You do realize that the race promoters and the movie producers are not one and the same??Mr Yeti said:Leadville's new site is up. Registration is up and running, no group entries, and the price has gone up. Looks like they are trying to pay for that movie. Breck 100 here I come.
It's just an issue of supply/demand, right? Greater demand combined w/ limited supply = higher pricing. It's very simple and it's nothing evil or underhanded on the promoters' part. The $15 fee just to submit an entry IS evil, however. I'm glad I got a chance to do the race this year, 'cause there's no way I'd enter this year, on principle alone.12wheels said:I could understand the fee hikes when there were 600-700 racers but find it a little tough to take now that they have 1400.
But with those fees you actually get a ticket to the show. I understand why they are doing this, but personally I think it is weak sauce. I will not be trying to get in now.....too much money to ride dirt roads, I can do that on my own.sdcadbiker said:There are lots of things that cost "too much": Salsa Skewers, Sidi shoes, etc. People still buy them for the snobby "bling" factor; likewise Leadville. If you don't like the price, don't buy the product...
The $15 "lottery entry fee" is the same as you would be charged by active.com or ticketbastard; however, it would have been nice if they rolled it into the $275 that lottery winners pay. But w/e...
It feels like there's a lot of attitude out there that sounds like people think they should be able to get into any race without having to pay. And, no doubt there are some organizers (especially of grass-roots races) that do it purely for the love and don't mind shelling out their own $s - but how long can someone do that?chuckbiker said:Running a race is a costly business. I learned first hand from running The Intermontane Challenge. The lottery fee I see is to cover another one of those cost that nip away at the bottom line. It takes time and money to sort through all the potential racers. For successful races like Leadville to survive... we(race organizers) need to see something that isn't red at the bottom line. We dream of the day when we have Leadville's problem.. too many racers!!!
I agree with most of your points, except that I don't think there are that many folks who'll send in $250 8 months in advance if they're not serious about wanting to do the race, and there's no reason to assume that if the 200 who didn't show up weren't registered there wouldn't be 200 more who also wouldn't show up. I refuse to believe that the 200 or so registrants who didn't show up weren't committed from the beginning and weren't torn up about not being able to attend, whether due to injury or whatever. There will always be pre-registered riders who don't show.chuckred said:It feels like there's a lot of attitude out there that sounds like people think they should be able to get into any race without having to pay. And, no doubt there are some organizers (especially of grass-roots races) that do it purely for the love and don't mind shelling out their own $s - but how long can someone do that?
Look at the lottery fee as a way to cut down the applicants who aren't serious and improve the odds a bit for those who are. Last year almost 200 people registered but didn't start. You could argue that it's "found money" for the organizers. But, they still had to plan on them being there - ensuring that they had the swag, aid stations were geared up for them, etc. And, it kept 200 others who would have shown up from getting in.
Not a flame, but an expansion of your point... there's a very fine line between what a promoter must charge to generate enough revenue to keep an event going and the amount the racers are willing to pay to attend the event. Until such time as Leadville has open slots available on race day, they haven't crossed over the 'too much' line, at least for those riders who've chosen to attend. For me, given that I've done the event once already and have checked it off my list, they've crossed that line already. From the perspective of really wanting to do the ride at least once, it was worth the $250 entry plus all the other costs. Going forward, it isn't worth it to me to pay the increased fees plus all the other costs just to do it a second time. In some small regard, I think it will be a good thing if more people think like me, since it will mean less repeat riders and therefore more new folks get their chance to do it, too.12wheels said:I'd feel better about the event if it hadn't grown so large so quickly. The first 20 miles are too crowded and Columbine is an accident waiting to happen. I'd also be less critical of the fee hike if I hadn't competed in the running events on Pike's Peak.
http://www.pikespeakmarathon.org/entry.htm
$95* for the Ascent (1800 runners) and $85 for the Marathon (800 runners). The vibe is great and fees small. Excellent support and aid stations as well.
It's great to see the money rolling into Leadville but after 13 years of racing and volunteering this is the first year I've questioned whether it's really worth the fee.
Flame away guys.
*They use Active for registration so there is an additional fee.
Come on, that's a function of no refunds/entry swaps on a race that you have to sign up for in January that doesn't take place until August. People get sick, hurt, move, whatever and with a no refunds or transfers policy, Leadville just pockets the cash.chuckred said:Last year almost 200 people registered but didn't start. You could argue that it's "found money" for the organizers.
I suppose there's always going to be some no show rate.Pivvay said:Come on, that's a function of no refunds/entry swaps on a race that you have to sign up for in January that doesn't take place until August. People get sick, hurt, move, whatever and with a no refunds or transfers policy, Leadville just pockets the cash.
