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.

The challenge, which was a charity running and walking marathon, saw over 530 participants sign up for the event with the option to run or walk either 13 or 26 miles. Although this was my 15th Marathon length event it was my first trail marathon or indeed my first trail event and after hearing stories of trail events from my fellow club runners I was concerned I may get lost on route.

As we started from outside a foggy Lincoln Cathedral it was clear that a lot of participants were out to enjoy the views rather than see it as a competitive race. As I found a few people who were running a similar pace to me I was able to enjoy the lovely warm autumn day and the spectacular flat countryside. By utilising the event as my final long challenging training run I was able to not risk pushing myself too hard by getting caught up with the faster pace of a larger event.

Whilst I ran solely in my running gear and carrying a drinks bottle some people did concern me on the start line with their camelbaks, and ruck sacks with spare clothes and first aid kits but I was assured the course was well signposted and marshalled and I don’t need to carry a map. I now know that carrying a map or directions on a trail race is a good idea.

As the Arts and Heritage Trail is an established route following public footpaths and bridleways allowing followers to see beautiful artworks and church architecture along the way as well as taking in a variety of Lincolnshire villages and countryside, at lot of the route is well signposted. I also imagine that if you are walking you have a chance to consult a map at junctions were the signs are not so clear. Unfortunately we got lost a couple of times, once accidentally cutting off a corner and the second time due to the farmer ploughing his field on Saturday afternoon. What has been an obvious pathway had become a ploughed field and a steady stream of runners followed each other round the edge towards the church on a main road. Only when we found there were no more signposts did we end up having to knock on the door of a local house to discover which village we were in and how far away from the next checkpoint we were. This detour more than made up for the first short cut and we ended up running nearly 27 miles in total but it added to the novelty of the event.

In spite of this I came third lady home and was welcomed home by a good crowd of supporters at the finish, T shirt, certificate, and a free massage by local professional sports therapists. Along with the great camaraderie between all the runners and fellow walkers you pass on route I recommend taking part in it next year in training for a winter marathon and will certainly be looking for more trail events as part of my marathon preparations next year.

Last week was the ballot for the ING New York City Marathon. Over 100,000 people applied to be part of the 40^th running of this event, on 1^st November. Less than 40,000 will get to run it on the day, so if you didn’t get in you are not alone.

Fortunately for me as a New York Road Runner member I was able to secure a place. This will be my 12^th marathon and second in New York after running it last year. I have also volunteered at the start and finish areas of this race, so I will have loads of advice and tips specific to this race, to bring to you over the next few months.

If you didn’t get in the ballot and still want to run this year then you can still get guaranteed entries through the charity program or if you live overseas through the international travel partners. If you have never run a marathon before or are desperate to race in New York this year then that could be an option for you. Personally I would try again next either in the ballot (after 3 rejections your guaranteed to be accepted) or by running a time fast enough to automatically qualify (Men half 1.23; full 2.55. Women half 1.37; full 3.23).

Many people want to run New York because it is one of the big five, part of the world marathon majors. I admit that there is a great atmosphere running in one of those races, having also run in London and Berlin. But there are also great experiences at other major city marathons held later in the year. Dublin and Venice marathons are held the weekend before New York. At the end of November I have previously enjoyed racing the picturesque marathon in Florence, Italy. In the US the Philadelphia marathon is held a few weeks after New York, starting to Rocky’s theme tune and finishing in front of the museum of art. For more ideas check out 42k195k.com, this site has a great comprehensive list of marathons around the world. So if your training partner got through to New York you can still enjoy your long training runs together as long as you each taper properly as your race approaches.

If you are not up to marathon standard yet why not take part in the additional shorter races that often accompany the main event. Philadelphia also runs a half marathon and 8k at the same time and in September, Nottingham hold’s the Robin Hood Festival of Running combining full and half marathons, fun runs and relays.

So there are only 142 days till I will be on the start line on Staten Island, New York. Wherever you decide to race this autumn, keep checking Strenua’s World for training suggestions, recovery advice and tips for race day. Also let us know if you are running this year in New York or if you have any great marathon advice.