Tomorrow Central Park will host up to 1,500 runners in its first marathon. The route consists of five loops and will finish near Tavern on the Green. The race will be held by the two-year old business NYCRuns, which was started by Steve Lastoe, originally as a free on-line calendar for New York runners before he discovered a market for organizing his own events. NYCRuns will also hold a half-marathon during the longer race. The entry fee for the marathon is $95, multiplied by 1,500, that equals $142,500 in revenue.
The Central Park Marathon is a contrast to the NYC Marathon held by the not-for-profit New York Road Runners. It began in Central Park in 1970 with 127 participants and has grown to attract roughly 47,000 runners from around the world. Entry fees for the NYC Marathon range from $216 to $347, and it brings in a total of $54 million in revenue. The NYC Marathon was scheduled for Nov. 4 this year, but was cancelled two days before due to the strain on resources it would have caused after Hurricane Sandy.
Some local runners complain that the NYC Marathon has gotten too big and competitive, focusing on the world's top marathoners. Lastoe would eventually like to move the race to a warmer month and make that race more competitiive, taking it out of the park and into the streets - similar to the NYC Marathon. However, right now, the allure of the alternative race is in its small scale accessibility.
"Living in New York, there's been this real push toward local stuff, boutique architecture firms or locally sourced food at restaurants," said NYCRuns spokesman David Alm. "NYRR is great. It's like the big box of running companies. It's huge, it's a wonderful experience, it's epic. NYCRuns is not trying to compete with that. It's trying to be a boutique."
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