Wittenberg article in the NY Times

there are other races in NYC -

www.nycruns.com

is a good place to find them. But these races cost $30 also, so no advantage there.

NYCruns did put on a very old school 5k series this summer in riverside park- I did one of them. I think it cost $10, no t-shirt. The races were fine - the course sort of stunk, but that's my opinion.

I just poked around on NYCruns, and they are actually trying to form a race series based on the clubs - could be interesting:

http://nycruns.com/nycruns-interclub-challenge-other-club-thoughts/

"Next year, our goal for the InterClub Challenge is to get a race from every area running club included. It already includes entries from about half a dozen. We’re going to offer these clubs as much help as we can for as little as we can reasonably charge and where neccesary we’re going to be creative. Insofar as NYCRUNS has a mission – this is part of it."

agip wrote:

" We’re going to offer these clubs as much help as we can for as little as we can reasonably charge and where neccesary we’re going to be creative. Insofar as NYCRUNS has a mission – this is part of it."

...now that's how it should be.

I think that all sounds great. If NYRR isn't meeting the needs of all runners then the New York area has the critical mass in numbers to create alternatives, which is as it should be.

Actually, the name USED to be NYRRC. They don't want it to be a club, but technically it still is, at least as far as the paying members are concerned.

Although it is more of a cult for people who are really into it. Mary is the fearless leader and the kool-aid is endorphins and positive attitudes. Remember this mission statement or whatever they paid all that dough for when they ruined website? These were some of my faves:

Run to keep your thighs from rubbing together.

Run because endorphins are better than Botox.

Run like Forrest.

Asylum wrote:

Remember this mission statement or whatever they paid all that dough for when they ruined website?

The website is still not fixed. Example: races show up until the day before the race as a direct link on the homepage. If you want to have a look at the NYRR.org page on race day, you can only find direct links from the homepage to old races and the races in the next weeks, but not todays race. Of course you can find it through the calendar, but that takes a few clicks more.

On the upside, the new page is much better for finding recipes to put struggling inner city kids on a diet.

Suggestionator wrote:

As for the NY Marathon, it's a unique race. People from all over the world want to run in it and it costs a huge amount to put on, especially with the city raising costs significantly. High costs and high demand result in high prices. If you want cheap and hard-core, run the Yonkers Marathon, which has an even older heritage than the NYM.

_________

Really? Did you forget to tell the readers something? Maybe something about how many hills there are in the Yonkers Marathon? And, how steep they are?

Juuuuust a tiny bit of missing information.

Curious12 wrote:

Really? Did you forget to tell the readers something? Maybe something about how many hills there are in the Yonkers Marathon? And, how steep they are?

Juuuuust a tiny bit of missing information.

I'm not saying Yonkers is the equivalent of the NYM. I'm saying if you want cheaper, simpler, and not as appealing to yuppie recreational runners, then try Yonkers or a race like that.

If you want a well supported marathon that goes through the 5 boroughs of New York City and shuts down much of Manhattan and attracts elites and runners from all over the world, run the NYM, but you've got to expect to pay more. How much more, I don't really know because I don't know the NYM's budget, but it stands to reason that it would be an expensive race to put on.

All I'm saying is that the NYM isn't the only game in town and if the price is too high there are other opportunities to run a marathon in the area.