Winner of Grandma’s Marathon had to pay his own entry

comped "elites" wrote:

I personally know `10-12 "elites" with comped entries who previously only ran mid-high 2:50s (female) and high 2:20s(male)

They applied early and were accepted. It wasn't solely merit based, it was also first come, first serve. Many of them didn't finish anywhere near the OTQ times they hoped. All great people, but my point is that the elite field wasn't based on being competitive, it was based on the timing of the application.

Not my experience

I started talking with Sarah Culver In January. I had the following

2 ladies with the B Standard who wanted to run the half

My 2:39 girl got entry/travel/lodging/meals

My 2:43 girl got entry/lodging (we withdrew her a couple months ago)

I had 3 ladies in the full chasing the B standard

1- 2:45:07 PR initially got nothing

2- 2:47:39 PR initially got nothing

3- 2:44 PR already with the B Standard got entry and bottles.

A few week ago the Sarah reached out and upgraded runners 1 and 2. Both got entry fee reimbursed and runner 1 also got bottles.

The entered field was filled early. And they were as accommodating with us as much as they could. And they always are.

If they want to focus on US runners so be it.

However I do know a training group out of Dallas/Fort Worth was given comp codes but that was back on Feb/Mar. they were all 2:50s runners. Not sure how many were running the full as I know two of them were only doing the half

observerer wrote:

If they say they gave out so many elite comps that they didn't couldn't even comp another 2:12 guy, and couldn't even get him on the waitlist, then one observes:

* PR failure, obviously

* They gave out 300 comps, so let's go admire how many of those guys went under 2:10, or at least under 2:19

But, apparently almost all of their elite guys failed, so...

* Were they mostly quitters, or hobby joggers?

Whoever ran the program to select their elite comps, apparently should be fired, as that seems to have been a disastrous failure.

They didn't come in with nearly 300 guys in the low or mid 2:10s. They didn't come in with 200 guys. They didn't even come in with 100 guys! They didn't even make 50 guys!!

Ever hear of first come first served?

They had a budget for 300. They stuck to the budget. End of story

Race Director wrote:

I can see the marathon’s point of view here. No one deserves a free entry but if you were to offer free entries and travel expenses you’d want that money to go to athletes that shape the race you want. If that is to support American athletes who will get a shot at a qualifiers then I can see why you’d exclude a foreign athlete.

I put on an event with travel resources and our committee definitely steers money in a way that best resources the meet vs based on a merit system. We could have two athletes with identical entry times but if one is an up and comer with an interesting story while the other is an late-career athlete with a stronger body of work we might have a choice to make.

Same here, 100%. I'm the guy who does this for a top 40 largest US marathon. Budgets are limited, and not just lodging/travel money but resources like table space for bottles and the personnel to properly administer an elites program. The last thing you want to do is overextend yourself and create a situation that you can't manage and create a good experience for the runners who come to your race. Grandmas certainly has a bigger budget than most of us do, by a lot, but I'm sure they're stressed about getting it right too.

The big thing is the "shape the race the way you want" idea. The worst race we ever had was the year our course record was set, and it was our fault. We accepted a runner into our elite program late in the game who had a pr quite a bit faster than the top 4-5 entrants (men's side). He went out and won by almost 10 minutes, with 2nd, 3rd, and 4th all within 30 seconds of each other. The big story the next day was about the blowout, and the winner made some quotes about the competition that were cringe worthy. We learned our lesson. And we have had a few faster runners pay their own entry fee. Never feel good about seeing that happen when we decline someone from our elites program, but I guess if you have the conviction to pay your own way that says a lot about the strength of your character too.

U did read the article but the circumstances still seemed vague and I couldn't tell how long or short term an arrangement it is. Admittedly, it was really late and I was really tired when I read it so I may have missed a point or two,

Meh, I don't think this is a huge deal. Congrats to Boniface on the win and getting the entry fee back and then some.

Race Director wrote:

I can see the marathon’s point of view here. No one deserves a free entry but if you were to offer free entries and travel expenses you’d want that money to go to athletes that shape the race you want. If that is to support American athletes who will get a shot at a qualifiers then I can see why you’d exclude a foreign athlete.

I put on an event with travel resources and our committee definitely steers money in a way that best resources the meet vs based on a merit system. We could have two athletes with identical entry times but if one is an up and comer with an interesting story while the other is an late-career athlete with a stronger body of work we might have a choice to make.

These are good points. I just think that if you have a guy entering the race with an honest shot to win it, the least you could do is comp his entry. It's not going to cost you anything, and having world-class talent makes it look and feel like a high-quality event. Maybe that's not what they want.

People are talking about some sort of slippery slope, but he has a recent PR that is 5 minutes faster than the next fastest guy's. If the race officials can't make an exception for him it seems like an organizational failure.

Is there anyone here who really thinks this makes the race organizers look good?

I think I know who you are talking about, and if I do those guys were probably given comp codes as a result of the YouTube channel rather than elite field entry. I might be wrong though because I think those guys are faster than 2:50s. In any case, Colby was going for OTQ.

Not only that, think about other factors such as he wasn’t able to line up with the elites and started from behind. Also, he didn’t have elite water bottles like his competition.

You need a tissue? Fking cry babies.

Grandpa wrote:

Not only that, think about other factors such as he wasn’t able to line up with the elites and started from behind. Also, he didn’t have elite water bottles like his competition.

Since he wasn't in the elite field, he didn't have water bottles. But....Grandma's is self-seeding - anyone can line up at the front.

darkwave wrote:

Grandpa wrote:

Not only that, think about other factors such as he wasn’t able to line up with the elites and started from behind. Also, he didn’t have elite water bottles like his competition.

Since he wasn't in the elite field, he didn't have water bottles. But....Grandma's is self-seeding - anyone can line up at the front.

How the heck do they manage 300 water bottles

They didn’t give bottles to everyone.

The fluid stations were a sh1t show. Bottles were never in the same spot. No info on how many tables were going to be set up or where the bottles would be.

Duluth is a great place to live. Sure Lake Superior east winds keep it a little cold, but better then frying ur brain in the heat like literally anywhere in the summer. Plus we got everything you could ever need in a city and the best d1 hockey team in the nation.

How's the beach?

As they are not on the podium, theye really don't get an opportunity to share their experiences. Maybe on their own instagram.

Anyway, this is supposed to be the land of opportunities. Very disappointed in the race organizers. I will remove it from my bucket list.

No one cares. This is Merica baby. And if a Merica marathon(even famous as Grandmas) want's to do this they can. GET OVER IT.

Only a matter of time before Merica stands up and provides its funds for true Mericans then these damn half azz fskes and money collections.

I give major props to Grandmas for doing this and it only a matter of time before you see more. Get these damn shippers out of here!

rojo wrote:

I think it's a great story. We get on Americans for pumping their first when they run 2:09 for 8th in Boston. This dude goes for it and you give him grief? Moral of the story, no matter what you do, you 'll find someone on the internet to complain about it.

OMG ROJO ARE YOU SERIOUS WITH THIS!!! LOLOLOLOL

Hopefully this guy passes his drug test