New York application process is more painful than running it
Written: Jun 19 '00 (Updated Jun 19 '00)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: A great race...supposedly
Cons: The organizers are very very greedy.
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| Mattog's Full Review: New York City Marathon |
I have never actually run the New York Marathon, but I have been through the application meat grinder and it is not a fun process by any stretch of the imagination.
For the 2000 New York City Marathon the New York Road Runners Club have introduced a sort of 4-tier lottery system to select the lucky 30,000 who will get to toe the line on the Verrazano Narrows Bridge on November 5 for a romp through the 5 boroughs.
There are regularly over 100,000 applicants for the 30,000 spots so unless you are a member of the NYRRC or an elite runner, you should expect to be disappointed. That said I did get in this year on my very first try! Why then am I knocking the application process you ask yourself?
First, you have to pay $7 to have the privilige of having your name put in the hat. This is flagrant profiteering and needs to be stopped. The NYRRC make $700,000 for holding a lottery and my bet is they don't have a gambling lisence! They also have an April line up in Central Park for New York residents which increases their chances of getting a number where they sell all sorts of expensive goodies. A friend of mine bought a $30 "I'M TRAINING FOR THE 2000 NEW YORK MARATHON" T-Shirt, but she didn't get a number, go figure.
What is worse, if you are very keen to run NYCM and get your entry in early, only to miss out on the first lottery held in May, the NYRRC keep accepting last minute applications up until the second lottery in June thereby further reducing your chances of getting a number second time around. Again this is nothing but flagrant profiteering.
Unfortunately I will not be able to use my number this fall because of another commitment but I can roll over and get an automatic entry for next year's race. Unfortunately none of the $97 that I have already paid the NYRRC will be able to roll over with my number and I will have to pay the entry fee again if I want to run. $187 is a lot even for New York.
So what do you get for your $97? A bus to the start on Staten Island? No thats extra. An Official Results book? No thats extra too! Pretty soon you will have to pay for the finishers medals.
I have heard many great things about this race but so far I'm not very impressed. The organizers have designed an application process which is geared to milk as much money as possible from as many runners as possible and has nothing to do with the equitable distribution of numbers.
They need to have a firm cut-off date for applications like the equally popular Marine Corps Marathon or think about introducing a qualifying time like Boston. The current lottery system is complicated, unfair and very expensive.
Recommended:
No
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Epinions.com ID:
Mattog
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Member: Matt R.
Location: San Francisco, CA
Reviews written: 72
Trusted by: 37 members
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