An odd story from the Indianapolis Star entitled New Indy marathon nearing a collapse.
The marathon was originally scheduled for Sept. 8, but had to be postponed because of “city concerns over medical and security issues.” It was moved to November 3. Bad move. That’s the weekend of the New York Marathon. Now, runners are apparently receiving unsolicited refunds with no real explanation.
I met with the organizers of this event early on; I wanted to volunteer to help. They were fixated on money — bringing in paid sponsorships and getting as much as they could out of the marathon.
There was something about the people I met with that gave me a funny feeling. I gave it a couple days and then e-mailed to let them know I wasn’t interested in helping out.
Really sketchy.
It’ll be interesting to read the post-mortem on this thing.
Not quite the same, but I’m involved in thinking about organizing a 5 or 10k to raise some money for our local legal aid corporation; so stories like this make me uneasy.
Doug,
Picking the date for a 5 or 10k isn’t quite as tough as for a marathon or 1/2 marathon. I’d highly recommend getting a good racer organizer that knows your area if you haven’t already. You can raise some funds with these kinds of events, but they are even more important for raising awareness. The serious runners come for a good race, the public sees your cause, sponsors just want to be seen.
If Jen thought the Indy Marathon smelled bad as a volunteer, imagine what potential sponsors thought. If you go ahead with this thing, put it on your blog. I may make the trip up for a good run. Good luck!