So at noon today, New York Road Runners opens registration for their big bells&whistles, hoo-hah, super-fantastic, incredible New York City Half MarathonTM. I was actually rather psyched to run a race in Manhattan that strayed beyond the boundaries of the park, but then Monday, one of my running pals pointed out to me that it's going to cost a whopping $60 to register. I do recognize that the logistics of running a race through Times Square are going to necessarily incur more costs, but I'm definitely feeling a little less hip to the idea now.
Road Runner members have been sent an e-mail alert warning us that we had better sign up as soon as we are able: "With the field limited to 10,000 runners, we expect a sell-out, so set your alarm for noon EDT on June 21 to sign up." I suppose that might very well be true, but my schedule' s not hurting for halfs this year and I'm inclined to stick with the ones that cost eleven bucks to run.
If I'm in town, I'll be happy to go cheer of course, but it turns out that August 27th is also the date of the Columbus, Ohio half marathon. I figure, if I'm going to be running their full marathon in October, it might be nice to participate in their lead-up half as well, just to feel a little more like a local runner when the big race rolls around. I suppose that you could argue that once I add that race's fee to the couple hundred bucks that it will cost to fly out there, I'm engaging in a bit of false economy, but dammit, it's a matter of priciple. And besides, in Columbus I get to visit with my Grandma...and who, I ask, can put a price on that?