Running

I ran Dublin six times. Then, I skipped due to injury, and instead of a guaranteed place I had to go through the lottery. Lost five years in a row, and gave up. I heard from friends, though, that last year there were no longer guaranteed entries for people who run the previous year, and nearly everyone had to go through the lotto. The main problem this caused was the breakup of long-term running groups, of people who trained together and ran the race together through many years.

I solved the issue for myself: I'm signing up for smaller marathons, usually outside cities. Little chances for PB's, smaller (if any) crowds, but the views more than outweigh these small issues.