I received this announcement today. Too bad, kind of, but it's an expensive race and it was coming at an inconvenient time.
I'm intrigued by two things. First is the permit requirement for such a race. I am told NPS permitting is the bane of hosting races in this region. I imagine permits are required for nearly all races, but the federal government has market power state and local governments lack, so perhaps permitting is more of a headache here than elsewhere. I think it stands to reason.
Second is the insistence on holding to the March 28 date for refunds or transfers. Do they really mean that if I don't tell them I want a refund by then they will keep my money and not hold the race? I would need to reexamine the agreement I signed, but I'd be a lot surprised if I agreed to pay for a race that is not being held, or agreed to be held to their schedule for changing even if they fail to hold the race. An analogy are those gift cards that used to expire or devalue with time, before that contract term was prohibited: has my entry fee become a gift card that must be honored?
On an entirely different note, I'm thinking of hanging up triathlon for a while. These things are hugely expensive, take huge amounts of time to prepare for, and take up at least the whole day for a small race -- three whole days for a big effort -- before you take into account traveling. Meanwhile, you can find a good local half marathon, show up the day of, and be home in time for brunch. Of course, I have several planned races this year before I can execute on this new life plan. If those go well I would bet I change my tune.
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