With the 2011 Virgin London Marathon soon approaching I decided to sign up for my regular spring training races. Whilst they are races in themselves I like to use them as long training runs over progressively longer distances in preparation for the marathon with a final half marathon two weeks before as a psychological boost to see how well my training has gone.

I only do one long race a month as with longer distances there are higher costs, not only through petrol costs in travelling to the race, (20mile races aren’t held as frequently and locally as 10km ones) but also through race entry fees. I expect that within reason longer races have higher costs, they have more roads that need to be closed, policed, sign posted, marshalled and equipped with toilets, water stations and first aid support. However, apart from a few races, such as Ashby 20 where you receive a hoodie style sweatshirt for your effort or races where you start and end at different locations, many of the other running costs are the same as those of a local 10k. You need the same facilities for changing and parking, the same finishing T shirt or goodie bag and the same timing system so the actual price per mile you pay is around the same. Here are examples of the costs of races I am planning to run this Spring.

Last year I also entered the world’s first Kilomathon running from Nottingham to Derby. Metric marathons (26.2km) are nothing new but the organisers were clever enough to coin the term ‘Kilomathon’ and so promote it as the world’s first and a perfect pre London training race. As it was the first ever event it encountered a few teething issues, getting to the start corals was a bit stressful, the course wasn’t very inspiring the T-shirt wasn’t even specific for that race, and leaving the finish area and finding public transport back to Nottingham was difficult if you hadn’t pre booked the expensive, yet sold out, official transport. But you got a quality medal at the finish and as I mentioned before long distance events aren’t that common so I like to support the local races.

But this year I won’t be entering. Last year had 4186 official finishers and organisers are aiming to have thousands of more runners for the 2011 race which will be held 4 weeks before the 2011 Virgin London Marathon, and is promoted as an ideal marathon training run.

However this year they have changed the pricing and entry system for the 2011 Kilomathons. They claim that new entry system is much more beneficial to charities and also gives runners the option to enter a fantastic road race for just £5. But to enter at that price you need to raise a credit crunching £260. I fully accept that Hope for Children and Rainbows Children’s Trust are worthy charities to fundraise for but may people who are running the London Marathon, which remember the Kilomathon promotes its self as a training race for, are already raising for their favourite charity. A lot of people are also running through Gold or Silver bonds and having to raise between £1,500 to £3,000. It seems to me that it’s a bit difficult to return to your generous friends and colleagues who are already sponsoring you for the marathon to sponsor you again for a Kilomathon 4 weeks earlier so I expect many will end up paying the £45 entry fee themselves.

In addition GSi Events apply a £2 debit card, £3 cheque or a £2.75 credit card fee to process your entry.

Looking at the entry costs through my price per mile calculations, only when you raise a whopping £220 for a Silver entry does the price/mile lower to under £1.

Some events are held for the benefits of runners, Virgin London Marathon although difficult to be accepted through the ballot, costs only £28 (£1.07/mile) and the Silverstone half marathon £13 (£1/mile). Races such as the Experian Festival of Running in Nottingham cost £33 for a full marathon or £15 for the unemployed, with options on the entry form to make a donation to a local hospice or national charity or receive a fundraising pack. Cancer Research UK’s Race For Life series cost £14.99 for 5 or 10km, but are clearly fundraising events and to encourage camaraderie between the female participants and are not trying disguise themselves as an elite sporting event. Then for just £10 you could enter a race such as the 26mile Spires and Steeples Challenge in Lincolnshire which still manages to provide a finishers T shirt, drinks stations, marshals and free post-race massage and soup for a bargain 38p/mile.

Kilomathon organiser GSi Events’ own website admits that they ‘specialise in organising events that provide a fundraising platform for charities. Creating events that uniquely promote charities and companies at the same time.’ Suggesting that rather than providing a service for runners and encouraging people to become active they aim to produce a fundraising event. I’m concerned that with the popularity of the general public participating in challenging sporting events and the reduction of people giving to charities that companies are seeing runners as a an easy target. Just 5 years ago I would enter a local 5mile or 10km race held by a local charity, running club, or village every weekend, but now the frequency of these events are reducing and I’m worried that soon the only events I’ll be able to enter will be those organised by big organisations who see runners and their races as a cash cow. Whilst I wish that Hope for Children and Rainbows Children’s Trust raise a lot of money through the Kilomathon, as a runner I do hope that fellow runners resist entering races with such a pricing structure else I fear this will become the norm and eventually price us out of participating in the sporting events we love.

What do you think is an acceptable price for a race? With the current economic climate are entry fees discouraging you from racing as much as you like? Or are you involved in a charity and think that sporting events are the best way for you to fundraise no matter what the entry fee? Leave your comments below to let us know what you think.

GREEPER Laces are an amazing new invention that enables the user to loosen and tighten laces with ease and they never come undone! Perfect for almost any footwear with laces – trainers, school shoes, casual shoes, golf shoes etc. – these laces are both fun and functional for all generations.

GREEPER Laces, invented by entrepreneur Peter Greedy, are a patented lacing system that enables quick and easy release and fastening of the laces. The laces are made with highest quality 100% polyester laces and are not elastic. This is important for athletes: Edinburgh Sports Podiatrist Jacqui Baggaley notes “the use of regular non elastic laces ensures optimum shoe support for the feet during exercise and reduces the chance of injury”.

The laces come in a number of different styles depending on your shoe type including ‘Execs’ suitable for smart shoes with black or brown laces; ‘Hikers’, suitable for your walking boots, ‘Originals’ which come in a number of colours, ‘Rounds’; ‘Fats’ and ‘Sport’ as found in trainers. The Sport laces are perfect for triathletes looking to put on shoes quickly, and the Execs are great for people of all ages with co-ordination or dexterity problems who have difficulty tying their own laces.

Review

I tried a pair of the Sport laces in my trainers and they took less than 5minutes to fit. During long runs they remained secure and provided good support round my foot when pulled the laces were pulled tight.

My only issue with the laces was for my size 6 shoes they were a little too long. They recommend that you trim your laces to the correct length but I left them so that I could easily remove and refit them when I washed my trainers and consequently the loops were slightly too long. So I would recommend leaving the lengths under the tag a little longer and pushing the extra length under the tied laces.

Working with a child with dyspraxia over the Summer he loved my laces and could easily pull the laces tight himself without help. The added bonus is that once the GREEPERS are tied they never come undone again, great not only for kids who seem to be forever having their laces undone but also athletes who don’t want them coming undone during races/runs.

Watch our video to see just how easy it is to fit and use the GREEPER Laces.

Celebrity Partner

GREEPERS also have a celebrity partner in the form of Triple Ironman World Champion Chrissie Wellington who is now using GREEPER Sports Laces in her Brooks running shoes. Chrissie says “GREEPERS Laces are easy, fast and give me support exactly where I need it!”

In July 2010 Chrissie Wellington broke the world record for the Iron-distance triathlon in Roth, Germany. She recorded a time of 8hours 19:13 to beat her own previous mark by 12 minutes and 46 seconds. Of GREEPERS Chrissie said “The laces were amazing! I really do think they gave my feet the stability and comfort that I needed to run to a new World Record!”

Chrissie’s marathon time of 2:48:54 after completing a 3800m swim and record breaking 112mile bike ride was the fastest ever achieved in an iron-distance triathlon.

Charity Greeper Gear

An important aspect of Chrissie’s partnership with GREEPERS is that a portion of all proceeds from product sales is donated to various charities, jointly agreed by Peter and Chrissie. GREEPERS are also producing a unique “Chrissie” version of the Sport laces that will bear Chrissie’s motto “Live It, Love It” – along with a Chrissie smile! When asked about the motto Chrissie said “anything is possible if you live and love life to the full!”

Special Edition “Chrissie Greepers” Laces are WHITE with Black edges. Perfect for all sports! With each pair including a £1 donation to the Jane Tomlinson Appeal.

To complement the Special Edition GREEPER Sports laces already available. GREEPERS have launched launch a new exclusive line of GREEPER Gear. Working with Chrissie and supporting the Jane Tomlinson Appeal, these beautiful quality 100% cotton T shirts and Hoodies, have the GREEPER Logo and Chrissie’s inspirational motto “Live It, Love It”.

The T Shirts and Hoodies are available in both white and grey and a range of sizes. GREEPERS will make a donation to the Jane Tomlinson Appeal for each item purchased – £5 for each Hoodie and £2 for each T Shirt.

For those taking part in Cancer Research UK’s Race for Life and Run 10k events and are looking for some pink laces, the Sports laces also come in a pink version and as a company 10% of all GREEPER profits go to charity.

GREEPER Laces and clothing are available from Greepers.com

What could be a better goal than to complete a 5k this summer for charity?

Entries are still available for the Cancer Research UK’s Race for Life series this June and July. Whether you want to walk for fun alongside girlfriends and family members, or get competitive with your work colleagues, you can improve your own health and fitness whilst also helping to raise money for Cancer Research UK, whose work has saved millions of lives in the UK and across the world.

5k is an achievable distance for most people and women are being encouraged to come together to walk, jog or run to help raise over £60 million to fund Cancer Research UK’s life-saving work into all types of cancer. 5k is also a good distance to attempt if you are beginning starting a fitness program and with a little bit of training through the summer you may be ready for one of Cancer Research UK’s Run 10k events that occur in the Autumn, when the men in your life can also enter.

Cancer Research UK’s Race for Life continues to be the most successful and largest women-only fundraising event series across the UK and has raised a staggering £290 million for the charity’s life-saving research. The 2009 series was the biggest yet with over 730,000 women taking part. This year is Race for Life’s 16^th Birthday and since it began there has been a 15% drop in the death rate from cancer, something that Race for Life has helped to achieve.

If you are looking for something to wear during the event then visit the online shop, where you can buy your fancy dress accessories including fairy wings, bunny ears and pink glitter cowboy hats. If you want to show your support in other more subtle ways there are also socks, sweatbands, caps and key-rings as well as essential T-shirts. These include the new Race for Life 2010 celebrity T-shirts designed by choreographer, Arlene Phillips; girlfriend of Arsenal star Theo Walcott, Melanie Slade; and fashion designer Tracey Boyd.

This year there are over 230 Race for Life events throughout England, Scotland and Wales.  Women from across the UK of all ages and abilities aged are invited to enter, whether you are a cancer survivor, want to test your fitness, celebrate or remember a loved or simply do something positive to raise money for a great cause. Entry fee is only £12.99, although participants are encouraged to also get sponsorship and help is available to set up on an on line fund-raising page. Enter by clicking on the banner below or visiting www.Raceforlife.org.

Macmillan Fairies

Stewart Robinson (5:27:30) and Joanna Ham (5:27:30)

Giraffe

Jean Paul De Lacy, tallest costume worn while running a marathon - 7.04 metres (5:55:11)

Jean Paul de Lacy, tallest costume worn while running a marathon - 7.04 metres (5:55:11)

Sledge Pullers

Gary Jones (5:38:34), Rob Owen (5:38:33) and Colin Lambert (5:38:34)

Gary Jones (5:38:34), Rob Owen (5:38:33) and Colin Lambert (5:38:34)

Firefly

Shark

Michael Coster (6:11:32)

Dog

David Hartley (5:57:45)

Lifeboat Man

Telephone

David Lock (6:11:17)

Apple

Ann Boyle (6:07:51)

Ostrich

Help For Heroes

Benjamin Mcbean (6:16:26), Mark Elliot (6:16:32), Matthew Kingston (6:16:24) and Martin Hewitt (6:16:24)

Fireman Bear

Michael Pitney (6:22:30)

Rhino

Michael Svatek (6:28:24)

Beer Bottles

Nicola Brown (6:40:53) and Suzanne Collin (6:40:53)

Rabbit

Michael Mccarick, aged 70+ (6:51:25)

Brentford F.C. Mascot

Stephen Reed (6:54:38)

Star

Unfortunately there are always more applications than places so if you don’t have a guarenteed place such as through achieving a qualifying times, you will have to to rely on your luck in the lottery. Alternatively, you can still run the NYC Half-Marathon by running as part of an official NYRR charity team. You’ll receive guaranteed entry into the race as well as the opportunity to raise money for a great cause. One charity still looking for runners and sponsors is the Fresh Air Fund.

Since 1877, The Fresh Air Fund, an independent, not-for-profit agency, has provided free summer vacations to more than 1.7 million New York City children from low-income communities. Last summer, close to 8,000 children visited volunteer host families in suburbs and small town communities across 13 states from Virginia to Maine and Canada. Most children who visit host families are re-invited year after year and form life-long friendships.

Every year, 3,000 children also attend five Fresh Air camps on a 2,300-acre site in Fishkill, New York. Youngsters learn how to swim, go on overnight hiking trips and participate in dance and art classes. Campers say their favourite part about camp is meeting new friends. The Fund’s year-round camping program serves an additional 2,000 young people each year.

Last summer’s NYC Half-Marathon was a huge success and the Fresh Air Fund-Racers raised almost $90,000. If you would like to run, please register here right away or if you’d like to get involved with the race in any way, please email kbrinkerhoff@freshair.org.

Since 1877, The Fresh Air Fund, an independent, not-for-profit agency, has provided free summer vacations to more than 1.7 million New York City children from low-income communities. Last summer, close to 5,000 children visited volunteer host families in suburbs and small town communities across 13 states from Virginia to Maine and Canada. Most children who visit host families are re-invited year after year and form life-long friendships.

Every year, 3,000 children also attend five Fresh Air camps on a 2,300-acre site in Fishkill, New York. Youngsters learn how to swim, go on overnight hiking trips and participate in dance and art classes. Campers say their favourite part about camp is meeting new friends. The Fund’s year-round camping program serves an additional 2,000 young people each year.

The charity is also still in need of Friendly Town hosts for next month. Volunteer host families from Canada and 13 north eastern states open their hearts and share their homes for up to two weeks with one of these children from New York City who would not otherwise have the opportunity to escape the hot, crowded city streets. If you interested in becoming a host you can find more information at www.freshair.org.

Last summer’s NYC Half-Marathon was a huge success and the Fresh Air Fund-Racers raised more than $125,000. If you would like to register as a runner or sponsor, please visit http://freshair.kintera.org.