The New York Road Runners has implemented a new requirement for those folk seeking to gain entry to the NYC Marathon by running nine qualifying races the previous year.
Now, along with the nine Q races and NYRR membership, you also need to volunteer for one.
As the club says on its Web site:
"The volunteer requirement was initiated in 2008 to support NYRR’s community service mission and our goal of encouraging volunteerism among our members. In addition, adding to our corps of race volunteers will help NYRR meet the NYC Parks and Recreation Department requirement to ensure a safe and cooperative race environment at the more than 50 events NYRR stages each year."
Be interesting to see how the running community feels about the mandatory volunteering (mandatory if you want to use the Q races as a way to get in).
4 comments:
It's a great idea, and I would also support their allowing volunteering to substitute for some or all of the 9 "Q" races, so the injured, pregnant, or otherwise not-running-at-the-moment can secure a spot.
Now then, how about the inclusion of the bus ticket in the (now higher) marathon registration fee for 2008? Until there are official buses traveling from Brooklyn, many of us won't be using that bus ticket, and this "innovation" is just plain unfair.
My memory may be faulty on this, but wasn't there a time when you could volunteer for two NYRR events and supplant that with one of the nine Q races?
When NYRR started offering alternatives to the lottery to disgruntled members I'd never gone farther than the half and didn't think I ever would, so while it doesn't sound familiar, it's nevertheless possible. But they've also offered entries-for-volunteering deals to some of the running clubs--smart because the clubs already know what they're doing--and what you're talking about sounds like some version of that.
I do know that the clubs will get a one or more entries that can be given to people based on the club's discretion. I'm unfamiliar with the criteria, however.
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