Making injured half-marathon racers forfeit $105 is, uh, lame

The privilege of running 13.1 miles, puking on the Boardwalk then nibbling on a bagel costs $105 this year.

The Virginia Beach Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon may not be a wise investment. People have spent much less for the same result.

But by the time you read this today, registration for this month's run may be full. Late last week, the company that puts on the half marathon said just 200 spots remained. After all, a race of that size and distance requires months of training and a completed registration form weeks ahead of time because of its popularity.

The problem is, during training the human body doesn't always cooperate. Sometimes injuries occur. Things get snapped or pulled or sore.

When the unbreakable break down, when runners are sent to the sideline, their $105 registration fees as well as long hours of training go for naught. All they're left with is a post-race concert, a T-shirt and maybe a very expensive beer.

Elite Racing, the private company based out of San Diego that organizes the race, has a strict policy. No transfers. No refunds.

They should add, "No sympathy."

Consider the 2007 Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon. The race was reported to be full, with 20,000 registrants, but just more than 17,000 people finished. That means nearly 3,000 people, or 15 percent of entrants, didn't make it to the end of the course. Let's say, very conservatively, that half of those people started the race and dropped out - a number I think is too high. That means Elite Racing, a for-profit company, still raked in tens of thousands of dollars from people who did not run.

I don't believe they all showed up later at the beer tent or concert stage, either.

So what happened to them? Were they injured? Maybe. Were they out of shape? Could be. Did Elite still have to pay to have extra staff on hand? Most likely.

At smaller neighborhood races, a $20 registration cost may be going to a charity. If you can't run, the registration almost becomes a $20 tax-deductible donation to charity.

But in this case, a forfeited registration is just profit for Elite Racing.

Dan Cruz, a spokesman for Elite, said the policy is an industry standard. But if Virginia Beach is a world-class resort, its hallmark events need to be held to world-class standards.

A series of races in Washington, D.C., has found a way to defer people's registration for a year. The New York City Marathon lets people sit out for a year if they're registered and can't make it. Neither is run by a for-profit corporation,

but Elite should do the same.

Or, if they don't want to go that route, they could allow people to transfer their registrations to other runners. Yes, it's additional paperwork, but why not charge a transfer fee? Many people would rather pay an extra $10 to hand over a race packet to a friend or savvy craigslist athlete than lose $105.

It would be better than having registrants surreptitiously pass race packets to friends, who then run without waivers.

Disappointed racers can request some consideration, such as a discount for the next year, at rnrvb@eliteracing.com. Cruz said Elite understands that extenuating circumstances come up. Military deployment. Death in the family. He said the company looks at every situation on a case-by-case basis.

But what about injuries or insufficient training?

For Elite, there's no need to take the money and run.

Mike Gruss, (757) 446-2277 mike.gruss@pilotonline.com