NYC website, is the ballot open for 2012? I couldn't find it
If it is help! All I can find is this link http://run2012.ingnycmarathon.org/
Harry - that's all I have been able to find. I don't think the ballot site is open yet. That form will enable them to notify you when it does. At least that is my understanding!
Lady Toes - yes, that's cheapest I have found too. Hopefully we'll get through the ballot to make things as cheap as possible!
jdw2000 - Thanks for the info, it was just in your previous post I mid-read and thought you had entered the ballot, which got me worried! I have applied for the last 2 NYC marathons. If I have read correctly I need to apply for 2012, which should result in an entry for 2013 if unsuccessful. Although I have also read that they are phasing that out over the next few years.
Good luck everyone who goes for the ballot place!
Never been to NY before so any advice would be welcome (apart from do all your sightseeing after the race!)
I did the NYC Marathon in November and stayed at the Eastgate Tower Hotel in Murray Hill (E.39th St.) on Manhattan. Quite a nice neighbourhood and within walking distance of Grand Central Station, Times Square and Empire State. Hotel decor was a little bit dated, but it was very clean, very well looked after, and the rooms were very big. They were reasonably priced too considering the good location.
Another point worth making is that it is by far the toughest marathon course I've ever run. The bridges are horrible, the hill on 22 miles coming along 5th Avenue is energy-sapping and the rolling hills in Central Park might just finish you off. That said, the crowds are superb, the organisation is great and looking back, I enjoyed every second of that race (except the one on 25 miles when my hamstring exploded!!).
I'm running Brighton Marathon on 15th April but then no other races booked until NY in November. Not sure whether to take a break from the high mileage for a couple of months then start a 16 week training plan in July....or would it be better to try to maintain current fitness level right through to November? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
IMO, you should cut down though, and then build back up slowly in conjunction with your training schedule. There's no sense (IMO) in doing advanced long-distance running every weekend for the next 4 months. Your body surely needs the rest.
Please note that I've not done a marathon before (VLM this month being my first), and so I've certainly not done 2 in any given year.
Good luck with both!
Picklelilly - keeping on the high millage will no doubt improve your fitness, however, you have to weigh this up against the increased chance of injury and the likelihood of training boredom/fatigue setting in, which ultimately may have more of a negative impact than the positives you'll get from maintaining your high millage.
I'm in a similar position to you - doing MotN on 6th May, then NYC in November. I'm going to go back to my normal 3 runs/30 miles a week after the MotN, then pick up a schedule again beginning of August.
Would be interested to hear from anyone with regards to how you should adapt a training plan to help be better prepared for what sounds like a pretty hilly marathon!
Still need to get my GFA in, anyone know the cut off date?
Hi all, completed Brighton Marathon last weekend right on target at 3:40. Really hyped up now and planning my interim races as part of training for NY.
Looking at doing a half mara in September and am agonising between two options - your thoughts would be much appreciated.
Option 1) Bacchus Half Mara is off road and somewhat hilly which could be perfect prep for NY, BUT it is heavily billed as a "fun" run with fancy dress and wine served on the course (as it is based in a vineyard). Might the "fun" element get in the way of me being able to use this as a serious training race?
Option 2) Maidenhead Half Mara is a fast, flat road race that would be a good opportunity to practice marathon pace - but is the lack of hills a lost opportunity in view of the hilly course for NY?
So......whatdya think?
PS - very, very good luck to all of you VLM runners. Wishing you perfect running weather and fully rested legs.
not sure if anyone noticed my post, but do you know how much the NY marathon is and is the money automatically deducted if we get in? Thanks..!
RG - I paid £229 for a guaranteed GFA place and the money was deducted as soon as I received an email advising that I had secured a place. Not sure if ballot entry is cheaper, but from last year's forum it appears money will be deducted promptly as some runners found out they'd secured a place this way before being notified by NY Marathon themselves.
Good luck in the ballot, I'll keep everything crossed for you.
Hi folks. Sorry to say but having run NYC last year, i hated the event. They invited me back to run this year (GFA) but no way I would contemplate it. I think it is hugely over-hyped so please go with correct expectations. 50% of the race is run in Brooklyn, you get to see the ugly part of Queens, you just leave Staten Island, do a mile in the Bronx and then you get to finish in Upper Manhattan and finish in the park. When people think of NY, they are typically thinking of Lower Manhattan. You don't go there.
As for accommodation, you pay 50-100% more by staying in Manhattan. I took a hotel in Queens and it was a 10 min ride on to Manhattan. I only stayed on Saturday night on Manhattan because i was one of the early starters and needed to minimise travel time.
Just getting to the start line feels like a marathon. Huge amounts of hanging about. It took me an hour to get my bag of clothing and food back at the end (couldn't eat anything provided as I am gluten intolerant) while a bunch of incompetents were pfaffing around in the back of a UPS truck. I was shaking and shivering with the cold. No evidence of 'faultess organisation'....
Having run Paris, London, Berlin, Amsterdam, Cologne I think I have a reasonable basis for comparison. Absolutely loved being a tourist in NY, just found the reality of the race itself to be nothing like what I'd been led to believe. I don't doubt it is possible to have fun there but I think the idea that this is the best mara in the world and an amazing experience is frankly put about by people who don't know any better and is something of a legend..... sorry for saying so. Wishing you all a better experience.
I had sortta picked up on some of that from watching it live on TV last year, was actually quite taken aback by some of the stretches but least I'm aware of some of the issues, especially the process of getting to the start line in the wee small hours and all the hanging about.
But it's my favourite city on the planet and I'VE JUST GOTTA DO IT
Time isn't an issue, this one's my tourist marathon as I'll have one eye on either using my Boston qualification or trying to re-qualify for 2014 in somewhere like Rotterdam.
Anyway first post for me on this particular thread, looking forward to others joining after todays draw, good luck to all those hoping to secure a place.
First light jog today after Paris, only 3 miles, still fragile but felt good to be out on the road again