XTERRA Hits Our Trails This Weekend
Partial Map of the Trail Run - Click to See Full Course
This is the 13th year that athletes from all over the world has come to compete on some of the best trails in the world. Events this year include XTERRA Fugitive 10km, the Richmond 21k trail run and the XTERRA East Championship an off-road triathlon. The best quote I’ve read came via Richmond.com from Trey Garman, an organizer for XTERRA.
“Ask a hundred people what they remember about racing in Richmond and you’ll get 100 different answers, from the 105 degree temps on Mayo Island to the bee’s nest in Maymont Park.
“The constant is the course, a wild forested rollercoaster ride through the middle of a major city where you can get lost in the jungle despite the high rises. Its allure is so strong, each year athletes from around the world and nearly every state in the U.S. travel to Richmond for the experience.”
[...] Hills and Heights community site has a good post on this exciting sports event. Click on the map the… [...]
I find it interesting that the city couldn’t fine (I think it was) $25K to sponsor this but was amazingly able to plop down $50K for Friday’s at Sunset. Funny how this city council can find some tax dollars for their pet projects.
Well, lets see though:
X-Terra:
2 days @ $25k…that’s $12.5k per day.
versus
Fridays at Sunset:
8 days @ 50k…that’s $6.25k per day.
Looks like Fridays at Sunset is a bargain!
How much revenue is generated by each????
You could also compare the *ongoing* costs: like trail building, maintenance and continual repairs/re-routing. That’s a year round job.
Not everyone in the city is a sports enthusiast, and music festivals are big regional draws, too.
I am guessing it was a simple business decision by the City, they probably collect more taxes from beer sales and admission tax on the “Friday’s” tickets than they collect from XTERRA enthusiasts. In addition, have you seen the City leaders who make such business decisions? My guess is that most of them use the elevator in City Hall and not the stairs, meaning they are not much into individual sports and fitness.
I support the event, but am bracing myself for the onslaught parking on my street, Hillcrest at Riverside; thanks King Ralph for keeping the 42nd street parking lot closed, that’s a GREAT idea! (detect sarcasm please)
#6, I’m with you on the closed parking lots issue…the lot at 22nd St. stays closed most of the time, too. King Ralph indeed.
Quick note on the “on going costs”: the vast majority of trail work is done by volunteers who spend their Saturday mornings building bridges and enhancing and maintaining the trails- basically making them the national draw that they are. The city, it’s residents and all who visit the parks are the beneficiaries of literally tens of thousands of hours of volunteer work.