Nice presentation woody. Melbourne definitely congested...and Gold coast is fun but securing accommodation can be painful & i agree all the $ add up fast. Sunshine coast new course next year (8mths time) so it should be a ripper. Cheers
Exactly, who said running was a cheap sport? Interested to see what they do for the Sunny Coast, no info on website yet about the courses, so that tends to suggest changes are coming. 👍
Tiered pricing should only be for races that dont sell out within a month. Its to build urgency and ensure races reach capacity or near to. GC 2025 was always going to sell out very quickly so it doesn't really make sense. I got in at 9am and it felt like buying concert tickets 😂
So many people have said the same thing. I get having early bird pricing for events less popular, but it makes no sense in the bigger/popular events to have different prices triggered on the same day.
I got a Candidacy Club entry for Sydney in September which was super easy. I also got a place for the Gold Coast Marathon, which was difficult. I was logged on at 9am and as you said, it kept crashing after I entered my details. As you say, its a little bit harsh that I ended up with a Tier B entry when I was trying for 4 hours to register. Hopefully next year they upgrade the website and improve the process as it was painful.
Grabbed a candidacy club entry for Sydney. Looking forward to it. Hope to see you down there. Also grabbed the GC marathon, GC running festival (31km) and the Melbourne half marathon. Expensive fortnight.
Hi Woody, my son ran the Melbourne Marathon this year and was offered a priority place, but couldn't get on to the site until they were sold out. I want to run in 2025 as well so he went to the general entry site before 2pm and managed to get an entry for both of us, although it was quite difficult. Still, for those who didn't get a spot, there are still spots available in the Ballarat Marathon. It's a very pretty course, and super flat as well. Mona will be there again. I'm returning from meniscus surgery, so will only run the HM, but if all goes well, I may run the marathon in 2026.
Trying to register for the 2025 Melbourne Marathon was an absolute debacle for me. I was refreshing the website from 2pm onwards, but it kept saying “Registrations opening soon” until 3:04pm when it finally let me join the queue, but by the time I got to the front 17 mins later it was completely sold out! Bloody frustrating! 🤬
Oh, mate, I feel your frustration. The organisers need to look at these tech issues. There was always going to be a rush on entries, and they should have been prepared. 👍
Priority access for Melbourne was a schmoz. I had to wait until general to get mine. And yes, St Kilda road/Sturt st congestion is a nightmare. Having to weave through slow/walking half runners sucks.
Yep, $630 in 6 days, as I got in all 3. My brother lives on the GC, so accommodation is covered. Melbourne, I will have to organise a place to stay. I waited 7 minutes to get a spot in Melbourne. GC was a bit harder, as you said, kept crashing.
You're going to be busy, mate. Having family and friends to bunk down with will help. I reckon there will be a lot of runners like you hoping to do the same. 👍
On the GC marathon we all new that it was going to sell out fast, unless u live under a rock u needed to purchase day one when the website worked.and it worked most of tge day..... I was lucky day 1 to get my marathon entry, you snooze you loose.... Personally for the internet trollers I'm not that sympathetic.....if pricing was inconsistent well thats a issue, I didn't notice that as I got mine by 10am... Happy running woody 😊
I'm pretty sure everyone knew GC would sell out, that was why there was such a rush. The disappointing thing was the organisers should have been prepared for it and made sure their tech could handle the massive volume. The tech failed and left a lot of people frustrated 😠 You were lucky to grab an entry at the lower price, many others had to pay more on the same day, which I felt was a little unfair.
I'm a nobody, got signed onto a priority list for Melb. Marathon a week prior to rego opening (anyone could do this). Was on the website to register when it opened for priority listers, got in the queue, waited 20 min, got my entry. Was easy enough.
I think the problem with Melbourne as well for switching to 2 days to solve the congestion is that a big part of the allure is finishing in the MCG. I'm guessing booking the MCG for 2 days is too costly? Not sure 🤷 I did get into Melb though after waiting 45mins in line 👍
I agree with you on the MCG, the hiring costs would not be cheap. Maybe they could ditch the MCG finish on a Saturday (not ideal, I know, as it's the attraction) for other events and finish outside the stadium. Then, just have the marathon on Sunday, finish in the 'G, and this could increase numbers in the marathon. I don't know what the answer is, but the congestion is not going to improve as it is now with capacity fields.
Mate I got a priory one for Melbourne but still missed out!! (Spewing) GC the same I missed out after website not working! I've now registered today for Sydney Marathon Ballot but not feeling positive about that! And $250.00 if I get in what a complete RIP OFF!!!
They Melbourne Marathon doesn’t check the entrants on the day of the event too. Lots of bib bandits that add to the congestion. I managed to get an entry for the marathon through the priority access. But it did take me 40mins to get onto the site.
I haven't even thought about 'bandit' runners. I guess so many people post their bibs and other stuff on social media pre-race that it's easy for someone to copy.
I got a spot into Gold Coast although took a few hours after logging in around 9am for the website to crash on the 2nd page, I only knew Melbourne had sold out when I got an email from a Travel agent offering packages. Will be interesting to see what demand is like for Sydney 35,000 is a lot of people. At least the dates for Sydney you can potentially run all 3.
It would be good to know how many spots these travel companies are given. On Sydney, I have a feeling this is going to be massive. So many people will want to run it because it's the first time as a Major. We're going to need luck to score a spot. 👍
Definite money grab. I managed to get a marathon ticket for GC on tier one, but agree that it’s not fair. This is the 3rd year I’ve stayed down at GC for the event and it’s probably the last one. The accommodation prices are double in 2025 than it was in 2023. Money grab all around, pricing people out of these events, especially with cost of living issues for so many.
Yeah, I think accommodation houses have now cottoned on about these running events and the need for people to stay multiple days. It's not just the GC, but many others as well now. The GC being in and around school holidays also doesn't help. I travelled down on the day this year and will do the same next year. 👍
General public never officially opened on the website - Only found out how to get in when I checked out the FB page, got into the queue 10mins after it opened and still missed out. Going to give Sydney a go but don't like my chances. If this is the future of marathon major events in Australia, I'm going to give up the sport and find another challenge.
That's disappointing, mate. I feel your frustration. Running has gone crazy since covid, especially with these bigger events. Don't give up, there are plenty of smaller events which are well run and offer a great experience. 👍
i mean its the current reality for most marathons around the world it was only a matter of time before the bigger ones here had it happen Melb and gc will likely go ballot entry next year given how fast they both sold out, just how it is really. however there are a large number of smaller events that are in alot of ways equal or better than the bigger events that are worth your time so i wouldnt give up, just run a smaller event. You may even end up enjoying it more, usually the services are similar there is just way less people which i rate alot.
I waa fortunate enough to get entry into Melbourne Marathon via the priority queue after a 35 minute wait. It seemed random with wait times, I clicked the email link at 7:57am yet other entrants I knew clicked the link later and had their place within 10 minutes! also very poor form from MM to not update the registration link on their website for the 2pm general sale - instead people were able to access the link from a Facebook post, tough luck if you didn’t have any social media!
Yes the congestion in those latter stages of MM is a nightmare and has always frustrated me, but I cant see how they could shut down roads 2 days in a row. Melbourne city is not the GC which is much smaller thus doable.
I thought the government was putting things in place to stop Dynamic pricing as it is just price gouging. What you are explaining is exactly what is happening in the concert scene by LiveNation and it's sub companies. People can't get tickets, price's change while waiting online etc Other governments have banned Dynamic pricing and its structure. Another example is hotels/accommodation charging more when something is on
Yeah, I'm not sure on that govt regulation, it could well be the case. Accommodation houses have definitely realised the power of these events and have changed their pricing accordingly.
You may be right, but it's hard to knock events if they're trying to help charity organisations. I just hope the extra $$$$ charged all do end up going to charities and not into organisers' pockets. 👍
unfortunately the goldcoast mrathon will be my last time next year as i will be my 10 yr 10km service run but now they have put majority of races on saturday with 5 and 10 km later in the day when its so hot they are going to gt so many conplaints i remeber when they put the 10 km back to 9.30 there were alot of people passing out as its quiete humid at that time of the day and there allso catering more so just for the faster runners in shirt sizes biggest size you can get now is only 2xl im a 5 xl they should be targeting the overweight people to get them out the door but as aalways they dont care anymore unfortunately long time local they have now lost my support ill do sunshine coast and brisbane and sydney from now on .
Hey mate, sorry your GC experience has not been good. I'm keen to see how they will manage all those events on the Saturday, it's going to be so busy. The Sunny Coast and Brisbane are great events and well run. 👍
I don't think anyone who signed up for Melbourne Marathon priority access thought they were guaranteed entry. It just gave you access a few hours before it was opened to the public, and that was made very clear by Melbourne Marathon. Every single popular running event that i've entered in the last 2 years has become super popular. Complaining and whinging isn't going to help, you need to decide your goals for the next 12 months and plan ahead!
That may be the case, mate, but many people who had priority access couldn't access the site because of the high volume of traffic. Organisers should have been better prepared for the rush. I don't disagree with you on the popularity of events, but everyone should have an equal opportunity to try to get an entry. That wasn't the case because of the tech issues. You were lucky, many were not.
Nice presentation woody. Melbourne definitely congested...and Gold coast is fun but securing accommodation can be painful & i agree all the $ add up fast. Sunshine coast new course next year (8mths time) so it should be a ripper. Cheers
Exactly, who said running was a cheap sport? Interested to see what they do for the Sunny Coast, no info on website yet about the courses, so that tends to suggest changes are coming. 👍
Tiered pricing should only be for races that dont sell out within a month. Its to build urgency and ensure races reach capacity or near to. GC 2025 was always going to sell out very quickly so it doesn't really make sense. I got in at 9am and it felt like buying concert tickets 😂
So many people have said the same thing. I get having early bird pricing for events less popular, but it makes no sense in the bigger/popular events to have different prices triggered on the same day.
I got a Candidacy Club entry for Sydney in September which was super easy. I also got a place for the Gold Coast Marathon, which was difficult. I was logged on at 9am and as you said, it kept crashing after I entered my details. As you say, its a little bit harsh that I ended up with a Tier B entry when I was trying for 4 hours to register. Hopefully next year they upgrade the website and improve the process as it was painful.
Well done, mate. Your GC experience is like many others. Hopefully, organisers learn from this and fix the problems. 👍
Grabbed a candidacy club entry for Sydney. Looking forward to it. Hope to see you down there.
Also grabbed the GC marathon, GC running festival (31km) and the Melbourne half marathon.
Expensive fortnight.
Well done getting all those entries. Looks like '25 will be busy for you. Got my fingers crossed 🤞 for Sydney. 👍
Hi Woody, my son ran the Melbourne Marathon this year and was offered a priority place, but couldn't get on to the site until they were sold out. I want to run in 2025 as well so he went to the general entry site before 2pm and managed to get an entry for both of us, although it was quite difficult. Still, for those who didn't get a spot, there are still spots available in the Ballarat Marathon. It's a very pretty course, and super flat as well. Mona will be there again. I'm returning from meniscus surgery, so will only run the HM, but if all goes well, I may run the marathon in 2026.
Good luck with the recovery. I've heard good things about the Ballarat marathon. So many similar stories to yours about the Melbourne entries. 👍
Hey Woody! I got into Sydney through the candidacy club. It was my first road marathon (2023) in that mad heatwave 34°C+
Mate, you deserved an entry after getting through '23, that was a hot 🔥 day . 👍
Trying to register for the 2025 Melbourne Marathon was an absolute debacle for me. I was refreshing the website from 2pm onwards, but it kept saying “Registrations opening soon” until 3:04pm when it finally let me join the queue, but by the time I got to the front 17 mins later it was completely sold out! Bloody frustrating! 🤬
Oh, mate, I feel your frustration. The organisers need to look at these tech issues. There was always going to be a rush on entries, and they should have been prepared. 👍
Priority access for Melbourne was a schmoz. I had to wait until general to get mine.
And yes, St Kilda road/Sturt st congestion is a nightmare. Having to weave through slow/walking half runners sucks.
Sorry to hear about your frustration. Glad you got through in the end. 👍
Yep, $630 in 6 days, as I got in all 3. My brother lives on the GC, so accommodation is covered. Melbourne, I will have to organise a place to stay. I waited 7 minutes to get a spot in Melbourne. GC was a bit harder, as you said, kept crashing.
You're going to be busy, mate. Having family and friends to bunk down with will help. I reckon there will be a lot of runners like you hoping to do the same. 👍
On the GC marathon we all new that it was going to sell out fast, unless u live under a rock u needed to purchase day one when the website worked.and it worked most of tge day.....
I was lucky day 1 to get my marathon entry, you snooze you loose....
Personally for the internet trollers I'm not that sympathetic.....if pricing was inconsistent well thats a issue, I didn't notice that as I got mine by 10am...
Happy running woody 😊
I'm pretty sure everyone knew GC would sell out, that was why there was such a rush. The disappointing thing was the organisers should have been prepared for it and made sure their tech could handle the massive volume. The tech failed and left a lot of people frustrated 😠 You were lucky to grab an entry at the lower price, many others had to pay more on the same day, which I felt was a little unfair.
Hey Woody any luck with Chicago, I think Sydney will see their 2nd biggest sign up day after the Chicago rejection emails arrive.
Hey Bevan, unfortunately it will be Melbourne again for me this year. Eggs all in Sydney's basket now. 👍
I'm a nobody, got signed onto a priority list for Melb. Marathon a week prior to rego opening (anyone could do this). Was on the website to register when it opened for priority listers, got in the queue, waited 20 min, got my entry. Was easy enough.
Likewise for me, but unfortunately there were others that did not have such a seamless experience.
True 🫤
I think the problem with Melbourne as well for switching to 2 days to solve the congestion is that a big part of the allure is finishing in the MCG. I'm guessing booking the MCG for 2 days is too costly? Not sure 🤷
I did get into Melb though after waiting 45mins in line 👍
I agree with you on the MCG, the hiring costs would not be cheap. Maybe they could ditch the MCG finish on a Saturday (not ideal, I know, as it's the attraction) for other events and finish outside the stadium. Then, just have the marathon on Sunday, finish in the 'G, and this could increase numbers in the marathon. I don't know what the answer is, but the congestion is not going to improve as it is now with capacity fields.
Not to mention the roads.
GC Mara 2025 Neil. Let's go! You can drag me across the finish once again ;)
You won't need me this time, mate. You will be streets ahead of me. 👍
Mate I got a priory one for Melbourne but still missed out!! (Spewing) GC the same I missed out after website not working! I've now registered today for Sydney Marathon Ballot but not feeling positive about that! And $250.00 if I get in what a complete RIP OFF!!!
I feel your frustration mate. Too many issues and it left people pissed off. 👍
They Melbourne Marathon doesn’t check the entrants on the day of the event too. Lots of bib bandits that add to the congestion. I managed to get an entry for the marathon through the priority access. But it did take me 40mins to get onto the site.
I haven't even thought about 'bandit' runners. I guess so many people post their bibs and other stuff on social media pre-race that it's easy for someone to copy.
I got a spot into Gold Coast although took a few hours after logging in around 9am for the website to crash on the 2nd page, I only knew Melbourne had sold out when I got an email from a Travel agent offering packages.
Will be interesting to see what demand is like for Sydney 35,000 is a lot of people. At least the dates for Sydney you can potentially run all 3.
It would be good to know how many spots these travel companies are given. On Sydney, I have a feeling this is going to be massive. So many people will want to run it because it's the first time as a Major. We're going to need luck to score a spot. 👍
@ world majors are getting to be a money grab
Definite money grab. I managed to get a marathon ticket for GC on tier one, but agree that it’s not fair. This is the 3rd year I’ve stayed down at GC for the event and it’s probably the last one. The accommodation prices are double in 2025 than it was in 2023. Money grab all around, pricing people out of these events, especially with cost of living issues for so many.
Yeah, I think accommodation houses have now cottoned on about these running events and the need for people to stay multiple days. It's not just the GC, but many others as well now. The GC being in and around school holidays also doesn't help. I travelled down on the day this year and will do the same next year. 👍
General public never officially opened on the website - Only found out how to get in when I checked out the FB page, got into the queue 10mins after it opened and still missed out. Going to give Sydney a go but don't like my chances. If this is the future of marathon major events in Australia, I'm going to give up the sport and find another challenge.
And never got a email even though I registered for priority access weeks before, never had an issue in the past but post covid its all gone crazy!!!
That's disappointing, mate. I feel your frustration. Running has gone crazy since covid, especially with these bigger events. Don't give up, there are plenty of smaller events which are well run and offer a great experience. 👍
i mean its the current reality for most marathons around the world it was only a matter of time before the bigger ones here had it happen
Melb and gc will likely go ballot entry next year given how fast they both sold out, just how it is really.
however there are a large number of smaller events that are in alot of ways equal or better than the bigger events that are worth your time so i wouldnt give up, just run a smaller event. You may even end up enjoying it more, usually the services are similar there is just way less people which i rate alot.
I waa fortunate enough to get entry into Melbourne Marathon via the priority queue after a 35 minute wait.
It seemed random with wait times, I clicked the email link at 7:57am yet other entrants I knew clicked the link later and had their place within 10 minutes!
also very poor form from MM to not update the registration link on their website for the 2pm general sale - instead people were able to access the link from a Facebook post, tough luck if you didn’t have any social media!
Well done on getting an entry. There seemed a lot of tech issues and hopefully they will rectify that for future years. 👍
Yes the congestion in those latter stages of MM is a nightmare and has always frustrated me, but I cant see how they could shut down roads 2 days in a row. Melbourne city is not the GC which is much smaller thus doable.
Yeah, I agree, but the GC roads that are closed are also extremely busy. Maybe the council and other govt departments are more onboard in Qld. 👍
I got into Gold Coast and the Sydney Marathon Candidacy Club entry. Took about an hour to get into the GC website.
That's great. You must be happy to get into those! 👍
Managed to enter the GC 2025 marathon and half double. Also, secured a spot for Sydney 2025 as a candidacy club member as I ran Sydney 2024.
Good stuff, mate. You're going to be busy. 👍
@@runwithwoody thanks! Sure am!
I thought the government was putting things in place to stop Dynamic pricing as it is just price gouging. What you are explaining is exactly what is happening in the concert scene by LiveNation and it's sub companies. People can't get tickets, price's change while waiting online etc
Other governments have banned Dynamic pricing and its structure.
Another example is hotels/accommodation charging more when something is on
Yeah, I'm not sure on that govt regulation, it could well be the case. Accommodation houses have definitely realised the power of these events and have changed their pricing accordingly.
also think how long the race organisers have the entry $ in their trust accounts earning interest… great way to make a profit 🤑
Yeah, that's true mate, but there is a helluva an expense to put these races on as well. Plus, I guess they need entries early to prepare. 👍
i feel melbourne is adding more charity /fund raising spots rather then general entry.
You may be right, but it's hard to knock events if they're trying to help charity organisations. I just hope the extra $$$$ charged all do end up going to charities and not into organisers' pockets. 👍
unfortunately the goldcoast mrathon will be my last time next year as i will be my 10 yr 10km service run but now they have put majority of races on saturday with 5 and 10 km later in the day when its so hot they are going to gt so many conplaints i remeber when they put the 10 km back to 9.30 there were alot of people passing out as its quiete humid at that time of the day and there allso catering more so just for the faster runners in shirt sizes biggest size you can get now is only 2xl im a 5 xl they should be targeting the overweight people to get them out the door but as aalways they dont care anymore unfortunately long time local they have now lost my support ill do sunshine coast and brisbane and sydney from now on .
Hey mate, sorry your GC experience has not been good. I'm keen to see how they will manage all those events on the Saturday, it's going to be so busy. The Sunny Coast and Brisbane are great events and well run. 👍
Yap. Organisers cooked the entry system this year. Not cool. Eventually got onto the half. Running Ballarat instead.
Yeah, it was a bit frustrating. I think Ballarat is going to be the big winner in years to come if Melbourne continue down this path.
Qualifying times should be required
It's heading down that road. We may see some changes for the following year. 👍
I don't think anyone who signed up for Melbourne Marathon priority access thought they were guaranteed entry. It just gave you access a few hours before it was opened to the public, and that was made very clear by Melbourne Marathon.
Every single popular running event that i've entered in the last 2 years has become super popular. Complaining and whinging isn't going to help, you need to decide your goals for the next 12 months and plan ahead!
That may be the case, mate, but many people who had priority access couldn't access the site because of the high volume of traffic. Organisers should have been better prepared for the rush. I don't disagree with you on the popularity of events, but everyone should have an equal opportunity to try to get an entry. That wasn't the case because of the tech issues. You were lucky, many were not.
$200 to run is a bloody joke you guy's are all nuts
Hahaha, we are runners afterall, so we have to be a little crazy. 👍