A quick post on the Ultrarunning Community page on Facebook about a thread on the Runners World forum, resulted in a flurry of posts around the price of events. I am entered in the t184 so feel a little protective of it I guess but it prompted me to think on what is too expensive to me personally.
I am by no means poor but I'm not wealthy either. Living on a small island (which, contrary to popular misconception, is not populated by rich tax-dodgers) I always need to factor in the costs of travel and accommodation, plus the time away, in addition to the price of a race. This may mean that some races seem better value to me than to some living in the UK whose travel costs would be minimal. It also means that I can only realistically enter one or two events per year so each event has to have value to me in terms of personal accomplishment and goals.
That means that the entry price is viewed as a proportion of the costs of getting there and back.
I happily paid £100 for the London to Brighton trail race (4 times!) as the entry fee didn't seem huge in proportion to the 500-odd pounds for travel and accommodation. The t184 is £125 which is similar to the (excellent by all accounts) Centurion Running 100-mile events. These events probably cannot be compared like for like. Some posted on RW seem to think that you should get something material back in proportion to the entry fee but I think this belief is misplaced. Sure if you're doing your first (and only) marathon you may want something like the London marathon, with all the goody bags, water and energy drink stops, huge crowds etc. etc. but that is not why I enter ultras. I neither want nor expect all that from an ultra. It just has to fit my personal goals, be well organised and provided everything required within the parameters of the challenge. This may be that is just a bloody long way, is mountainous, is self-navigating, or requires self-sufficiency.
The t184 appeals because it's both a long way and requires near-total self-sufficiency but is on the Thames Path which is probably a lot safer as a first go in this than, say, the Brecon Beacons. I am therefore using this as a step up or test. If I manage the logistics of this it would give me confidence to tackle other events perhaps in less hospitable terrain.
Oh and I expect to have a good time doing it and an even better time when it's finished!
So does £125 seem expensive to me? No not at all.
Some also seem to suspect that some event organisers are doing it for a fat profit. To me there's nothing wrong in a commercially based event. I believe Centurion is. Like all businesses, commercial organisers will not last long if they don't get their price point right and judging by the speed at which James Elston's events sell out, he must have got that right. What grates on me is ultra events that try to be like the city marathons, with t-shirts and goody bags, aid stations every 200 yards and cheerleaders at the finish. That's not why I do ultras. And that's why I will never run the Marathon des Sables.
It really is down to personal preference so I don't really see why people need to slag off races for being too expensive - except maybe the MdS!
