marathon on a budget

Quoted message said:

I don't have a lot of money, but I'd like to complete an official
marathon. Almost all of the ones I've seen are at least 60 bucks to
enter. Anyone know how I can complete an official marathon on a VERY
tight budget?

Thanks.

bob
http://www.coolgroups.com/

Of course, the entry fee is just part of the cost when you consider
travel expenses, meals, housing, etc.

If money is really that tight, consider doing some volunteer work for a
local marathon. Maybe they'll comp you with a free entry if you do some
pre-race work for them. You could also join a group like Team in
Training. They'll pay your way to a major marathon if you can raise a
big donation for their charity.

where are you & where are you willing to go?

<[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I don't have a lot of money, but I'd like to complete an official
marathon. Almost all of the ones I've seen are at least 60 bucks to
enter. Anyone know how I can complete an official marathon on a VERY
tight budget?

Quoted message said:

Anyone know how I can complete an official marathon on a VERY
tight budget?

DF will pay you $60 for sex, $80 if your butt is tight.
TBR

"As democracy is perfected, the office of president represents, more and
more closely, the inner soul of the people. On some great and glorious day
the plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last and the
White House will be adorned by a downright moron."
H.L. Mencken (1880 - 1956)
"Anyone with degrees from Yale and Harvard is presumed to be intelligent,
but George W. Bush has managed to overcome that presumption."

The Bill Rodgers said:

Quoted message said:

Anyone know how I can complete an official marathon on a VERY
tight budget?

DF will pay you $60 for sex, $80 if your butt is tight.

You seem to be intimately aware of DF's sexual needs.

Call the RD and tell him that you are too cheap to pay the entry fee. I am
sure the RD will give you an entry.

Suck it up and pay the money.

<[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I don't have a lot of money, but I'd like to complete an official
marathon. Almost all of the ones I've seen are at least 60 bucks to
enter. Anyone know how I can complete an official marathon on a VERY
tight budget?

Thanks.

bob
http://www.coolgroups.com/

On Sat, 17 Sep 2005 16:48:50 GMT, "Sam" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Call the RD and tell him that you are too cheap to pay the entry fee. I am
sure the RD will give you an entry.

I just tried that, he laughed so hard he [censored] his pants, then
hungup.
TBR

"As democracy is perfected, the office of president represents, more and
more closely, the inner soul of the people. On some great and glorious day
the plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last and the
White House will be adorned by a downright moron."
H.L. Mencken (1880 - 1956)
"Anyone with degrees from Yale and Harvard is presumed to be intelligent,
but George W. Bush has managed to overcome that presumption."

Quoted message said:

I don't have a lot of money, but I'd like to complete an official
marathon. Almost all of the ones I've seen are at least 60 bucks to
enter. Anyone know how I can complete an official marathon on a VERY
tight budget?

http://www.equinoxmarathon.org/
was run today, but early registration is $30 (in time for next year),
and I guarantee you'll get your money's worth of race 😉. Just be sure
to look at the topo map to plan your training. I suspect there's similar
ones in other parts of the country.

You might want to mention where you are, since most likely travel and
other logistics will cost you far more than entry fee.

Here's some that are $55
http://www.redwoodtrails.com/final/calendar.html
and some of the Canadian ones (Toronto, etc.) looked a little cheaper,
assuming they were quoting Canadian dollars.

One thing you might want to consider also while looking, is it really a
marathon (26.2 mi) that you're looking to run OR are you looking to run
the distance, get t-shirts, medals, have aid stations every mile or so,
bands, expo, etc.

Another thought is to plan ahead, and put $1 in a piggy bank / aka
marathon account every week starting now, and by next fall you'd have
the money for the entry fee - or $2/wk for a spring marathon. (one less
coffee or beer / wk) But you'll probably need more than that for the
other expenses.

Or if you volunteered one year, maybe you could get a reduced entry fee
the next.

Just some thoughts.

Dot

--
"running is a mysterious journey that we take not just to beat other
people or to stay in reasonable physical shape - but to find out more
about ourselves" - Owen Anderson

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I don't have a lot of money, but I'd like to complete an official
marathon. Almost all of the ones I've seen are at least 60 bucks to
enter. Anyone know how I can complete an official marathon on a VERY
tight budget?

Whether you are really in a financial dilemma or trolling, at least make
this a more realistic question and state where you live. For anyone to
find a race that is free or cheap but takes airfare or N tanks of gas is
a waste of everyone's time and energy.

-DF

I'm in Colorado.

Doug Freese said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I don't have a lot of money, but I'd like to complete an official
marathon. Almost all of the ones I've seen are at least 60 bucks to
enter. Anyone know how I can complete an official marathon on a VERY
tight budget?

Whether you are really in a financial dilemma or trolling, at least make
this a more realistic question and state where you live. For anyone to
find a race that is free or cheap but takes airfare or N tanks of gas is
a waste of everyone's time and energy.

-DF

Quoted message said:

I'm in Colorado.

Google on Colorado and marathons, and you'll come to
$40 http://www.riograndemarathon.com/register.html
and probably others.

Search under Colorado in marathonguide.com
http://www.marathonguide.com/races/search.cfm

and you'll get at least these
$45 http://www.active.com/event_detail.cfm?event_id=1203710
$35 http://www.active.com/event_detail.cfm?event_id=1189240

Those are just ones that came up in a few minutes looking.

There's probably other tools for searching for marathons that some
others that actually have looked for marathons in lower 48 might be able
to point you to.

You also want to check surrounding states.

Dot

Quoted message said:

Doug Freese said:

Quoted message said:

[email hidden] wrote:

>I don't have a lot of money, but I'd like to complete an official
>marathon. Almost all of the ones I've seen are at least 60 bucks to
>enter. Anyone know how I can complete an official marathon on a VERY
>tight budget?

Whether you are really in a financial dilemma or trolling, at least make
this a more realistic question and state where you live. For anyone to
find a race that is free or cheap but takes airfare or N tanks of gas is
a waste of everyone's time and energy.

-DF

--
"running is a mysterious journey that we take not just to beat other
people or to stay in reasonable physical shape - but to find out more
about ourselves" - Owen Anderson

....yeah...and i like to date "official" models on a budget too.
unfortunately that dog don't hunt. certain things cost money one way
or another....

Quoted message said:

...yeah...and i like to date "official" models on a budget too.
unfortunately that dog don't hunt. certain things cost money one way
or another....

C'mon man, Lance. Have a heart.
Just because you are rich and can afford to have two homes
and 50 singlets doesn't mean everyone can afford it. All
the guy wants to do is run a marathon - the cheapest he
can find. Implicitly, he's wants to know if he can run
one under $60, and he did get a few helpful suggestions.
Yours wasn't one of them.

jobs

darn you jobs...you're gonna make me issue a real response. rats. OK,
here it is.

real world? it's not like Marathons are as common and local as a
McDonalds. the the OP uses the term "Official Marathon"?..what the
heck is that?

anyway....the obvious answer is "the closest marathong to where you
dwell regardless of entry fee"....and check marathonguide.com. no?
c'mon...what sense does it make to avoid a local marathon that cost $90
to go to a marathon that's 200 miles away and $50 or even FREE for that
matter.

i filled up my cherokee with gas this week and it cost me $78 for
crissakes! c'mon folks...you don't "marathon" on a budget and search
of a cheap entry fee. in most every case you will pay more in
food/housing/transportation/time than opting for the closest marathon
to you...no?

I've gotta agree with Lance on this one (amazing, eh?). Besides which,
the question, as posed, is almost too dumb to be legit. And the
followup identifying just plain "Colorado" as the locale sounds like
more trolling.

But, this is a good opportunity to get in a plug for my first marathon,
since it was unbelievably affordable, and a great race to boot.
Virginia Creeper marathon in March, Abingdon, VA. Cost: a whole TEN
BUCKS. (not sure if it has gone up, since this was in 2004) Great
course, certified Boston qualifier, not too difficult, soft&forgiving
unpaved rail trail surface, very friendly, very well-organized. Highly
recommended! If there's a less expensive "official" marathon out
there, I haven't heard of it.

I wonder how much gas it would take to get to Abindgon from "Colorado"?
Or maybe our OP could just hitchhike.

<[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

...yeah...and i like to date "official" models on a budget too.
unfortunately that dog don't hunt. certain things cost money one way
or another....

C'mon man, Lance. Have a heart.
Just because you are rich and can afford to have two homes
and 50 singlets doesn't mean everyone can afford it. All
the guy wants to do is run a marathon - the cheapest he
can find. Implicitly, he's wants to know if he can run
one under $60, and he did get a few helpful suggestions.
Yours wasn't one of them.

The faster he runs the higher his nose goes in the air.

-DF

It still seems bizarre to me that these things cost so much. I saw one
with a $60 registration, and it said they had 2800 people last year.

Does it really cost $168,000 to host a marathon? Especially when
almost everyone working it is a volunteer?

Quoted message said:

It still seems bizarre to me that these things cost so much.

Look at the cost of triathlons for comparison.

Quoted message said:

I saw one
with a $60 registration, and it said they had 2800 people last year.

Does it really cost $168,000 to host a marathon? Especially when
almost everyone working it is a volunteer?

This is one of the reasons why I asked if you were looking to run a
marathon or wanted all the fringes.

Just an example of costs for some marathons - permits (sometimes based
on percent of fees taken in), road closures, timing (chips, mats, if
used), course marking, cones, security (police), insurance, food, fluids
at aid stations, bibs, medals, porta potties, t-shirts, awards, etc.
Sometimes organizations provide volunteers in exchange for a donation to
the club. Medical assistance may be volunteers (I'll bet race makes a
donation) but not sure if supplies (like IV's and whatever) are free or
covered by the race. Pre- /post-race meals (sometimes included,
sometimes not). Not sure if marathon has to pay for expo or if that's
covered by cost of booths. Some have bands or other entertainment along
the way. Most marathons also support charity of some sort. I don't run
road races, so I'm clueless about the true cost of these things - just
suggesting the obvious. I'm sure David (SWStudio) can tell you where the
money goes since he's gotten into race management himself.

You'll find the best value for $ in trail races usually since there
aren't as many expenses. And they'll usually take you a little longer,
so you really get your money's worth.

Consider volunteering at a marathon, and I'll bet you'd learn a lot
about what's needed.

Look at the bright side. Some people in Alaska (or visitors) have been
known to fork over $800 in an auction for a very popular 5k, if they
didn't get in by lottery. (regular entry is about $20)

Dot

--
"running is a mysterious journey that we take not just to beat other
people or to stay in reasonable physical shape - but to find out more
about ourselves" - Owen Anderson

But, this is a good opportunity to get in a plug for my first marathon,
since it was unbelievably affordable, and a great race to boot.
Virginia Creeper marathon in March, Abingdon, VA. Cost: a whole TEN
__

i checked out the site....gets great ratings on marathonguide.com too.
however i'm not sure i want to enter a marathon that i would win in my
age group. i've become accustomed to racing with broad & strong
fields. "rising tides lift all boats" all that that kind of stuff.

contray to what DF suggests about me (redliner, big [censored] contest on the
course, etc.)...not the case. in fact i intentionally bypassed a race
this weekend with my club here in nyc wherein i could have taken first
place in my age group (and i've never placed in my age group). i
forecasted a thin field and was right..but there would have been
minimal fulfillment had i raced in that one....

In article <[email hidden]>,

Dot dot.h@#duh?att.net said:

Quoted message said:

It still seems bizarre to me that these things cost so much.

Look at the cost of triathlons for comparison.

In my experience:

Sprint tri = $45-75
Half-Ironman = $90-$200
Ironman=$200-$450 (generic at the low end, "name brand" WTC races at the
high end)

Of course, for an Ironman, you've got to staff it for 17 hours, plus
food and drink, etc., for that long as well.

--Harold Buck

"I used to rock and roll all night,
and party every day.
Then it was every other day. . . ."
-Homer J. Simpson