What do you expect a new marathon to organise before taking entries?

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Dooogs May 2013 8:54am, 17 May 2013 908 posts	0 Dooogs This came to mind when looking at the website for the potential Huddersfield marathon. They’re taking entries already (at £35 a pop for the full marathon) but they don’t appear to have the following:* • A finalised route & measurement confirmation • A UKA license • Approval from the local council to hold the race • Insurance details • Details of if there will be full refunds if the race doesn’t go ahead. *Maybe they do and they haven’t put it on their website. huddersfieldmarathon.co.uk What normally happens when a marathon is being organised for the first time – is it normal for the organisers to start taking entries first and then sort the above list out afterwards? I was going to ask them but don’t want to appear arsey if their method is the normal way of doing things…
Son of a Pronator Man May 2013 9:02am, 17 May 2013 7,016 posts	0 Son of a Pronator Man I can seee how taking money now will help their cash flow but personally I wouldn't enter at this stage . Their promise of a "full refund" might not turn out that way.
Nelly May 2013 9:09am, 17 May 2013 969 posts	0 Nelly I wouldn't enter a first time marathon without, as an absolute minimum, approval from the local council to hold the race and the refund details if the race doesn’t go ahead. Unless I'm missing it, I can't see a promise of any type of refund on the website SOAPM?
JohnnyO May 2013 9:14am, 17 May 2013 16,175 posts	0 JohnnyO Some of the proposed route appears to be on the hard shoulder of the M62.
Nelly May 2013 9:17am, 17 May 2013 970 posts	0 Nelly I noticed that, but don't worry Johnny, it's running against the traffic flow, so at least you'll see the out of control HGV before it wipes you out
minardi. May 2013 9:18am, 17 May 2013 1,869 posts	0 minardi. Blimey, just had a quick click on the link and first thing I see is a hill! Don't think I'll enter whether it gets council approval or not!
Nelly May 2013 9:26am, 17 May 2013 971 posts	0 Nelly Anybody who knows Hudderdfield, knows it won't be flat, but I think it's fair to say it won't be a PB course http://www.fetcheveryone.com/routes-view.php?id=1334590&subtab=elevation
Velociraptor May 2013 9:32am, 17 May 2013 25,391 posts	0 Velociraptor "Multi-terrain" sort of gives it away as maybe not a PB course too, although it didn't occur to me that the terrain variety might include the surface of the M62. I looked at the website last night and concluded that there wasn't enough information for it to be worth entering. And all the ENTER NOW!!!!! PLACES LIMITED!!!!! GET IN OR MISS OUT!!!!! YOU'LL BE SORRY IF YOU DON'T!!!!!! stuff looks like an invitation to sink your life savings into junk bonds or a timeshare.
Dooogs May 2013 9:34am, 17 May 2013 909 posts	0 Dooogs Ta, all – I wasn’t sure if I was being more pedantic than usual or not. Does it sound reasonable to query the bullet points politely with the organisers then?
Velociraptor May 2013 9:36am, 17 May 2013 25,392 posts	0 Velociraptor I think it would be worth establishing that those basic logistical issues had been addressed before putting your credit card details on to the website, Doooooooogs