With no income, he ain't rich
Guaranteed entry?
No! With refund, you see
Each meal, for life, bánh mì sandwich!
Good news came from the New York Road Runners today. After about two months of little news, NYRR finally announced that any runners who were scheduled to run the 2012 NYC Marathon, but couldn't because it was cancelled at the last minute, have the options to get a full refund, minus the $11 processing fee. Other options are
- not get a refund but get guaranteed entry for the 2013, 2014, or 2015 marathon, but pay all over again, albeit at 2012 price
- not get a refund but get guaranteed entry for the 2013 NYC Half Marathon and, again, pay for everything all over.
As the runner from Bath Beach with no income, I'll jump onto the refund option. Road races always carry a no-refund policy, but NYRR made an exception for this unusual circumstance. Maybe the deal struck with their insurer will cover everything, maybe 50% will be covered, who knows? All I know is it's a good deal for people who can use the refund. Good P.R. for NYRR! P.R., in this case, of course, means public relation, not Personal Record, Mr. and Ms. Runner.
From what I saw on Facebook, it seems many people don't mind foregoing the refund to secure a guaranteed entry. And paying all over again, even if it'll be 2012 price. Hmm, the mention of "2012 price" makes me think price will go up in 2013 and so on. Price increase or not, that's still one stiff price to pay for a guaranteed spot. I suppose if people don't have the time to do 9+1 then it's comparatively less costly to just "buy" a spot with the money already spent on the ill-fated 2012 race. At the wild number of $30 a race, doing 9 races can set you back $270, as opposed to the $200+ already spent on the 2012 NYCM. Personally, I'd rather do the 9 races and get something more out of it, including a way to gage my training.
The NYC Half option is even less attractive, in my opinion. From what I read, last year the NYC Half ran through Times Square and ended with a party in the South Street Seaport, all for a mere $100+ fee etc. Again, you sorta buy a guaranteed entry for the NYC Half. Quite a popular race, the NYC Half also has a lottery system and its own system for guaranteed entry. One way to get into the NYC Half is to participate in four out of the five five-borough race series. I did all five in 2012, including the Manhattan Half Marathon that became a fun run because of snow, for which I got race credit even though I was home shoveling snow. I had guaranteed entry for the NYC Half but I passed the chance to spend $100+.
One common confusion is that the Manhattan Half and NYC Half are the same. They are not, even though both takes place entirely in Manhattan. NYC Half is touristy and happens in Central Park, Times Square, West Side Highway, then South Street Seaport, in March when the weather is usually nice. Manhattan Half happens entirely in Central Park and is scheduled for the cold month of January. It also costs less and anyone can sign up provided it is not already sold out.
With the end of the year approaching, nothing will actually happen yet with the refund etc. Some email will be sent out January 10 of the new year and the runners will have some window of time to make the selection. It would be real bummer if the world will really end tomorrow, December 21, 2012. Wonder if I should ping some Australian or Asian people I know. It's already December 21 there, right?
Farewell, cruel world!
For the exact wordings from ING, the sponsor of the NYCM, visit http://www.ingnycmarathon.org/resolution.htm
No comments:
Post a Comment