Dear Columbus Race Companies,
This weekend I have signed up to run Run CBus's River Run 5K. Originally I had wanted to run the First on the First 5K, but the price was $35 ($40 by the time I decided to sign up), which goes against my rules of paying more than $10 per mile. The River Run was $25 which is still outrageous but at least doable. Both these races had good swag. The River Run has a long sleeve tech shirt, which they did not have available when I picked up my packet, a finisher's mug, chip timing, and refreshments at the finish. The First on the First run had a long sleeve tech shirt, chip timing, medals for all finishers, and a meal at the finish.
Here's my complaint...I don't need all that swag. And I think a lot of "regular" runners would agree with me. I would love to go back to having cotton shirts or an option for no shirts at all. I can't even close my drawers because of all the shirts and most of them don't fit anyway. And, why do I need chip timing for a 5K? If I want to bust out a PR, shouldn't I line up closer to the front? A mug or a medal for all finishers? It's a 5K not a marathon.
I want the race companies to go back to the basics. I want my 5Ks to cost no more than $15. And really, I only want to pay $10. I hope you will take my suggestions into consideration.
Sincerely,
Meredith
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13 comments:
Amen! Couldn't agree more.
Well said.....I enjoy swag as much as the next guy, but I think giving people a choice would be nice. Certainly, it would add a layer of complexity that race organizers might not want to deal with, but it would also help drive the price back down.
That said, I do like getting a nice tech shirt every now and again, and while getting a medal at my very first 5K was nice, it would seem silly to take one now for anything less than a 1/2 marathon.
All the best....have a very happy New Year...and I look forward to reading your blog!
AMEN!!
Amen.
Love the idea. I have a whole shelf full of just race visors. The last thing I need is another t shirt or visor. I could always use a few extra bucks in my pocket.
My wife gets all my shirts anyways, I would love the option of opting out of the shirt!
Completely agree! At least the cotton shirts used to fit, now you get a tech shirt that only fits men. Would love to be able to opt out of receiving a shirt.
I agree, there's just too much crap in the bags you get for the fun runs and the price just keeps going up every year. Most of the time the shirts don't fit - recently I did a 5km got a shirt that would normally be my size but I had trouble putting it over my head. Not cool when you're paying $30 to participate.
100% agree on everything!
You know you are a runner when....
On a side note, I agree totally!
LOVE THIS!!!! Races are so much now a days. I think if 10 was my cap I would never race again!
I can't agree more. I don't do more than 1 5K per year as a result. They are just too pricey, and I don't need all that. I was thinking I needed to have them give away shorts instead of shirts, but really, who wants a bunch of ads on their rear? I was actually planning on posting about that shortly....
Chip timing has become the norm, but why should a 5k be chipped if there are less than a few hundred people? As for medals, I could care less about them. I give them to my kids to play with. There are some cheap races out there- most of them are small and very local and not run by the big running companines- but you can find them each summer if you look.
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