This is another ongoing conversation that we are having internally.

We certainly don't have to give any prize money out at all.

There is also no substantial evidence that prize money even boosts the participation levels of a race. The only benefit that can be seen from offering prize money is drawing a more competitive field.

In some ways not offering prize money is a smarter move financially and administratively. We get no one question the fact that we don't give prize money when we don't, but when we do give prize money, people want to ask why it is distributed the way it is, or why we should even give it out since they see trail running as a participation sport and it should just be given out at random or not at all.

So why do we give prize money?

Our current answer is that it contributes to professionalisation of the sport. Even though we are not offering much prize money, it is a start, and by giving out a little on big fake cheques it goes a long way. It makes the top performing runners in the sport feel appreciated and makes them want to continue to work hard, perform well and be recognised.

This also brings the attention of brands, who see the exposure these athletes get and want to use this to promote their products. Take Jess Jason for example, she won the Hounslow marathon, got heaps of attention, won a little prize money and ASICS are backing her with free kit and a bonus. 

Now this might not be seen as a good thing to some people, that we are celebrating the faster runners because they're fast. But that is the reality of sport. People don't put up posters of me or any random trail runner on their walls, they put up posters of Courtney Dauwalter. Similar to other sports and their heroes like Serena Williams and Eliud Kipchoge. The faster runners become professional, they work hard, they win races and then their stories are shared and followed and that's how heroes are made. This then elevates the status of the sport and then ultimately inspires people to get out onto the trails. 

So in some small way, by offering prize money, we are trying to elevate the profiles of Australian trail runners. Currently there are no full time trail runners in Oz, and all the heroes of the sport are from US and Europe. But there are some Aussies who are starting to change this and we think that we are playing a small role in this. 

By boosting the profile of the sport, sharing athlete storylines and tying them to our events, we are not only growing the sport as a whole, but hopefully growing our events.

In short, we are fans of Trail Running.

We decide to allocate equal prize money to the races we want to encourage a more competitive field.

One could make the argument that the more expensive races should win more prize money.

One could make the counter argument that prize money for each event should just be proportionate to the profit of each race. We have seen that the longer the event, the tighter the budget. Yes, the cost of a ticket is higher, yet the costs for us to put it on are higher and the participation rate is generally lower. Our staff and medical at the race weekend adds up a huge cost as well as the planning, logistical, equipment and supplies costs of the longer races. It seems to be that 20k distance is the most profitable. So if we took that argument we would offer more prize money to the 17k. 

However, again the allocation of prize money doesn't come down to the profit of the race or the cost of the ticket, for us it comes down to trying to support the athletes who perform at the highest level and directing the top athletes into our premier events.