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Why are races in London too expensive to enter?

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postie_mark Apr 2017 6:40pm, 29 Apr 2017 6 posts	Quote Pin postie_mark Yesterday, the London Marathon organised yet another race for the capital city The Big Half Marathon I imagined the entry fee would not come cheap and I was proved correct at £37. There seems to be several of these races popping up during the last few years to go with over established races that are organised by an "events company" If you try to enter any of those races you will usually see an eye-watering entry fee. British 10k £45(£50 in May) Hackney Half Marathon £48 Royal Parks Half Marathon £55!! North London Half Marathon £45 London 10000 £28 Eailing Half Marathon £38 London 10 £44 London Landmarks Half Marathon £49.50 The Big Half £37 If you enter every one of the above races it would cost you £389.50 why are these race ridiculously overpiced the organisers would probably give the excuse that they have to pay for road closures. I live in Hull and the Grimsby 10k has road closures and it costs £11 to enter for club runners. The North Lincolnshire Half Marathon and Scarborough 10k also has road closures and their race entry fees are cheap in comparison to those London races I have listed above and we think that the Hull 10k is too expensive and that is £25. It is more like that race organisers are profiteering from unattached runners who don't mind paying over the odds so long as they can run with their headphones on.
Fierce and Fearless Fleecy Apr 2017 10:00pm, 29 Apr 2017 34,452 posts	Quote Pin Fierce and Fearless Fleecy That's London weighting for you
Too Much Water Apr 2017 12:47am, 30 Apr 2017 6,071 posts	Quote Pin Too Much Water To keep the Northerners out!
The_Saint Apr 2017 1:09am, 30 Apr 2017 6,012 posts	Quote Pin The_Saint From previous experience, mentioning that particular races are extortionate gets the Fetchforks rattling like nobody's business. Seems I am questioning people's inalienable right first set out in the Magna Carta to be ripped off.
larkim Apr 2017 6:50am, 30 Apr 2017 1,887 posts	Quote Pin larkim Some races are run simply to make money. Fair enough. Others are run by charities to make money. Fair enough. Some are run by clubs to make money for they funds. Fair enough. Some are run by clubs with no interest in making money, just want to ensure costs are covered. Fair enough.
postie_mark Apr 2017 7:47am, 30 Apr 2017 8 posts	Quote Pin postie_mark How much of the proceeds that the above races I mentioned is ploughed back into local grassroots running and to local running clubs in the areas that those races take place in? Those races organisers do not have the best interests of local running at heart.
Silvershadow Apr 2017 8:03am, 30 Apr 2017 1,109 posts	Quote Pin Silvershadow In terms of London Marathon Events Ltd. 100% of the surplus goes to London Marathon Charitable trust who "award grants for capital projects that inspire and increase the numbers of people regularly taking part in physical activities" virginmoneylondonmarathon.com That's over £65million to grass roots sport since 1981.
Wobbling Apr 2017 8:22am, 30 Apr 2017 4,869 posts	Quote Pin Wobbling The other subsidiary costs associated with putting on a race, such as managing road closures, insurance, indemnities to local authorities, staff, logistics (loos, bag drop etc) will be more expensive because it is London. It's a bit supply & demand too: lots of runners in London and the surroundings and therefore lots of call on race places. Tho I've always thought the Royal Park half was extortionate
The_Saint Apr 2017 9:53am, 30 Apr 2017 6,013 posts	Quote Pin The_Saint I find it very odd that some people seem to have no innate sense of a fair price. There is a very popular 5K in Cardiff tonight £13 affiliated/£15 unaffiliated. My club's 20 mile race is £18/£20 and I resisted a £2 price rise we enforced a couple of years ago. We make enough to make it worth our while but we don't make a fortune, nor would we feel comfortable doing so.
Badger Apr 2017 3:39pm, 30 Apr 2017 8,354 posts	Quote Pin Badger Saint, is your race organised by volunteers, or are the people who do it paid?