Yeah, we know Starbucks is pricy for what you get. For years we’ve been trained, in a cheery, Pavlovian way, to caffeinate ourselves for $5.50 a pop. Next guest!
But hey, do marathon organizers really have to price their races like we’re just a bunch of quad-stretching, hamstring-ignoring, mindless runner-lemmings?
Yes, Chicago hit $110 this fall, but NYC just cracked a whopping $150. That’s $90 if you’re in the NYRR, or $120 if not, plus a $10 processing fee, plus the $20 bus to get you there, plus a $35 chip deposit, plus anything else we were too ticked off to notice on the website. Oh, and if you’re from anywhere outside the U.S., admission starts at $175. And that includes Puerto Rico. There are more Puerto Ricans living in New York than there are in Puerto Rico, so maybe they saw this coming before the rest of this.
And I seem to remember from some ancient economics class that higher demand brings prices down. With the total marathon crowd approaching 40,000, that’s not the case.
Don’t get me wrong, the NYRR and ING put on a fine, unforgettable marathon with the best crowds anywhere. But Mr. Satan has been down this road (literally) seven times, and he remembers back when it cost the same to take a taxi as it did to run from Staten Island to Tavern on the Green.
So the price has doubled in the last ten years, along with the size of the crowd. Guess I’ll order a frickin’ double frapp and shut up.
Next guest!
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2 comments:
Seriously, what exactly are we paying for here? Extra crowd control for Lance Armstrong? There should be some kind of Marathoner's Bill of Rights. Race organizers know that we wouldn't miss these races for the world and that we are willing to cough up the dough for it - we're suckers and we know it. Maybe it's time to make a movement toward the smaller home town-y races (shouts out to Steamtown - uh-huh, hooah hooah!)
All kidding aside, it really is kind of expensive. What if you're a first-timer with no disposable income, and saving up for Christmas? I guess you have to be middle- to upper-class to get into a marathon on your own, or else sign up with a charity fundraising club.
You're absolutely right about the smaller marathons, though. Time to check those out, again. Shout out to Steamtown is right, though now when I think of Scranton I think of 'The Office'!
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