I am running the New York City marathon in early November, and will plan on pacing a friend of mine into a 3 hour first attempt. The training to get me there centered around running a marathon two and a half weeks earlier than that as well, with Dean Karnazes as he does his 50 Marathons in 50 States in 50 Days promotion. He will be running the Maine Marathon course on October 17th.
It hadn’t occurred to me that it would cost anything to run with him when I had first heard about it, but I can completely understand why it does as they will be having a rolling road closure for the crowd around him as he runs the course. When I first heard that registration was open, they apparently had not updated their website yet there was nowhere to actually register. Now that there is, I checked again, and it is going to cost $100 to run with him on this promotion.
Now, for $50 I would certainly pay it as it goes to a good cause and for the aid provided on the course and for the support from both the slug vehicle and the patrol car pacing the front. However, I think that I am a lot more likely to change my plans now that I see it is twice what I assumed it would be when I heard that there was a cost involved. I have already paid over $100 to participate in the New York City marathon a few weeks later, and it seems a little odd that it costs the same for a dozen people as it does for 30,000 people. I am just not sure that I can justify that expense.
I am putting off a decision for a few weeks while I decide whether it is worth paying $100 to run what is essentially my home course. I’ve only run over there a couple of times this year, but for the last 2 years I have run a good chunk of the course most weekends for a good chunk of the year.
What do you think? Is it worth paying $100 to run with Dean? Or should I just try to see if I can meet up with him at the New York City marathon at some point?
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