By HPRS Race Director/Owner John Lacroix

From the outset of the Covid-19 pandemic, I have remained committed to ensuring that all of our races take place even if postponed to a later date. I have remained committed to ensuring that the quality of the product we provide does not falter. I have remained committed to our community of trail and ultra runners by fully understanding that as we weather the storm of Covid, running together is something that we’d all need. Emily said it best at the outset, “You’re a race director, not a race canceller.”

These have not been easy times. Yes, we become the only major race series in the world to host our full calendar of events in 2020. Yes, we are both proud of the distinction and burdened by what that means. I have done my due diligence to ensure that those who may not be able to join us for events in 2020 receive an appropriate credit towards future events that does not leave you out all, or even most, of your money. Despite hosting our full calendar, HPRS will continue to experience the affects of Covid-19 through at least 2022.

You can review our initial response to Covid-19 in the following posts from 2020:
• Coronavirus and HPRS – Discussion of our views on Covid and our plan to soldier forward with no cancellations
• Pandemics, Mass Gatherings, and The Challenges of RDs – A frank discussion about what race directors deal with on a regular basis, more pointedly at the beginning of the pandemic.
• What Now? – A look at the financial fallout due to Covid-19.

I want to highlight again that, as promised, HPRS hosted their full schedule of events in 2020. We have started 2021 off on the right foot as well. Because of you, trusting us, and working together to keep one another healthy and safe, we not only hosted our full calendar but did so without a single report of Covid-19 transmission through the hosting of those events. I can’t say if we did it right, but if our record number of registrations and record revenue is any indication of our grade, we got an “A.” We will move through 2021 in the same manner as we did in 2020. We will host our full calendar of events, with your health and safety in mind, and we’ll ask our entire community to be leaders during this trying time.

Before I go further with this discussion, I want to officially announce the following: 

1.) HPRS is committed to maintaining the opportunity to promote an accessible sport regardless of our participant’s socio-economic situation. We will not be raising our prices in 2021, and should we raise prices in 2022 we will continue to do so in line with the industry average.

2.) I am extending our 100% Covid Guarantee to all registrations across our entire series regardless of when you registered. This means that when you register for one of our races, should the event be cancelled due to Covid-19 related circumstances, you will be entitled to a 100% credit of your entry fees paid (minus taxes and fees to RunSignUp) for up to 2 years from the date of the cancelled race.

We have learned a lot about the sport of trail and ultra running through the inconveniences and challenges presented as a result of the pandemic. Where warranted I have proudly stood shoulder to shoulder with many RDs who have also experienced adverse affects, and public fallout, of their own. Today I come to you with news I feel you deserve to know, and while I still stand beside any race director who needs assistance in recovering from the pandemic, there are some RDs I simply won’t. We have now reached the phase of these unprecedented times where someone must rise to their feet and say unequivocally, that Covid-19 is not an excuse for taking advantage of our community of runners. 

During the Stories Ultra we hosted a few weeks ago, a volunteer approached me and stated, “You’ve earned a customer forever simply because you haven’t raised your prices, while others around you have jacked their fees $40.” I honestly had no idea what she was talking about as I’ve been so focused on serving those who are here, rather than those in the periphery. After some research, which I normally do this time of year, I discovered something that is truly shocking and in my opinion unethical.

It is not unusual for races to increase their registration fees between $5-$15 from one year to the next. Here in Colorado, that is a common practice. I pride myself on establishing our prices at or below the industry average for each distance within our geographic area (Colorado or Arkansas). I have a spreadsheet that lists every trail race a half-marathon or longer in distance and the fees charged by those races across each tier (should they have tiers). After calculating the average price of entry for each distance, we set ours at or below that average for each tier.

Across my time in ultra running it has long remained a hot topic of conversation, the call to prevent our sport from launching into the fiscal world of Ironman. We have long debated and opined on our desire to maintain reasonable prices for events without taking advantage of the sports popularity as a reason to launch fees into the stratosphere. While we have collectively held steadfast in ensuring that our sport remain accessible to the many, rather than just for those with more elevated expendable income, it seems that Covid-19 has become our reason to finally leave the launch pad.

Some races have increased their fees the standard $5-$15. Others have stretched their price increases $20-$40. Some have raised prices in their bottom tier by $10, while they’ve raised prices $40 in their top tier.. their already most expensive tier. Some may argue that “the cost of things have increased due to covid,” where I can undeniably argue that it has absolutely not. Now, most runners are waiting until the final 3-4 weeks prior to a race before registering, likely as a way to ensure that they’ll get to run before shelling out their money. Understandable. Therefore, if 200 runners (for numbers sake) register in the final month and each pay $40 more than they would have for registering for the same event in years past, that means the race is receiving increased revenue of $8,000.

Bulk pricing of hand sanitizer, six temperature guns, latex gloves, extra masks, and cleaning supplies for aid stations does not jack an events expenses by $8,000. Not even close. I can tell you that the extra expense to keep our events relatively safe, and to follow local covid protocols, does not cost much at all. The cost of food, shirts, awards, etc.. also has not increased enough to justify such a huge increase in fees either. Which leads us to the one thing that is actually going on: Some race directors are making it your responsibility to bail them out by price gouging runners.

From Wikipedia: “Price gouging occurs when a seller increases the prices of goods, services or commodities to a level much higher than is considered reasonable or fair. Usually, this event occurs after a demand or supply shock. Common examples include price increases of basic necessities after natural disasters. In precise, legal usage, it is the name of a crime that applies in some jurisdictions of the United States during civil emergencies. In less precise usage, it can refer either to prices obtained by practices inconsistent with a competitive free market or to windfall profits. Price gouging may be considered exploitative and unethical.

The term is similar to profiteering but can be distinguished by being short-term and localized and by being restricted to essentials such as food, clothing, shelter, medicine and equipment needed to preserve life and property. In jurisdictions where there is no such crime, the term may still be used to pressure firms to refrain from such behavior.”

Look, I get it. Should HPRS have had to cancel any number of our events in 2020 or 2021, we would be in a very different financial situation. That said, it would never cross my mind to place the burden of digging us out of that financial difficulty onto you all. It is not the runner’s responsibility to atone for a races fiscal irresponsibility, or as a result of the negative affects of a disaster. Neither Western States or Hardrock ever raised their fees simply because the race was cancelled the year before due to fire or snowpack. Lifetime Fitness hasn’t raised their registration fees (not even a dollar…) in Leadville for 2021 despite a full cancellation of the series in 2020. If these long standing large events are our guide, then why does Covid become our excuse to go rogue?

Owning a business comes with the acquired ability to maneuver the many ebbs and flows, peaks and valleys, in a way that is ethical and fair towards the consumer. No one wants to see anyone go out of business. We all want to help one another recover. There are many ways a race can recoup their loses, but taking a closer look at the wants vs. needs of business finances is the right place to start, not the runners wallets. Many of you have run with races/series that use Covid as an excuse for not having shirts, awards, or promised swag. I can tell you that yes, there have been some delays along the way, mostly at the beginning of the pandemic.. but we’re past that now. Covid is no longer a valid excuse for a delay in what was promised.

I assure you, that jacking your rates now to recover what was recently lost, is not a good “long game” decision. Those who have recently raised their prices, won’t see the long term affects of that raising of prices for up to 2-years. This is because that’s how long it’s going to take the runner to become comfortable enough with the increase to determine if they accept it, all the while the opportunity to run elsewhere is no longer scarce. If you raise your rates and then have to cancel your race again, for any reason, your “race credit debt” is now even deeper, and you still need to honor the fees to the runner. In other words, you’re making money now, but you’re going to be worse off later on.

I am more than willing to help any race director continue to navigate this storm, I am of service to you as a service to our community of runners. I have other friends who are equally as equipped, and willing, to be of service if I’m the last guy you want helping you. Ultimately, no one needs to go out of business. No one needs to weather this alone. No one needs to take advantage of the runner to bail them out either, and doing so is not only unethical.. it is ILLEGAL.

HPRS will continue to move in that one direction we runners know.. FORWARD. We love you, we care about you, we understand what we are ALL going through. There’s doing what is right, and there’s doing the right thing. Some of you see that statement as redundant, others have an understanding of the difference. I’m certainly not perfect, I’ve made my own mistakes along the way, but one thing I have always stood against within our sport.. is it turning into a money-hungry monster. We’re better than this. It’s not the runner’s responsibility to bail us out or keep us afloat. They answer that simple question, run… or don’t. Just keep in mind, runners vote with their wallets. So to our runners I say… Pay that increased fee, and the average will continue to rise, pricing many out of a sport where many are already priced out. Covid.. is not a valid excuse.

To hear more commentary on this subject please consider listening to Ultra Stories Podcast Episode 124

2021 Colorado Registration Averages by tier: