I was going to sign up for the HBF run for a reason in Perth WA on the 22nd of May. However, I noticed they have prize money so decided not to enter.
After my last Funrun, I made the decision to not run in any events that would provide cash prizes.
Reason: We had two specific young people who should have been in the 10K or half marathon or even marathon. One was an Irish backpackers who boasted to have done marathon but needed money for travelling, the other was a young fit wiry university student doing triathlon and more. He looked very much out of place in the line up. Those two were aiming for first and second prize. They passed me on their return when I was more or less a third of the way. It really deflated a lot of the 5k runners. There was no fair play.
Although I had a great day, I decided I would not enter any events which gives cash prizes. It takes away the fun having experienced long distance runners choosing small runs to make sure they get the cash.
When registering had to enter our usual running time, so those young people would have cheated to stay in the 5k category instead of the 10, half marathon or marathon...
So this is my rant for the day. Anyone experience this?
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nhs2015
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I understand your point of view. I presume that the "seasoned" runner would reply that Joe Bloggs the 5k-er is not excluded from marathons, so they shouldn't be excluded from 5k races, but it's true that it lacks fairness and probably puts off a lot of people. The only thing I won so far was a French goody bag including bread crumbs, tomato sauce and a bag of Fraises Tagada. I think we all got the same, but the first runners in got trophies but that was a 10K. Suggest to the organisers to dump the prizes and use the budget to give everyone a big bag of jelly babies instead.
This is France, kiddo. I presume that all self-respecting Frenchies make their chicken nuggets from scratch, and that's why it is an honour to have breadcrumbs when you roll in from a ten k. I must admit that many people were surprised : there was even a free sample of washing liquid to wash them down with for those who had strong stomachs... Weirdest goody bag ever.
Yes, can't do I am afraid. They even pinch your plonk if you bring in more than 2 litre. But then we have lovely cheeses here and a lot of delicious salamis. Thanks to the Italians earlier migrants
Anything is possible. If Mfam unwittingly became an illegal Peruvian teabag smuggler and came through the experience not only unscathed but still clutching her teabags, then anything is possible.
Thank youOldfloss, having photos taken is a good thing because it shows you your posture. In my case, I had about 20 snaps in a row and I realised I was not using my arms properly. I was dropping them down in between steps. I will have to correct this.
How much is the prize money? I haven't run any races yet, first one coming up in a couple of weeks but it is a charity run so no prizes, money raised after costs are covered goes to cancer research. Would it be worth suggesting something similar to the organisers - that the prize money could be donated to a charity instead of used as prizes?
I won a tenner for being the fastest over 55 in a local race once, which was a complete surprise to me. I didn't enter for the dosh though but it was welcome ☺
I agree with you that in your case it wasn't done in the proper spirit, which is a shame
I'm not sure the prize money matters to be honest. We have some stellar fast long distance runners that enroll in 5k races here because they enjoy mixing it up, and practicing running quickly as they can really crank up the speeds. On our out and back races I see them all the time (as well as some of the 10k folk!!) barreling back in my direction as I plod along to the halfway point. I don't find it upsetting. I love it. It's great to run with such a wide variety of people and it makes me smile when I see them shoot by. It's running inclusive of everyone. Of course if they're jerks about it that's another thing, might be a one-off.
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