Marathon wannabes get a run for their money

The organisers of the New York Marathon announce the options available to those denied a run last November

New York Road Runners announced that runners registered for the 2012 race could either get a full refund or entry into the race in one of the next three years.

Runners who decide to run one of the marathons by 2015 will still have to pay a new entry fee, but at 2012 rates. A limited number of runners can opt for a spot in the New York City Half Marathon in March as an alternative. They, too, will have to pay a new entry fee.

Runners will be sent emails on Thursday with more information and will have until January 25th to choose an option. Runners who won entry to the 2012 marathon through an approved charity will receive the same options as other runners.

The fundraising they did to qualify for the race will entitle them to pick from the three options.

Travel costs

Mary Woodenbridge, chief executive of Road Runners, said she expected more runners from overseas to request refunds given the cost of travelling to New York. Road Runners wanted runners to have a mix of choices, so it gave them an option of running in one of three races.

“Even though it was extraordinary circumstances, we had to figure out how to overcome the no-refund policy,” Woodenbridge says.

“We were monitoring emails and people wanted to come again, but not this year. What we’re able to achieve was to give people options and to ensure refunds would be part of this.”

About 47,000 people were expected to run the annual race on November 4th before Mayor Michael R Bloomberg and Road Runners relented in response to mounting pressure and cancelled the event two days before it was to be run.

That left thousands of runners questioning why the race had not been cancelled immediately after the storm and wondering what would happen to their entry fees, which cost more than $300 (€229) for international runners.

High demand

Road Runners initially said all runners would have automatic entry into the following year’s race. But given the intense demand for spots in the marathon – the world’s largest – few new entrants would be able to join.

Road Runners, which generates about half of its revenue from the marathon, also left unanswered whether runners who chose to run this year would have their entry fee from last year applied toward this year’s race, or whether they would have to pay an additional fee.