Starting this week, I’m going to find out “How Much Does it Cost?” to do some of the popular (and not so popular) races around the globe.
This week is a race that just happened, the Boston Marathon. Known for its “heart break hill”, Boston is one of the oldest marathons in the World. With qualifying times that keep even the most able bodied people challenged, this race is on most peoples lists of Things to do before I die. But how much does it cost?
Running in Boston requires you to run a marathon within a year of the race and have a qualifing time based on your age. There are a lot of races that are Boston qualifiers, so let’s say there is one nearby (no flying).
Qualifying race: $90
Ok, you got your time. Now you need to sign up for Boston. Guess what? Thats going to be another 90 bucks.
Boston entry fee: $90
Great your in! Now you just have to get there. Since most that read this site are from the East Coast, let’s say we make the drive. Eight hours from Odot and 11 from Halifax. Thats about 6 tanks (+/- 1) of gas.
Gas for travel: $180
Oh, you say screw it, I’m going to fly this year. Flight from Ottawa to Boston (round trip) using Air Canada is $475. No first class of course!
Air Travel: $475
Alright, your there. Now you need a place to stay. You want swanky, comfort or top of the line? This is a tough one because the race takes over the city making rates go up and availability go way down. But let’s say you book ahead (for 2010) and get a reasonable spot.
Hotel: $120/night
The race is on a Monday so you decide to fly down on the Friday night and leave on the Tuesday. So 4 nights.
Hotel Accomodations: $480
Food. Always about your gut. Well, you’ve worked hard for this race so your going out for some nights on the town!
Meals: 3 meals/day * 4 days * $15/meal = $120
Your fed! Nice! Now, shwag. Gotta have the Boston Shirt, Pants, and hat. If you don’t have this stuff who is going to know you did the race?!
Momentos: $150
Now how you going to get to the race? In fact, how you going to get around anywhere? Yes you decided to fly and didn’t bring your car!
Car: 4 x $60 = $240
Miss anything? Probably!
Misc cash: $100
Grand Totals:
Car: $1330
Plane: $1865
Wallet: YIKES!
But it’s worth the 26.2 miles of pain right? Right?!
