The news of Ourea Events going under and the cancellation of the Northern Traverse only 2 weeks before it was due to start hit runners hard and my heart goes out to them. We have all suffered runner’s blues after an event; the key focus of your life has finished and it’s probably why we immediately sign up to another race. But how much worse is it when that focus is ripped away from you right at the point you feel your best and ready to take on the world?
How much damage has this inflicted on runner’s confidence in attending events?
Pre-Covid, entries to races were planned far ahead; indeed, for many races you had to bag your place as soon as entries opened because they sold out very quickly. Personally, I used to plan and enter the 3-4 ultras I wanted to run a whole year ahead of time.
The cancellation of most events through 2020 and 2021 caused chaos. Many races went bust; I know of some who refunded entries back to runners at great personal cost to themselves and I know of others who refunded nothing, causing great ill-feeling.
There’s no doubt this had a big impact on how people now go about planning their events. Part of the struggle for many race directors getting back on their feet post Covid was this new, understandable, reluctance to pay for a place several months out. People lost money planning far ahead, and when you add other factors like the cost of living spiralling, it is understandable that they’ll only part with their money when they’re as certain as they can be they will attend.
This places organisers in a difficult position. Most events are run hand to mouth – the entries to that race pay the costs for that race. There is rarely much profit, and certainly not as much to fund the next year’s event. Many events in the UK are still run by small teams – the UTMB/Ourea style of company is in the minority.
So how can we preserve the grass roots events; the medium size ones; the races that are iconic, that mean so much to the community, without so much risk to both sides?
“Trail running might look like it’s booming, but there’s a growing trend of runners entering races only a few days before they take place, while organisers have to commit to most of the costs months in advance.” – Canary Trail Events from Facebook
I’ve seen so many arguments on social media about the commercialisation of races and rising entry costs. But keeping races low cost also places a strain on the organiser. Those village halls have to be booked well in advance; deposits if not full charge paid in advance. Any merchandise has to be paid for in advance; not all staff are volunteers and nor should they be. It is nigh on impossible to plan for an event up to a year ahead when the money to pay for it only comes in a few days or weeks ahead of it.
Commercialisation of events isn’t necessarily a bad thing; we won’t lose the ethos and community spirit of events by managing events in a way that allows organisers to make money. There are many event companies out there proving this; Hardmoors has an incredibly loyal and strong community, as do Centurion Events, Rat Race, GB Ultras plus many more.
In the UK we are fortunate to have an incredible variety of events; you can pay £5 on the day for a place to run in a 5 mile fell race. You can enter a 40 mile mountain ultra, with NAV4, for as little as £55, which is only a 38p per mile more. These events are the grass roots of our industry, the foundations of them if you like.
But as we attract more and more people over to trail running from the roads and shorter distances; as we continue to grow those groups who are under-represented, the events which are becoming more popular tend to be the marked events; the events with regular checkpoints, the events that offer more facilities and support; the events that offer stands and stalls at basecamp that your family can enjoy while you are out running. But they all cost more money. And the only place that money comes from is your entry fees.
“Lost a 50k entry fee to an event company going under. I mostly felt bad for them. Feel bad for all involved. My thought is that I’m not signing up for races until they’re closer to the future (if they don’t sell out)”. Facebook user
Maybe this is an opportunity to consider how we can best protect both sides. In the 1970s the ATOL licensing system was put in place after many holiday makers were left stranded when tour operators went bust. Perhaps something similar could be put in place for the running industry?
Whatever the answer is, it doesn’t help those runners who have been training hard for one of the events at the end of March. I was pleased to see James Elson’s response in setting up a rough and ready “Sea to Sea 300km” for some of the Northern Traverse runners; a great example of an event company with a successful business model and a strong community of runners behind it helping out in a time of need. Perhaps you have found an alternative event to enter on RunUltra? Or perhaps you have decided to create your own challenge. Have you been affected by Ourea going under? I’d love to hear your thoughts.
