When is enough, enough - Spring Marathon

Sussex Runner (NLR)

30/04/2012 at 11:14

Went online to book for another Brighton Marathon this morning. Seems the cost of entry has shot up to £55. Seems they want to save on postage(I know there are other valid reasons too) and get us to all collect our own packs this year. They now say they want to charge people for spectationg at the finish. You have to go through pages of stuff when entering about how many t-shirts do you want etc(fine if they have them to sell but does it need to be in the entry process?)Then they want to put on a charge(invisible until the end of the process) of £2.50 for admin. £57.50 for a marathon? The £2.50 was the straw that broke the camel's back. Seems that they are trying to bleed every penny from the runners now. Not for me in 2013

Wilkie

30/04/2012 at 11:19

It's a shame that it's gone that way.

I guess they've seen that they've got a sell-out event and will try and push it as far as they can.

Who actually gets the money?

MikeFrog

30/04/2012 at 11:22

I'm not sure how to compare that to the £28 I've just paid for about a 10% chance of getting a London place

MikeFrog

30/04/2012 at 11:22

... but it's all for Charidee

Sussex Runner (NLR)

30/04/2012 at 11:23

Just entered the London Marathon instead. Slim chance of getting in but £32 and no admin charge.

I reckon it will the fat cats who run it who will be raking in the profits.

Sussex Runner (NLR)

30/04/2012 at 11:24

Officially there will be no profits but Tim Hutchins will be paying himself a huge bonus no doubt.

MikeFrog

30/04/2012 at 11:30

LOL

Wilkie

30/04/2012 at 11:43

I'll give both a miss, thanks!

Might think about an autumn mara, though.

Sussex Runner (NLR)

30/04/2012 at 11:48

Really Wilkie. Which ones were you thinking about? I might do one this Sunday? I did a 12.5 miler last Sunday. Have I done enough training? (I am serious btw)

Edited: 30/04/2012 at 11:48

Edinburgh Flump

30/04/2012 at 11:50

That is bad but I had a look at a late entry (ie within 4 weeks) to the Edinburgh marathon festival 10K race so a mere 6.2 miles and the cost....£28.50! It was £23.50 originally which I don't exactly count as a bargain either.

Wilkie

30/04/2012 at 11:54

Sussex Runner (NLR) wrote (see)

Really Wilkie. Which ones were you thinking about? I might do one this Sunday? I did a 12.5 miler last Sunday. Have I done enough training? (I am serious btw)

Marathon des Alpes-Maritimes. Nice to Cannes, 4th November. Currently €55 to enter (it goes up the nearer the date you enter). No admin fee though

Whether you should do a mara this Sunday I leave to you to decide!

Sussex Runner (NLR)

30/04/2012 at 11:57

Good call. I gave some sound advice once to an underprepeared marathoner and it got me into trouble.

Isle of wight marathon sounds interesting too. Pity it's not off road though.

Sussex Runner (NLR)

30/04/2012 at 11:58

You look quite young to be doing marathons Ed Flump!

Badly Drawn Bloke

30/04/2012 at 12:15

Admin fee? For fecks sake. I expect, yet still hate, booking/admin fees on ticket sites but on a race? Why not just say the coast is £57.50 up front? It's not cheap but still a fair bit less than some big city marathons, but can Brighton really claim to have the same cache as Berlin, New York etc?

Edinburgh Flump

30/04/2012 at 12:21

Lol I am usually on mums club thread so doesn't look so weird! Did London so no more for me for a while.

Matchstick Man

30/04/2012 at 12:25

Makes you realise what a bargain London is doesn't it? I'd say circa £60 notes was a fair charge for Brighton. Tbh, London could/should be charging twice to three times as much to bring it into line with New York, etc ad one of the worlds biggest marathons.

Sussex Runner (NLR)

30/04/2012 at 12:28

Agree BDM. The fact that they tag it on at the end after you've spent 10 mins processing an application is dishonest.

Badly Drawn Bloke

30/04/2012 at 12:31

Completely agree NLR. Put it up front. People will still pay I'm sure.

xine267

30/04/2012 at 12:33

Charging people to spectate at the finish line? WTF?! How would they even enforce that rule?

I ran Brighton this year and it was a pleasant, well-organised event. But if I was paying nearly £60 for my entry, I would be expecting a lot more than they provided this year. Complimentary massages at the end of the race, a technical t-shirt for all finishers and A LOT more support on the Road to Hell. In fact, I'd rather the course didn't go past a sewage treatment works at all thanks. Oh, and I'd like my mum to be able to watch me finish the race without having to pay for the privilege of standing on a public street!

Straycelt

30/04/2012 at 12:43

London good value if you can get in and they can subsidise due to vast sponsorship. Local half maras (Cardiff, Bristol, Bath) all around £30 so seems the going rate most places UK is £2 per mile(Ish). 10k's are getting a bit outrageous tho! For £50 shop around some good, smaller European races offering a bit of variety e.g. Malta on Spring!