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MBNA Chester Marathon
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For £38/40 you get to see the fruits of 4 months pain, pleasure, determination, drive and self belief (Plus all the organisational costs) as opposed to what - a night out if you are lucky or dont but a round! or the cost of a premiership match at which overpaid footballers dont give 100%?
£40..00 is very reasonable for what is entailed and of course if you think it's too much you have a choice.....
Meanwhile i am going to try & fulfil my self belief and aim for 3.10 after 2,25 at the Stafford 20 and a dismal 3.19.21 at London (an excuse apart from the weather - but was still gutted!)
Well I've done 12 marathons and that would be the dearest I've paid. I know the numbers aren't as big as London but I think I only paid £35 for last years.
Also, why have it on the same date as the Liverpool marathon? That's even dearer by the way, seems odd to have 2 marathons only 18 miles apart.....you could actually start the Chester marathon and finish the Liverpool one!
I'm doing the Lakeland 50 in July (cost £65) and for that I get 2 nights camping should I require it, a map, roadbook, food at checkpoints and knackered knees!
But they don't have to close roads, pay police, pay traffic management fees, rent a racecourse etc. 2 races have already beencancelled locally because of massive costs imposed by the police. It's not expensive looking at the cost of a city road race these days.
The Chester date was fixed long before Liverpool Council chose the 9th and imposed that date on their organisers.
Fair one though I don't reckon I'll be doing it when I can run around those roads for free on any other weekend!
I don't think I'm ever going to get near my PB of old hence moving away from marathons and into Ultras instead.......(more miles per £!!)
The route out to Wrexham is relatively flat . Very similar to half marathon course .
It is not run on the " greenway " this year .
The price seems fine to me, but there seems to be mixed opinions on whether the course is flat or not. I thought it was a flat, fast course - but would be grateful if someone from the area can confirm
Thanks
its flat!
there was a course map posted somewhere showing elevation and its advertised as a flat, pb course.
The same could be said for pretty much every running event in the countryWell it obviously seems that I'm not as well off as most people on here then who don't think £40 is pricey!
I'll just content myself with my 2.52 PB and spectate instead of trying to chase a better time than that which I know I'm not capable of anymore...last years London was my slowest at 3.15 and I felt it all the way.
Enjoy Chester..I'll sit in the Victoria with my pint cheering you all on.
Bloody Catch 22 situation isn't it!!
Here's me saying I was giving up marathons and cracked and entered next years London, had to enter via the ballot though as I lost my GFA time by 16 seconds in 2010.
I would agree with Jonah2: It is a bit pricey. I would also add that it is probably a fair price as Liverpool have a similar entry fee for their marathon (in fact, a bit more for Liverpool). Since they (Liverpool & Chester) haven't been able to agree on a date, I don't think that they would have been able to agree on the entry fee.
Regarding the course, I would say it is fairly flat (sorry to be pedantic, but I can't say that it is flat).
I went to the Grosvenor Arms in Aldford few years ago (nice pub by the way). As fas as I can remember , the road back to Chester is not flat. After 20 miles, it is likely to hurt.
Hi All
Been away for a few days, welcome to all the new faces on the thread. Have read back and hoping to catch up below:
Jason - congrats on London time, was good to say hi to so many runners at London Expo, glad you appraciated the Haribo!
Re the entry fee, you may not be aware but as well as covering all the costs of putting on the race we also have to pay 20% VAT (nearly £7).
Over the course as a whole there is only 101m of climbing, the majority of the course is fast and flat, the climbs we do have are few in number and short.
Numbers, chips & race instructions will be posted two weeks before the race.
Entries are coming in strong and we are expecting to fill well in advance of October - Will be an awsome spectacle to see over 5,000 runners hitting the roads on October 9th.
Any more questions, please ask away & will respond
Nice clarification Chris. I understand that there are numerous costs involved in putting on a mjor event like a marathon, and I am not envious in any way of the massive task you undertake.
For what it's worth, my opinion is that £40 is a fair price, especially when you consider the VAT and policing costs and applications to close roads etc etc - PLUS I assume we will get the best goody bag ever
, which will have to go some to beat Loch Ness (free Baxters soup!!)
Started my taper for the White Peak marathon - my legs feel like they're made from concrete at the moment, but will hopefully recover in time for the race.
Loads of new faces on the forum which is nice to see, it sounds a bit corney, but it really helps my motivation when there's a good crowd on the forum all giving support and experiences.
Looks like there's plenty of support around on here, looking forward to some good motivation once the White Peak is conquered in May!
Hotel booked provisionally (Tesco vouchers
)
just need to sort out flights and transfer from Manchester
Hi Chris - will you be at the Chester Half? I will be there so may get to meet you
I cant wait to get this 'easy running/rest out of the way so I can start the programme for this on 6th June.
I really think that this is going to be a good event maybe even better than good - it will be good to be able to just go from home on the morning of the event. I learned a lot from London and dont think I'll be nearly as nervous.
Hi guys, entered this last night after driving home through Chester from hols in North Wales, looks great and a good tester for Snowdonia mara later in October.
Sos flyer-same strategy here, cut down on the pricey half marathons and just go for the big babies
Have you done White Peak before? I did it last year and the heat was unbelievable, I found the sun bouncing off the limestone trail quite a challenge and would defo wear sunglasses if it was as bright again. Doing Windermere instead this year which is on the same day.
HI JD
Sos flyer-white peak beautiful countryside but get chatting to folks as you go as mundane trail will do your head in otherwise. Time-wise 15 minutes difference between this and Snowdon but would have been much faster without the 26 degrees!!
xe - Can promise a "goody bag" packed with goodies (def no tat!) - can't promise soup, but something Haribo shaped though
Jason - Sorry for the confusion, the prev message shuold have been to LB70. Both water and Iso will be in bottles, can't announce the Iso brand yet but hope to have this sorted soon.
FAS - Yup Andy & I are helping out at the Chester Half - we will also have a stand at the finish so call in & say Hi.
LB70 - After the start of the Marathon, there will be a kids "Mini Marathon" within the racecourse, then a mascots race which should be fun to watch, followed swiftly by the first runners home - so plenty to do before bagging a prime spot in the grandstand to cheer you in at the finish. Alternatively can wander into Chester City centre, walk round the walls or go messing in boats on the River Dee.
Andy has got a long list of jobs for me on October 9th - so won't be able to run with you. Am tempted to join some of you serial mara runners for Snowdonia though - that is def a hiily course
JR - Glad to here you're back running after your injury. Re the high mileage and poss injuries, have you thought about the 'FIRST' 3 times a wk sched. Less mileage but includes x-training. I followed it for my sub4 last year and will use it again for my target of sub 3:30 at Chester.
FAS - Still easy running here too. At least I get to add some strides on Friday and pick some runs back to base pace after that. are you doing the P&D recovery schedule?
Chris - will the kids mini marathon be open to kids as young as 6, and will that be entry on the day?