I must admit that I was surprised at the exponential rise in the popularity of road running. Back in 2008 (my retirement from college track), joining runs cost around Php 400 to Php 500. An almost deserted Ultra closed at exactly 8:00 PM. Nowadays, registration fees had gone up to as much as Php 1,000! Hordes of joggers frequent the Philsports track oval, which stays open until 10:00 PM.
Even though I don’t join road runs, I sympathize with the recreational running crowd. As Kikay Runner pointed out in her blog, the cost of organizing a race remained practically the same in the 3-year period since 2008. Kikayrunner’s post eloquently depicts the issue. The corporate entities and the events organizers behind the running events of today are most probably raking in significant profits!
I have nothing against making an honest buck. After all, businesses are profit-oriented and not charities. But the exorbitant registration fees could stifle the interest in these running events. It’s not like Juan dela Cruz’s disposable income is on the rise; with increasing fuel, electricity and food prices.
Hyundai’s free fun run was a mean sucker punch to all those expensive running events. And the public received it warmly, with over 20,000 participants joining. Despite the lack of registration fees, runners still wound up with the usual timing chips and goodie bags.
Running is supposed to be the cheapest way to get fit. With a decent pair of shorts, a comfy shirt and cushy pair of running shoes, one is all set to reach that ever-so-addicting endorphin high.
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Hey. I never said that the costs to organize the events remained the same. If you read my post properly, I said that the COST OF LIVING hasn’t doubled in the past four years. Certainly there’s more hydration on the courses compared to previous years, and that costs more as well. There may be costs for organizing the races I am not aware of.
Sorry about the error. My bad.