New York Marathon 2012

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. 

 Is that about right?  Any other considerations?
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Comments

  • On line entry is first port of call. Compulsory$11 or so handling charge but if you get in it's about £195 rather than £300+ from a tour operator and then own fligt for around £350-400. I did this way and sat next to my buddy, who went with the operator. Same flights, same race, half the cost. Be warned tho' it is a ballot. They also do GFA but wait for it...including half-marathon so get looking and trainingimage
  • Thanks very much for that!  I have registered for the ballot already, so fingers crossed.
  • I have spent many hours trying to find a cheap way of doing NY and if you can't get in on the ballot then the flight + entry option with a tour operator seems to be the best option, then just book accommodation through a roomshare site like roomarama or airbnb.

    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 image

    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!

  • Yes, sorry, that was mis-leading.  I meant to say that I have registered to enter the ballot.  As far as I am aware, the ballot isn't yet open.  Cheers.
  • Any idea if the ballot is now shut?  Anyone have a link?
  • I think the ballot is open until 23rd April.  Try this link.    http://www.ingnycmarathon.org/entrantinfo/apply_instruct.htm
  • Thanks very much, FQ!  Am now in the ballot.  (I'm assuming I've got as much chance of winning the lottery, but you've got to be in it to win it!)
  • Anyone done this before and can recommend good place/area to stay? Was thinking to arrive late Friday evening - I assume this would be enough time for registering etc.

    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!!).

  • Hi, I've got a GFA place for 2012 - never done NYC marathon before and it sounds like some proper hill training is going to be needed.

    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.
  • Picklelilly - your 16 week training programme would have to start in May anyway. That's only next month. Doesn't sound like you have any chance to get out of shape.

    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!
  • jdw2000 - NYC is early November, so a 16 week schedule would start in July.

    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!
  • Many thanks jdw2000 and big B, your input is much appreciated. I have been a tad injury-prone during the high mileage training for my two marathons thus far, so sounds like dropping back to my regular weekly mileage for a bit is the way to go. Best of luck to you both for your respective Spring marathons and hope to converse further on here once the NYC training gets under way.
  • JAPJAP ✭✭✭
    Picklelilly, BB, I am doing London in a couple of weeks then NY in Nov as well. My plan will be to take 2-4 weeks recovery after London, then spend a couple of months focusing on 5k & 10k races, before shifting the focus back towards marathon training some time around early Aug. However, while I am focusing on the shorter races, I will probably still include a long run of approx 16M at least every other weekend, so that when I do go back to the marathon specific training I can start my long runs straight from 18M and be comfortable with it. Trying to maintain current marathon fitness throughout the summer is likely to be a big ask, particularly motivationally.
  • I'll be at NYC as well, racing Amsterdam a couple of weeks before though so this really will just be taken as a very fancy long run! (promised the GF a trip away so 2birds with 1 stone!) also at VLM next Sun, like Jap I'll be keeping a run up to 16m each week over summer to keep the endurance ticking over.

    Still need to get my GFA in, anyone know the cut off date?
  • JAPJAP ✭✭✭
    DT2, I think all entry closes on the 23rd Apr, so you best get it sorted before you start panicking about VLM too much to remember.
  • I‘m waiting with baited breath to find out whether I get in to NY via ballot.  Does anyone know how likely it is?  Also, do they deduct the entrance fee immediately and how much is it?  I don‘t think I checked before entering!!
  • 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.

  • JAPJAP ✭✭✭
    Picklelilly, I looked at that bacchus run as well, but decided against it since the focus seemed more fun than race (and trying to run past lots of wine on offer sounded like too much test of the will power). I will run the maidenhead half (did it last year) and just get all my hill training in my normal training runs. I did lots of long off road hilly runs before NY last time and that worked pretty well.
  • 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..!

  • compo 1compo 1 ✭✭✭
    good luck to all in this must be a dream to run in the great city
  • JAPJAP ✭✭✭
    RG, cost was approx $350 (roughly £230ish). The website says that your credit card will be charged after the draw is made for the ballot on Apr 25th, so probably by the end of next week.
  • JAP - thanks very much, Maidenhead it is then! Better get online and book my place, the RW reviews for last year's race all seemed pretty positive.

    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. image
  • 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.

  • TD thanks for the reality check & the heads up!

    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 image

    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 againimageimage

  • Got a place!! Always wanted to go to New York and this seemed like a good excuse for a trip. Never thought I would get a place. Any advice on places to stay. Looking at Air Bnb and renting an apartment but no idea on what are the right areas?? any advice welcome.
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