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Thread: A fool and his money

  1. #1
    Master Wheeze's Avatar
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    A fool and his money

    Had a lovely amble in my local hills this weekend. Got chatting to a chap who came running past with alpine poles. Got chatting to him as we surveyed the view. He told me was in training for the Snowdonia Ultramarathon...he did not know route yet but had a mate up there who did. Anyhow, we bade each other farewell and good luck.
    Just checked the website now. They want £140 for the pleasure of taking part.

    The Welsh 1000m race is £20.

    Why do people put up with this profiteering??
    Simon Blease
    Monmouth

  2. #2
    Moderator noel's Avatar
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    A lot of people don't value "low-key". If they're going to do an event, they want to really "go to town" and pick a "big" one. For these people, more money (within reason) adds to their perception that they've entered something special.

    Long may it continue. People spending drives the economy after all.

    I suspect some of these larger events actually do organise a lot more associated stuff too. So the profit margins might not be as large it would seem.

  3. #3
    Master Travs's Avatar
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    Yes a lot of races do seem to be hitting the limit of what's acceptable. I paid in the region of £100 to enter the UTS100 in may, the Cheviot Goat entries open this week so that will be another £120, and the 10 Peaks Lakes last year was I think £80. re they good value? Certainly compared to a day out at the football they're amazingly good, but yes the thought of £100+ to propel yourself round a course is a hard pill to swallow sometimes.

    Although in the case of UTS (basically a whole weekend needs to be covered, and there's quite a lot in the way of support points) and Cheviot Goat (I can't imagine it's easy or cheap to put on such a race in such a remote area), then there's certainly some level of justification, so I don't think people can be too critical. I remember the furore on here surrounding the price of the Dragon's Back, and the subsequent calculations seemed to indicate that the costs may well be justified.

    Whether these figures can be justified I don't actually know. For me it's a question of needing/wanting do these type of races in the build-up to something bigger next year, and wanting to actually "race" rather than go and do the course on a random weekend alone.

    Also worth noting races like the Lakes Mountain 42 which is still only around £39 for a fantastic 42 miles in the Lakes, and possibly my favourite long race of the year.

    Some races do appear to take the biscuit though. I would love to race the Welsh 3000-footers. Was pretty astonished to find it was something like £80 for a 30ish mile race, and then they try to tell you that you have to stick to a vegan diet for your troubles (but I guess that's another debate)... This is the only fell/mountain race in the UK so far that I've encountered, where price has actively stopped me from entering. And some races such as that Scafell Skyrace are obviously just a total ripoff which I wouldn't even consider.
    Last edited by Travs; 26-02-2018 at 01:50 PM.

  4. #4
    Master Muddy Retriever's Avatar
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    The entry prices for some of these events certainly seem excessive when compared to the Fellsman, which is only £40. But LDWA events have long been very good value for money.

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    I work with someone who paid 700+ for a ski jacket then whinged they couldn’t afford to go skiing!

  6. #6
    Master Wheeze's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by matthew View Post
    I work with someone who paid 700+ for a ski jacket then whinged they couldn’t afford to go skiing!
    Brilliant!! Justifies the thread title alone!
    Simon Blease
    Monmouth

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    To make it worse... it's only a 15minute drive to the Montane factory shop....

  8. #8
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    Sore point.
    A female, a solicitor & a man.
    The man is the skint fool.😂

  9. #9
    Master ba-ba's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Travs View Post
    Some races do appear to take the biscuit though. I would love to race the Welsh 3000-footers. Was pretty astonished to find it was something like £80 for a 30ish mile race
    You have the V3K (Vegan welsh 3000) which is I believe a separate event entirely to the original(?) Welsh 3000/1000s race. I think.

    The steeper (pun intended) prices for these events are mainly due to the fact they are commercial ventures as opposed to the vast majority of fell races which are non-profit, any income going to community/charity.
    Obviously to make money from an event like this you need the 'extras' to entice said fools to part from their cash, and then a slice on top for the organiser. With big events (e.g. Dragon's back) you more likely need a full-time organiser.

    My solution? I like the look of Dragon's back, cape wrath, UTMB etc. But I don't really want to race them. They look good as future treking/jogging holidays.

    (I've done some road races in the last few months. Generally £15-20. Wilmslow half is £12 but you have to pay an extra £20 for their charity fund. Manchester Marathon comes in at £60 which given the infrastructure and road closures required I can sort of see).
    Nic Barber. Downhill Dandy

  10. #10
    Master Travs's Avatar
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    [QUOTE=ba-ba;638758]You have the V3K (Vegan welsh 3000) which is I believe a separate event entirely to the original(?) Welsh 3000/1000s race. I think.

    QUOTE]

    The Welsh 1000 (metres) and the Welsh 3000 (feet) are totally different routes and events. Welsh 1000 starts on the coast and finishes on Snowdon, goes over 5 summits I think, and is in my opinion as hard as the likes of Peris. I possibly find it even harder than Peris due to the sheer size of the climbs all in one go, it's a gauranteed cramp inducer, and I've yet to get round it without having a little lie down on the Pyg Track. Getting off Snowdon afterwards is always interesting as well... A proper fell race (although there are short courses and walkers courses running alongside the 'real' fell race).

    The Welsh 3000 I understand was a BG type challenge and commonly starts on the top of Snowdon and finished on one of the northern Carneddau tops, covering around 15 peaks (there being a lot more peaks over 3000ft than there are peaks over 1000mtrs).

    The only 'race' over the 3000 course is indeed the V3K, and I think starts down at Nant Gwynant or Rhyd-du, to avoid the complexities of starting a race on the top of Snowdon.

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