...about the Naperville Marathon/Half that started such a controversy yesterday.
(I'm hesitant to put the name of the race in the title of the post, for fear that they might be rude to me on social media. But more on that later.)
(Another aside - I already have plans the weekend of this race, so I wasn't planning on running it anyway. But as a member of the running community, I feel the need to weigh in.)
Sooo, for those who are unaware, yesterday this inaugural race, to be held in November 2013, announced their registration fees. $150 for the marathon and $115 for the half. I saw that and went, HUH? That's insane! I was actually happy that I had something else to do - not disappointed in the least to be missing out on this one.
The reasoning for the high entry fees? They were offering a "name brand" 1/4 zip top without advertising on the back and race photos. Plus the usual blah blah about how much races cost to put on.
Needless to say, runners everywhere went ballistic. They thought the same that I did - why is this race nearly as expensive as the Chicago Marathon, when it's inaugural and in Naperville? It got to the point where the entry fees were drastically reduced, and everybody was happy again.
Well... sort of.
The race organizers said that they would now offer long-sleeved tech tees instead of the 1/4 zip top. That's the race director equivalent of saying "FINE. If you don't want to play my way, I'm going to take my toys and go home." That pissed me off a little bit. Oh, you don't like our entry fees, so we're going to take away the premiums? Just take away the race photos and don't offer a "name brand" top. Is it really that hard?
(For the record, I did 2 races last year where I was given a 1/4 zip top, not name brand, without sponsor logos on the back, and neither one of those races cost even half of the proposed Naperville fee. But anyway.)
I came across this article from Runner's World today. Some people are upset that both sides of the article aren't presented, but I think it's a pretty good synopsis of the situation.
While I applaud the race directors for actually listening to runners' concerns BEFORE the race, I do not approve of the way they handled an annoying Twitter follower, as seen at the bottom of the article.
If you have a problem with someone on social media, if they're harassing you or just plain annoying, there's an easy solution - BLOCK THEM. Don't call them out by name on Twitter. People are rude, get over it. (I work in customer service, so I know these things.) Don't act like a child. If you need further assistance, please refer to my post about social media, #8.
Happy Running!
Word. I aired my thoughts on my blog quite thoroughly (and got comments from two of the race directors, both of whom I emailed with a little bit). I thought the way it was handled was spotty ... and after emailing with the RD's, I got a sense for which FB/Twitter posts were from which RD. I feel bad for the one who seems to genuinely want to listen to the feedback and put on a good race. Don't know how he got roped in with Sally Sourpuss RD who has no business interacting with the public on behalf of an organization.
ReplyDeleteIt's disgusting. I'm completely turned off. There's no excuse for that type of behavior. Ugh.
DeleteI completely missed this! I was thinking of running the half, I need to look further into it.
ReplyDeleteI think the whole Twitter thing just left a terrible taste in my mouth. It would take a lot for me to register for one of their races, unfortunately.
DeleteScreaming Pumpkin Marathon in Peoria is $135, but that included a Saucony Kinvara full zip jacket, a long sleeved tech shirt, and a hat. I don't think they're going about things in a way that would make anyone want to run their race.
ReplyDelete