As I'm putting together my 2011 race calendar, I'm developing some rules of racing. My new #1 rule: Do Not Pay $70 (or more) for a half marathon. I had seen some information for an indoor trail half marathon in New Richmond, Wisconsin in February and thought it would be a good way to get an early test race in for marathon training. I went on the website to register and it was $70. The Monster Half Marathon I ran in October was $70+ as well. Seriously?
Maybe we are spoiled here in Minnesota, but there a lot of good half marathons that are not that expensive. The Earth Day 1/2 in April in St. Cloud has early registration now for $35. And you get a nice medal, super nice shirt, and it is an awesome race. One of my beloved half-marathons, the Madison Mini-Marathon is $50ish and again, you get a nice medal, super nice shirt, awesome course, great race.
So no, I will not be paying $70 for a half marathon. Sorry. For $10 more I can register for the Fargo full tomorrow, and for $15 more I can register for Grandma's full. More mileage for your buck . . .
On a completely unrelated note, I just knocked out some more office floor sit ups and push ups (see yesterday's post). Do I sense the beginning of some sort of streak?
16 comments:
ugg races are so expensive and it adds up so fast!! there aren't many cheap options around me tho :(
Race fees kill me! I should be like you and set a limit...
Yup, everything in WI is expensive!
Considering how "portable" a kettlebell is, I'm wondering why you haven't brought one in to your office yet??!!! I can see it now, 30 seconds of push-ups then 30 seconds of swings then 30 seconds of sit-ups then 30 seconds of snatches......it's absolutely endless the routines one could come up with!!
Yeah, I think we're definitely spoiled living around here, I'm all about the cheap-o race fees. Green bay full was cheaper than the TC ten... I mean COME ON! Are you still thinking of Fargo in the spring? That'd be GREAT!!! :D
I'm the same way with the registration fee. A lot of times the expensive races don't even offer as much as the cheap ones do!! They are organized by companies and they just look for their profit. I stopped doing those races and only sign up for small local ones with a charity, at least then I don't feel bad spending the money, because it is for a good cause.
Indoor Trail????!!!! wth
I also need to start looking and considering race fees. I paid for 3 of my races next year also. ugh
D
I think I just read someone's blog where they paid $140 to run the Vegas RnR 1/2. I'm sorry but that's just stupid!!! Sometimes when I'm trying to run well in a marathon, I will enter a few halfs for some great speedwork and some data points and it just all adds up WAY too fast.
Are you considering doing Grandma's Marathon? It is on my radar (if my heel would cooperate!). Would be cool to meet you if my planets aligned properly.
Did I just spell halves "halfs"??? Talk about STUPID!
The most expensive half-marathons I've done were the Nike Women's Half ($100 back in '09) and this year's Portland Half (also $100). I'm not planning on many races in 2011 because the fees add up so quickly. I did over 20 races this year! I'm a regular volunteer for Team Ortho, and for every hour you volunteer, you earn 1000 "bones." You can use your bones to pay for race entry fees. In 2011, I'm running the Get Lucky 7K, the Minneapolis Half-Marathon and the Monster 10-Mile for FREE. Team Ortho can always use more volunteers. Check out http://www.teamortho.us
I HATE paying close to $100 for a half and I have done it too many times. Seriously, it is probably a good thing that I didn't keep track of how much I spent on races this year. :S I like this rule...
way to put your foot down about expensive races! and i agree, there are races available for much less and are just as high in quality. it does help that you're planning now, so that you can get a good deal on all the races you want.
I'm signed up for the Earth Day Half, too, so I'll see you there and in Fargo. Yeah! I agree with you that some of these race fees have gotten out of control.
Amen sista. Other than the Philly Full which is ridiculously overpriced but I am still racing, I am not paying more than $60 for a race this year (races are about $75 on average on the east coast).
I like your rule! Fortunately, there are still some reasonably priced races out there. BTW, I love that you can get your sit ups and push ups done at the office! That rocks!
Races are getting really expensive everywhere. The Dinsey ones down here are the worst. You'd think at over $100 they'd get someone to race for you. LOL!
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