Boston Marathon "Unicorn Club" -- BAA is a ripoff artist!

econ 101 wrote:

What you don't get is that Dick's does not have a quantity constraint. They are better off if you spend $40 for $50 worth of their goods than $0 for nothing. The BAA is at the constraint. They don't have to satisfy their customers. If they were to purely maximize profits, which of course they don't, they'd simply raise the entry fee itself.

What you don't get is that Dick's does not mark up the price of a $40 baseball glove to $100, making this "special deal" available to its long-time customers

After last year's experience of sitting in a muddy, rain soaked field like some refugee, I jumped on this opportunity the moment I got the email. The coach bus and indoor staging area alone are worth the $250 IMO. I certainly don't feel like I'm entitled to some special treatment just because I've decided to race Boston every year. Honestly, I'm just glad they are offering something like this. With only 200 spots (that have already been claimed), charging a fee makes sense to me. If they offered this for free, people would be complaining about who got one of the spots and who didn't.

the UC was worth every penny. will definitely do it again next year if they offer it.

indoor (tent) waiting area before bus loading

motor coach ride itself is worth big bucks to me - my back does no like school bus seats

indoor waiting in Hopkinton

no waiting for bathroom/portables

in the tent after the finish for recovery time instead of having to stumble all the way down Boylston

very easy exit to get to my meeting spot with my wife

will do it again next year if they offer it

The price seemed awfully high for what you get.

It would be nice to be assured somewhere indoor before the start and short lines for the bathroom but that seemed like a lot of money for those benefits. Priced me out.

But I wasn’t shooting for a PR or really trying to race it and didn’t care if I had to stop to use a port a John along the course.

I could have bought a very nice warm outfit that I could have tossed for that amount of money.

Came upon this post after looking for some streaker information. The email offer sounded nice to me but not for $250. After 10+ Boston marathons , you would think we all have figured out what to do, when to do it, how to avoid it and not come off as a first year Boston Marathon runner. But apparently not.

I picked up my bib on Friday. It only took longer because of the amusement park line set up. I usually don’t even go into the expo to buy anything but I had some time to kill before I headed home. Not sure why I would need concierge service at packet pick up.

As for the school bus ride, it’s only an hour ride and I actually look forward to seating next to someone who may be running their first Boston and lending my thoughts on what lies ahead. I bring everything I need with me to survive athletes village. After I finished I got my gear and went back to my hotel which we all know is the most expensive part of this marathon. Do I have a few other tricks up my sleeve that would offset joining the Unicorn Club? Yes. But I’ll keep them to myself until I streak no more. But if others enjoy the Unicorn Club offer that’s great but it’s not for me. See everyone in 2020.