Marine Corp Marathon just got more lame

I ran this race numerous times in the 80's. Finished near the top each time. Why would I boycott a well organized race on a pretty fast course? I wouldn't dream of getting paid for my 5:50 miles. Are you one of those 2:25-2:50 guys that think they deserve to be paid for what they do???

Put more simply, does a three hour marathoner care what the prize purse is???

See you fall into their trap of the "People's Marathon". Well every marathon is made up of runnners that could never dream of breaking even 2:30 but there is still prize incentives to attract fast runners to make the race interesting and to provide a competitive race. The course would a lot faster for everyone involved if they had prize incentives. Look at Chicago. There is a much deeper field and more people to run with even for the 2:50 marathoners! Come on a 2:25 to win is lame.

Offering prize money doesnt change anything for a majority of the runners and hell yeah I would love to win some prize money sometime.

Also the point is offering even 5000 to first is nothing for this race when you consider they are BUILDING a 3.1 million dollar building!

Face facts:

1. They fill every year despite no prize money

2. The USMC gets great PR mileage from this event

3. Capitalism allows organizations to spend their profits in the manner they choose

Combine these elements and the question is: Why should the Marine Corps Marathon offer prize money?

Besides, if they did offer money, how many Africans would show up and take it? Then you would complain about foreign road whores.

Fill up with 5 hour fatties!

For winning a marathon that pulls in that much money, you should win something, even if it is just a free night on the town or plane tickets or something. Why not just offer a little bit of prize money, not enough to make it worth attracting foreigners. There are plenty of 2:20ish guys in the DC area who will always pick Richmond over Marine Corps as a "local" marathon because, all else being equal, Richmond won't cost them money - they will get a room and a chance to recoup their costs. Or you could offer American-only prize money.

What's your point? They pay the bills. They buy the shoes and clothes that make elite sponsorships possible. Without a large number of so-called "fatties", no municipality is going to issue permits, close streets, and provide cops so a few dozen "skinnies" can run 26.2 miles. Sponsors won't fund races for a handful of "serious" runners either.

Running is a business. Businesses need a large and diverse customer base to survive. End of story.

What do you look for in a marathon?

I look for an accurate, certified course with accurate splits. I look for good course support, enough restrooms and facilities and decent amenities afterwards.

Marine Core has all those things. It is well run and gets good reviews from the people who run it. So what is the problem? I don't enter a marathon in order to support the elites. I certainly can't watch them while I'm running.

Who gives a damn where they put the money you spend? If the price isn't worth it to you for what they give you, then don't run. But if you run a marathon in order to have the elites there, you are unclear on the concept.

If you want to boycott a race, boycott the ones that mismark the mile splits or don't provide the right amenities and support.

This is a point i have to make about elite running in general! First of all, thisdoes not necessarily apply to the Marine Corps since it is a govermnent organization running it and they actually market to the slower then average runner.

But as far as the big races like NY and Chicago without big time elite runners there, they would NEVER get the sponsorships to make the race what it is. They get the big money because of the big promotions and it is the elite runners that carry that. When the race is shown on TV they show the elites NOT the middle of the pack runners. At press conferences they are discussing who has committed ot the race, etc. These races are ALL about the elite field. This is what Nike or Asics or ING sign up for!

i gotta agree, with joe, mcm puts on a good show. they compare well with the promotional outfits (who sometimes stink), and they are not lining their pockets with green.

But see you are missing the point here, I know they put on a good race but they can't put up a few dollars for the elite runners? My point was that they are spending 3.1 million on a building. Seems like they are lining their pockets to me!

In addition how many big marathons miss mark courses now? Come on all the big marathon do a good job with this.

not a marathon, but pdr mismarked the miles. the promotional outfit collected the money for their poor work.

If you want to boycott a race, boycott the ones that don\'t provide the right amenities and support.

Tucson!

I disagree that Marine Corps markets to the slower, average runner. Truth is they market equally to all runners, everyone has equal chance of entering. If you don't want to get caught up by the charity runners, just start up front.

Simple as that. Get down to DC and watch Marine Corps sometime. Very good organization, good crowd support, fast course, and accurate course. What the heck else do you want?

I agree with RunninginNYC. Add some incentives to this race. I also agree with everyone that its a great marathon. Make it better by putting up some money to get a few guys there which would impress the crowds even more and make things interesting. Or at least get a gift certificate from a local business or something for Gods sakes.

You guys all are arguing that its a great marathon and no one is disagreeing and seriously offering some incentives would just make it that much better.

The race hasnt been won with a time greater than 2:25 since 1997!

that is kinda said -- was that the last year darrell general ran mcm?

As a 3:30 runner, I could care less what the prize money is when I enter a race. And 99% of the people entering feel the same way.

Elite runners despise slower runners but then they turn around and expect us to care about how much money is put up for the winners.

By the way, spending that kind of money on an HQ building is a smart financial move. Assuming they occupy the space for a decade or more, the cost savings over your typical Class "A" office space inside the Beltway would be staggering. $3.1 million for 12,000 square feet over 120 months works out to $2.15/sq. ft. You can't touch a lease in the D.C. area for anywhere near that. Even with remodels and maintainence costs, they are likely to save 80% or more over lease rates.

Who would bear the additional costs? Taxpayers, sponsors, and runners who pay entry fees for the MCM.

Oh come on, they did not have to rent out space in the first place. They were using office space already at Qauntico since it is run by the Marine Corps. There is no need for a new building.