Run It Fast®

Competitor, the for-profit group that owns and puts on the popular, yet controversial Rock ‘n’ Roll marathon and 1/2 marathon races is not making too many new friends with the inaugural Rock ‘n’ Roll St. Pete 1/2 Marathon that takes place this weekend in St. Petersburg, Florida (event website).

The biggest complaint this time is the unexpected costs and inconveniences that runners anticipate encountering on Sunday, February 12, 2012.

Rock ‘n’ Roll events are pricey. For this 1/2 marathon it is costing runners north of $105.00 ($125.00 if you sign up at the Expo on Saturday).  That is a lot of money for a HALF MARATHON. Almost $10 bucks a mile! Ouch!!!

But no one is forcing runners to pay that much and Rock ‘n’ Roll/Competitor is having record turnouts across the country.  I have stopped running the more expensive races myself.  I did get into the 2012 Rock ‘n’ Roll New Orleans Marathon with some heavy discounts for $40.

I run lots of marathons and ultras. I try to have a simple formula on what I’m willing to pay for a race. I usually try to not pay more than $3/mile.  So roughly my limit for a 26.2 mile marathon is $78.60.  For an ultra-marathon it’s more like $2/mile (50 miler @ $100/limit or 100 miler @ $200/limit).

But normally I tend to try to stay away from RNR events, especially after the disaster on the Las Vegas strip this past December during the 2011 Rock ‘n’ Roll Las Vegas Marathon (and Half Marathon).

So why exactly are RNR St. Pete runners upset according to WTSP 10 in Tampa/St. Pete?

In addition to the $100+ entry to run, runners are being charged:

• $15 to park at the Expo on Friday or Saturday to pick up their race bib
• $15 to park near the start of the RNR St. Pete 1/2 on Sunday
• $10 to get a shuttle ride from the finish line of the race back to their car or walking 45 minutes back (the race finishes 2.3 miles from the start).

To quote an agree Facebook poster, “That’s absurd!  Pay to run, pay to park, pay to get to start/finish.  Just raise the entry fee and quit nickel and diming everyone!”

And that pretty much sums it up! However, if you are going to run a RNR event or a race in a large city then you should be prepared for additional costs and inconveniences.

Rock ‘n’ Roll isn’t without its flaws though as was mentioned repeatedly here after the trainwreck that was Rock ‘n’ Roll Las Vegas (see HERE).

Big events can be fun but the true beauty of running is often found at smaller races where you can actually run without obstruction and without stress.

Rock ‘n’ Roll St. Pete is expecting over 8,000 runners for the inaugural event.

Related: The Nightmare on the Strip: Rock ‘n’ Roll Las Vegas Marathon Full of Sin

[RNR marathons run: RNR Las Vegas (2x), RNR Country Music (2x), RNR San Diego (very first marathon), RNR New Orleans]

[source: WTSP Tampa]

Those of us that were lucky enough to survive the Rock ‘n’ Roll Las Vegas Marathon or Half Marathon (Full Story) earlier this month received an email from Competitor (company that puts the race on) today offering us $50 off the entry fee for Rock ‘n’ Roll Arizona that takes place on January 15, 2011.

1. Offer was made via email today, Dec 13, for a race on January 15, 2012.  Very tough and short window for runners to plan and arrange travel/training.
2. $135 – $50 is still $85 to run Rock ‘n’ Roll Arizona. Add in travel (gas, plane, rental car) and hotel and you are going to be down $500-$1,000 to run a race you didn’t want to run in the first place (or else you would have already signed up for it.)  $50 off is a small percentage of the cost it would actually take to run the race.
3. Almost all RNR LV runners that plan to run RNR AZ have already signed up and paid full price for it.
4. Offer was likely made knowing that very few could accept it.  That way Competitor can say, ‘Hey, we tried to make up for our mistakes at Las Vegas.”
5. Competitor/Rock ‘n’ Roll is not going to get the benefit of the doubt from anyone anymore.
6. Most runners I’ve talked to seem to agree. Insincere offer. Some deleted it immediately as they broke out the SMH!
7. Some believe it’s a way to fill a race that hasn’t sold out yet.
8. While some runners have sworn to me they will never run another RNR event even if it was free.
9. Runners by and large are whiners or running divas, but what went down in Vegas was absurd. After the merge, every runner’s safety and health was in peril unless you were an elite or at the head of the pack for either race.
10. The offer would have had legs if it had been for $50 off of any RNR race in 2012.

Competitor is right to offer something to try to smooth over what went down on December 4, 2011, but this offer is coming across to runners as an offer that most are unable to accept for a variety of reasons.

What happened that night in Vegas for sure didn’t stay in Vegas.  Competitor’s reputation, which was already mud among marathon veterans, is at an all-time low with almost all runners that were in Vegas.

40,000 runners ran that night. Those 40,000 runners have lots of running friends. Word of mouth is believable due to the heavy amount of complaints coming from an array of runners and stories on the news and in print.

The Rock ‘n’ Roll Las Vegas Facebook page has been an endless ticker of negativity and hatred towards Competitor.

The CEO of Competitor, Peter Englehart, called me late last week and he did seem sincere in listening and wanting to find out everything that went wrong in Las Vegas so they could make changes for 2012.

I bet you can’t MERGE this offer with any other discount codes!!

Agree or disagree? Leave a comment below with your thoughts.

How bad was Rock ‘n’ Roll Las Vegas? Nightmare on the Strip: Rock ‘n’ Roll Las Vegas Marathon and Half Marathon Full of Sin

Dirty Rumors from the Rock ‘n’ Roll Las Vegas Marathon

2011 Rock ‘n’ Roll Las Vegas Marathon & Half Marathon Medals

[photo of runners trapped inside the Mandalay Bay. via A Trail Runner’s Blog]