MTB Race Entry Fees....

[ChrisF]

8 minutes ago, Hairy said:

No really, I like it and can never bring myself to call it anything else.

 

My non cycling friends all know "The Argus", no idea of some or other ctct thing ....

 

Thus my labeling ...

 

[Skubarra]

3 hours ago, madmarc said:

haha - I went to the launch event at some fancy hotel near Rosebank - We all got a bottle of wine and a Munga buff - when they presented the prize money USD 1.0 mill we were all like really ! WTF ! seeing is believing ! its probably a conn ! - One point most of us picked up on was, there was no sponsors at the event, only the wine estate that sponsored the free wine.

After some big names from overseas had already entered and paid the entry fee, the rattling's started in the corridors and the event never happened - Never found out why, but I assume their anchor sponsor never came up with the money they promised and they pulled the launch trigger too quickly.

Then it morphed into what it is today - With all due respect to those that have done it or even attempted to do it - I don't see the value in the entry fee.

Personally i see these multistage events busy pricing themselves to failure - remember when there was a 3 year waiting list for Sani2C and even 1 day events when ARGUS was sold out within 24 hrs of online entries opening. Today you could probably still enter up to a week before the event starts.

And then you see events like the upcoming GARMIN MTB Classic at modders on 10th Sept - entry fee is 60 ronds which is basically what you pay to ride there anyway - so why can GARMIN do it but 947 MTB event is over 300 ronds with even bigger sponsors 

 

I remember it generated a lot of talk on the hub, I think most of us could see a mile away this event (in the original pricing format is not going to work). Race way out of my budget but even if it was I probably still wont do it. 1000Km mtbing in one go not my idea of time well spent.

[betaboy]

On 8/11/2022 at 5:36 PM, madmarc said:

haha - I went to the launch event at some fancy hotel near Rosebank - We all got a bottle of wine and a Munga buff - when they presented the prize money USD 1.0 mill we were all like really ! WTF ! seeing is believing ! its probably a conn ! - One point most of us picked up on was, there was no sponsors at the event, only the wine estate that sponsored the free wine.

After some big names from overseas had already entered and paid the entry fee, the rattling's started in the corridors and the event never happened - Never found out why, but I assume their anchor sponsor never came up with the money they promised and they pulled the launch trigger too quickly.

Then it morphed into what it is today - With all due respect to those that have done it or even attempted to do it - I don't see the value in the entry fee.

Personally i see these multistage events busy pricing themselves to failure - remember when there was a 3 year waiting list for Sani2C and even 1 day events when ARGUS was sold out within 24 hrs of online entries opening. Today you could probably still enter up to a week before the event starts.

And then you see events like the upcoming GARMIN MTB Classic at modders on 10th Sept - entry fee is 60 ronds which is basically what you pay to ride there anyway - so why can GARMIN do it but 947 MTB event is over 300 ronds with even bigger sponsors 

 

I couldn’t even organise some free space at the Expo last few years to promote grassroots level BMX racing at the 94.7. Every year I ask and explain we get very small funding or nothing, Nope can’t help me. Can’t even walk around handing out flies. To them it’s all about the money.

[Hairy]

Hey, it is the Swiss Epic Stage 3, and streaming live

 

https://youtu.be/kakQli4nDpo

[Robbie Stewart]

I don't believe in coincidences . . .

[Shebeen]

On 7/13/2022 at 7:33 PM, SSCC said:

The Munga is worth every cent IMO. I think you would be hard pressed to find someone that has done the event that does not feel that way. 

R29k to go and ride 1000km of sinkplaat in the heat of summer?

I still wonder what the attraction of such a sufferfest is.

 

 

 

On 7/14/2022 at 8:22 AM, binxc said:

I don't disagree about that. I think what blows my mind is that Munga had decent - albeit variable due to Bitcoin - prize money, and suddenly doesn't (I am sure through no fault of the organisers who I am also sure are working hard to find a new one). The Munga originally promised $1 million in prize money and therefore has created different expectations for me as a dot watcher versus FC, I suppose. 

The whole munga concept is a bait and switch that people are still going for. It's an incredible operation, I'll give them that. 

check this out when people first raised eyebrows at the suggestion.

 

Quote

“The world is not short of tough things to do. It’s short of tough people willing to tackle tough things. And this is set to be one of the toughest races on earth. Do you have what it takes to compete in The Munga and win your share of a million dollars?” concludes Harris.

Entry doesn’t come cheaply – and at $10 000 there is a suggestion where the funding for the prize purse comes from. Of course that would require 100 teams to enter to just cover the total prize pool, with the winners take $750 000, 2nd taking $100 000, 3rd $50 000 and the rest of the top 10 winning an entry to the 2015 event. The other $100 000 is up for the ‘under dog’ prize for a team that finishes in under 5 days.

With a certain disbelief that a mountain bike race could attract such investment, Eversheds has confirmed that The Munga prize money is 100% secured – $1 million ready for the taking!

“With prize money at the level of The Munga’s, it is life changing for the winners. We therefore decided to get external certification from our Legal Team at Eversheds (SA) confirming that the prize money is not just a novel concept to create race excitement, but rather a secured reality,” says Alex Harris, Race Director of The Munga.

 

[dave303e]

On 7/13/2022 at 7:33 PM, SSCC said:

The Munga is worth every cent IMO. I think you would be hard pressed to find someone that has done the event that does not feel that way. 

There are maybe 6 people each year that enter the Munga for a chance to win some cash. Of those 6 perhaps 3 of them won't enter if there is no prize purse. Every other person that enters could not care less about prize money.

There is also no comparison between self supported races like TD or AZTR and the Munga or Freedom Challenge. In fact people used to the unbelievable level of service at those SA events would likely not dig the "free" self supported scene at all (for many reasons). BTW the TD will likely cost you about R40k to do excluding flights. That's just the cost of food and some accommodation on the route. You can do it for less but not many people camp out every single night. It's the most expense free race in the world.

What I feel is getting out of hand is self supported races that provide a GPX file and nothing else and charge a few thousand for entry. There is just no value in that. 

you can literally fly to Kyrgystan, race silk road, and fly home for less than a munga entry. I will give you a hint which will be a more mind blowing experience...

[WIPEOUT 1000]

I do not understand how they can justify R28 900 for 5 days and 1000km of unsupported cycling. If they manage to find 150 people, that sounds like R4.3 million for what?

Furthermore, if you really want to ride something life changing, why not try the Transcontinental, this year for GBP350, 12 countries, 16 days to complete 4400km and 47km of climbing. 

[Jewbacca]

24 minutes ago, dave303e said:

you can literally fly to Kyrgystan, race silk road, and fly home for less than a munga entry. I will give you a hint which will be a more mind blowing experience...

Yeah, but a far more achievable race without 'really' struggling.

A large portion of the Munga are there to finish. In that, there is a level of comfort, sleep, lots of food and you don't need to carry much.

The Silk road is not like that. You need to rough and tough it to have any real chance of finishing. Sleeping rough, at 4300m in minus degrees is not the kind of 'mindblowing' experience most people look for.

For a lot of people it is many steps too many, but Munga is not. 

There is a place for ALL races, but one does need to ignore the hype and marketing of the 'toughness' and 'hardest'.

 

Edited August 18, 2022 by Jewbacca

[dave303e]

3 minutes ago, Jewbacca said:

Yeah, but a far more achievable race without 'really' struggling.

A large portion of the Munga are there to finish. In that, there is a level of comfort, sleep, lots of food and you don't need to carry much.

The Silk road is not like that. You need to rough and tough it to have any real chance of finishing. Sleeping rough, at 4300m in minus degrees is not the kind of 'mindblowing' experience most people look for.

For a lot of people it is many steps too many, but Munga is not. 

There is a place for ALL races, but one does need to ignore the hype and marketing of the 'toughness' and 'hardest'.

 

I guess they need to adjust their tagline- the more achievable tough race hahahaha

 

[Jewbacca]

5 minutes ago, dave303e said:

I guess they need to adjust their tagline- the more achievable tough race hahahaha

 

I guess it's WAY tougher than this;

https://itialaska.com/

[dave303e]

1 minute ago, Jewbacca said:

I guess it's WAY tougher than this;

https://itialaska.com/

definitely.

Either way all of these events are pointless- You cannot be the fittest person on earth unless you are doing sub par pull ups, sickeningly bad deadlifts and running around stadiums really slow. This after spending way to much on a gym fee because of royalties.... #Angryfit

[Hairy]

54 minutes ago, dave303e said:

you can literally fly to Kyrgystan, race silk road, and fly home for less than a munga entry. I will give you a hint which will be a more mind blowing experience...

now that is a awesome looking event!

[gemmerbal]

46 minutes ago, WIPEOUT 1000 said:

I do not understand how they can justify R28 900 for 5 days and 1000km of unsupported cycling. If they manage to find 150 people, that sounds like R4.3 million for what?

Furthermore, if you really want to ride something life changing, why not try the Transcontinental, this year for GBP350, 12 countries, 16 days to complete 4400km and 47km of climbing. 

I will report back on my experience of the Munga in December after I cross the finish line. This will be my first attempt and Im looking to complete it in 100 hours. Also using the opportunity to raise funds for the SPCA. The question of is it really worth almost 30k entry fee (I am paying my own way) is a question I will only be able to answer after the fact. Having done a couple of K2C’s the appeal of the Munga is the following: riding through the Karoo, alone at night, battling inner demons to keep on keeping on to finish within the cutoff time. Some say you rediscover yourself, well that is what is pulling me towards it. Silk Road is next level compared to Munga, in my humble uneducated opinion. I have started a thread on my campaign and we have uploaded some photos and a video, for everyone’s entertainment 😛

[Oodles]

52 minutes ago, Jewbacca said:

Yeah, but a far more achievable race without 'really' struggling.

A large portion of the Munga are there to finish. In that, there is a level of comfort, sleep, lots of food and you don't need to carry much.

The Silk road is not like that. You need to rough and tough it to have any real chance of finishing. Sleeping rough, at 4300m in minus degrees is not the kind of 'mindblowing' experience most people look for.

For a lot of people it is many steps too many, but Munga is not. 

There is a place for ALL races, but one does need to ignore the hype and marketing of the 'toughness' and 'hardest'.

 

For R29k I'll drive behind you all the way with a camper and you can stop, eat and sleep whenever you want 😀

[Headshot]

7 hours ago, Hairy said:

Hey, it is the Swiss Epic Stage 3, and streaming live

 

https://youtu.be/kakQli4nDpo

The commentary is terrible and the short recaps are pretty poor too. Such amazing tracks and proper DH trails but poor media. Supported by Spar - so weird. I bet its cheaper to do the Swiss version than our local one, even if you fly there and stay in an air bnb. Anyone done the maths?