Yo Brooklyn.

Hey guys, hey guys, DID YOU ALL GET THIS E-Mail?

It’s about how you can get a Gurantee Entry in to BROOKLYN Half Marathon by doing some fund raising.  We here at Agony have nothing against fund raising and we also like prizes.  That’s not the problem here.

The problem is when you click on the “Here are the Rules” link at the bottom of the e-mail, it lists the value of the prize.  Value here, being the entry into Brooklyn Half in Spring.  ...Isn’t that like the “entry fee”?  While the disclaimer clearly says that the prize is just for entry and not the entry fee isn’t winning an entry equivalent of buying yourself a spot via registration process?  The value, as listed in the disclaimer is $200 for the two prizes - $100 each.

Does this mean that Brooklyn Half is going to be $100?  Last year, for non NYRR members, the registration fee was $70 (members paid $45).  Is it likely that this year it will be $100 (and maybe $65 for members)? 

Also, it’s a bit disturbing that they are raffling away entry spots.  What does this mean?  Is Brooklyn Half going to be a raffle race like NYC Marathon and NYC Half?  Is it going to have some kind of guarantee entry requirement (like run 5 regular NYRR races!)?  Is being quick online, having a fast internet connection, and a trigger happy mouse finger not enough to get a spot anymore?

At this point, the NYRR calendar only reflects race dates up to April.  We don’t have any details regarding the Brooklyn Half yet.  Last year, it was almost April before they released the amended course and new field numbers. 

These registration fees are getting pretty pricey.  This will certainly shatter the popular belief that running is a cheap hobby.  

Typically a runner will spend:

$120 every 3 months for proper shoes.

$100 to $400 for GPS enabled watch (more, if you are a tri-athlete).

$300 for Winter Gear.

$100 for Summer Gear.

$30 or so every other month for gel, gu, fuel, electrolyte drink powder.

$200 for miscellaneous gear (fuel belt, water bottles, spi-belts, sunglasses)

Optional:  $7000 on a carbon framed bike so you can “cross train”.

Then $100000000000000000000000000000 on registration (and possibly travel) fees to various races just so we can torture ourselves more with our very expensive gear.  

Running.  The Ultimate in Masochism Pleasure.