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
Amen! Couldn't agree more.
ReplyDeleteWell 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.
ReplyDeleteThat 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!!
ReplyDeleteAmen.
ReplyDeleteLove 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.
ReplyDeleteMy wife gets all my shirts anyways, I would love the option of opting out of the shirt!
ReplyDeleteCompletely 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.
ReplyDeleteI 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.
ReplyDelete100% agree on everything!
ReplyDeleteYou know you are a runner when....
ReplyDeleteOn 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!
ReplyDeleteI 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....
ReplyDeleteChip 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.
ReplyDelete