RUNNINGCOLUMN,ROBROSE

It was with more than passing interest that I read an article

in this newspaper last summer regarding the search by the TPC in

Norton for volunteers for the Deutsche Bank Labor Day golf

tournament. I chuckled when I learned during the course of the

article that the volunteers had to pay $75 to be a volunteer! It

was quickly noted by a TPC representative that the volunteers

receive a visor, nifty golf shirt and meals for their service

... and $75. I summarily concluded that the TPC would be

dredging the swamps for bodies when their gambit failed. Pay to

work four days of up to 12 hours each! Absurd! Much to my

chagrin, the TPC had no problems getting enough volunteers to

staff their event.

The TPC was what came to mind when I recently learned that the

price for being a runner on Patriot's Day is going up. Each

year, the Boston Athletic Association, as part of the

relationship they have with New England running clubs, gives

regional clubs a number of non-qualified entries into the race.

This allows runners who normally can't qualify the opportunity

to participate in the race. The Tri-Valley Frontrunners, Rhode

Island Road Runners, Wampanoag Road Runners and others have been

part of this program for several years. Even the

defunct-in-all-but-name-only Runaways got two entries.

These entries are highly coveted and every year the clubs

conduct lotteries to distribute these precious slips of paper.

To limit availability to deserving members, the clubs impose

certain criteria, such as volunteering at a club event and

running a previous marathon, in order for a runner to get one.

Qualify to be a non-qualifier. In the past, the race fee was the

same for non-qualifiers as qualifiers but that changed in 2006.

That year, the B.A.A. charged the non-qualifiers an additional

$25 ($125 Vs $100). For 2007, the gap escalated and is now a

hefty $200.

So ... how much will someone pay to run Boston? Apparently,

the new pricing structure didn't cause members of the Wampanoag

Road Runners to drop out. Cognizant of the new rules of

engagement, twenty two members submitted their name into the

lottery and fifteen, including Foxboro's Jack Martin, were

selected. This will be the third lotto selection for Martin and

the new cost did not go unnoticed. "Clearly, $200 is about

double the amount charged by other marathons," he said, citing

some major U.S. marathons that top out at $110. "The rationale

for giving entry numbers to local running clubs is to encourage

the sport in the region. Jacking up the fee is inconsistent with

this goal." Nonetheless, Martin has no point of demarcation

where he will pull back. "I'm not sure," he said. "Boston is

local so even at $200, the total cost is less than what I pay

for other major marathons."

Martin raises a legitimate point about affordability. Many

local marathoners jet off to different locales, such as Disney

and Chicago to compete each year. When you are spending a grand

on a road trip marathon weekend, $200 looks like a bargain.

Other Wamp lottery recipients may have reached their limit.

"When I first heard about the $200 entry fee for non-qualifiers,

I was a little taken aback," said Attleboro's Dave Donnelly.

"Yes I got a number through our lottery but the support we give

the B.A.A., we earned that right. Two hundred dollars is a lot

and my wife is not going to like it very much but this may be my

last official Boston if they raise the price any more next year."

Seekonk's Ed Soares, who will be running his first Boston,

also reluctantly swallowed the fee. "By far $200 will be the

highest entry fee that I will have paid to run a marathon," he

said. "If I do finish Boston this year and the fee is $200 next

year that will deter me from running again."

Both Donnelly and Soares equated the higher Boston fee with

the spiraling costs of attending professional sports. "I do

believe that it is unfair, as with pro sports tickets the costs

keep going up and up, squeezing out the little guy, the working

class guy," said Soares. "(The) Red Sox can charge any amount

they want for their games," said Donnelly. "There will always be

someone to scoop up those tix."

When North Attleboro's Steve Baker, a veteran of numerous

Boston Marathons, was apprised of the new fee, he changed his

plan to enter the Wampanoag lottery. His response may be a

harbinger of what the future holds. Runners with multiple Boston

finishes may step aside because of financial considerations,

allowing Boston neophytes to move in.

It would seem that some area runners may have reached their

Boston financial threshold but that still leaves an open

question for the golf people. How much would you pay to

volunteer at the TPC tournament?

Footnotes - Other locals who were selected in the Wampanoag

Boston Marathon lottery were Attleboro's Pret Stevenson and

Kelly Cronin, North Attleboro's Joan Barrett, Heidi Hawkins and

Tanja Clement, Foxboro's Janet Spinney and Mansfield's Kathie

Schaaf and Mike Touloumtzis ....