Pikes Peak Region Trail Finder

                I moved to Colorado Springs in the summer of 2008.  One of the first things I noticed about local races was more expensive race fees (talking about races 10K or shorter).  I moved here from Tulsa, OK, which has an excellent running community.  There are very few weekends throughout the year when the Tulsa metro area does not have at least one 5K or 10K.  Race fees in Tulsa are very reasonable as most races are $20 or less and only a few are $25.  People around there get really upset if a race costs more than $25 (and numbers of participants reflects this).  The exception is longer races like a half marathon or marathon, or course.  Runners realize these longer races take more road closures and more of everything and know these races are going to be more expensive. 

                In Colorado, it is hard to find a 5K or 10K race with an entry fee less than $25.  Most races in Colorado Springs are $25 or $30, while some are even $40!  I simply cannot see paying $40 for a race a little over 3 miles.  Managing and organizing a race does cost money, but not so much money anybody needs to charge more than a $25 entry fee.   The Tulsa race fees that have gone up from $15 to $20 or from $20 to $25 are due to the city charging more money for street permits and police officers. 

                Here are the costs that go into putting on a race:  1. Hiring the race timing company.  These are professional timers that quickly provide onsite, post-race results.  2.  Obtaining local permits (parks, police, street closures, etc).  Race organizers or the race timing company have a lot of forms to complete.  3.  Advertising.  Publicizing the event can be done through magazines, local radio/tv stations, the newspaper, and websites.  4.  T-shirts and flyers.  Several companies around the state can assist with designing and printing race t-shirts and racy flyers/brochures.  5.  Post-race refreshments and awards.  All races should provide post-race fruit and drinks at the minimum.  Some races offer cash awards, while some offer plaques, and others offer ribbons. 

                Now sponsors help out with a lot of these costs.  Getting sponsors is one of the most important steps for race directors when coordinating their event.   Sponsors will often pay for the advertising, t-shirts, flyers, refreshments, and/or awards.  If a race director has a few sponsors paying for these items in return for the advertising and publicity given to their respective businesses, then race directors do not have a lot of overhead. 

                I know from experience (I worked for a race timing company) that a race can make a decent amount of money while charging $20 as long as 200 or so runners participate.  So if a race director is charging $25 or 30 and has 250 runners, they will make $1000-2000 extra profit.  If it is a big race with close to 1000 runners… well, you can do the math.  When race directors are charging lofty prices like, $40, then you know they are simply padding their back pockets.  I wish more races around here charged reasonable entry fees and I simply don't want to support those that do not.