Bupa Great South Run - too expensive?

Wilkie - water for Liverpool events now has to be purchased. Up until last year we were very well supported by Highland Spring. However, now we have to purchase. Despite many appeals it seems no one is prepared to donate water.

We've stopped giving away Goody Bags as depite the perception they are not free. The content is your average bag is a waste of money and too many people expect a London type bag at any event. Can't be done which is why we have stopped using them. We now give out fresh fruit at the end of our events instead.

Much better value.

I'm doing this run for the first time and travelling from London. Is anyone else doing the same journey or have any tips for best way to get there? Thanks!

Ooo err !! lots of negative comments about the GSR, am running it this year for the first time and yes it is expensive but as I live in southampton i figured I should make it a one off. Have run other 'big' races before and always enjoy the buzz so am looking forward to it . Was thinking of making the journey by train , how busy are they really? 

Thanks

Haven't done GSR for several years cos, although it used to be one of my favourites, when they increased the field and put up the price to £30 (a few years ago) I decided it overpriced and likely to be overcrowded.

Ian - trains are probably your best bet but aim to get an early one. Unless they've done something sensible like providing park and ride I really wouldn't recommend travelling by car. All approach roads get jammed from quite early, parking can be a nightmare and trying to leave at the end was even worse.

ian lowe 16 wrote (see)

Ooo err !! lots of negative comments about the GSR, 

That's 'cos this is the whinging, tight-fisted GSR boycotting thread 

There is also a nice, pleasant GSR loving thread;

http://www.runnersworld.co.uk/forum/events/great-south-run-2012/186624-3.html

It's all about balance innit 

I think that £12 to run around a park that i could do myself for free is too expensive. It depends on what you enjoy.

I like small, friendly, low key races that i can turn up on the day, and there's no fuss, no bother, no spectators and no excitement, but it's simply enjoyable.

I also like the world's big races. I love the mounting excitement and atmosphere as you gather with thousands of like-minded people. And there is an intense focus on the event which makes the tension, excitement and pleasure even greater. You know you are taking part in something quite extraordinary and special. Events like the World's Biggest 10 Mile Race (in fact one of the Top 30 races in the world of any length) don't come along every day. £40 to take part in one of the world's top races? See, I think that's cheap compared to £12 for a local event nobody's heard of, and cares nothing about.

One of the marathons I most enjoy is Beachy Head. Us runners have heard of it. Non-runners have not. People find out I run marathons, and they'll ask what I have run. I'll say Paris, Amsterdam, London - and they're interested. i say Beachy Head, and they just give a polite smile.

When I got into London friends and relatives were so pleased for me, and loads came to watch me on the day. That never happens normally! Even my wife has given up on attending runs.

The big races draw an interest and excitement that is difficult to measure in finacial terms.

I just got my race pack today. And that's another thing I love about the big races - the big glossy magazine! I mean, I also like turning up to the school hall on the day and just joining the queue at the tressle table. But I also like just going out on my own for free. I like running. Training runs. Local events. big races. I like it all. It's a great hobby. And, compared to many, very cheap. Even the big races are cheap.

Some charity is offering late entrance for £3 without a requirement to raise any sponsorship, suspect this may be a sign that the price will be going down next year 

Hmmm ST I'm not sure if you are mentioning £12 races in response to my comment or that's just coincident, but for the record the Lordshill 10 mile race is a road race, around country roads, it's not in a park. Just like the GSR, just without all the crowds and the excessive price tag.

If £12 is too expensive for a local race no-ones heard of what is a good price? I must be living in an expensive part of the world as don't think I know any races over 5 miles which would be under £10 around these parts. But I guess if it was laps around a park it might be cheaper ( and bloody boring). 

Have many non-runners ever heard of the GSR? Really?  I've got family and friends who live in the Portsmouth area and I don't think even they know anything about it. They know there's some fun run or something or other going on so it's a bad day to go into town but that's it. London Marathon, yup sure. Possibly the GNR, but no more. If I was looking for validation from others over my pick of races I would of given up a long time ago.

I also love the atmosphere of big races,  I like going out on my own for free. I like running. Training runs. Local events. big races. I like it all. Your right, it is a great hobby and yes compared to many, very cheap . Even some big races are good value.

But I still think the GSR is a flipping rip off , and I doubt they will drop the price just fewer charities will buy places next year. 

Enjoy though 

Hi Chimpster. The £12 to run around a local park is something I have paid for fairly recently. Actually, we ran around the park three times, and then found out that the organisers had got the distance wrong, and we had run slightly less than 10K. That was £12 thrown away!

£12 seems a common price. And local parks are common locations. I have run in Battersea Park and Hyde Park and Greenwich Park with a number of organisers for a range of prices. Some of those have been great fun. The New Years Day run around the Serpentine is a great start to the year!

I think it is important to keep an eye on the money when entering races, and to look for value for money. I fully expect to pay more for the bigger races and the longer races than the small, short, local ones. But how do you really measure value for money? I don't think you can accurately do it by judging a bunch of grapes against a bottle of wine, and observing that the wine costs more than the grapes!

I did the Nice-Cannes marathon last year. Lovely race. Can't remember how much it cost, but I felt it was value for money as there were lots of goodies, including a rucksack which I now use everyday. During the race I encountered a man who was running the course for free as it went along public roads. He said it was OK for him to do it because he wasn't making use of the water stations, etc. Fair enough. Me, I'm happy to pay for the organisation, the stewards, the first aid, and the t-shirt and medals and refreshments, and the Expo, and all the other things that are part of it. That man could have run that course at any time. That he chose to do so on the same day and at the same time as the organised run showed that he wanted to be part of it. But he didn't want to pay. Fair enough. Each to their own. But I wouldn't do that.

ian     roads get  busy   i park in gosport and catch the ferry  then a 10min walk   -  its easy to get in and out of gosport  compared to portsmouth

Looks like it was created in the main forum rather than attached to the event itself, so it doesn't appear when you look at the event - but the main thread for this event is here.