The Future of the Vancouver Marathon in Jeopardy?

A good friend of mine emailed me today searching for support for the Vancouver International Marathon.  He has been very involved with the marathon for many years and also holds a position with the Vancouver International Marathon Society and has great concerns of the future of the marathon.  I read what he had to say about how the “Elite Racing” group are proposing to put on a Rock ‘n Roll event in Vancouver which would pose a tremendous impact on the VIM and could even threaten it’s existence.  Having run the Vancouver Marathon many times myself, I, too, am concerned for it’s future.  It is a wonderfully run event run throughout beautiful scenic Vancouver and Stanley Park and has come to be very much a tradition amongst locals.

I am going to post the background informational article here on my blog in hopes of finding others that are also sympathetic to “Saving the Vancouver Marathon”.  You can demonstrate your support for the Vancouver Marathon by sending an email letter of support to the City of Vancouver through the website www.vanmarathon.ca , click on support letter in the box near the upper right of the page.

Backgrounder Information:

Canada’s Largest Marathon

• The Vancouver International Marathon is 35 years-old and run by a Vancouver-based, non-profit, volunteer organization. It has a dedicated volunteer Board of Directors, six full time staff and 1,800 volunteers.The marathon is the largest in Canada and one of the largest events held in the City of Vancouver. The marathon has recently secured a long-term major sponsor so the event can continue to grow and have an even greater social and economic impact.
• The economic and community benefits of this marathon to the City of Vancouver, the Lower Mainland and the participants is significant - it has been estimated that the economic impact in 2005 was $20 million. 
• The marathon is really three events in one - a full marathon, with a wheelchair division, a half marathon and a one-mile run for kids. The marathon welcomes all participants - elite athletes, recreational runners, walkers, wheelchair athletes and kids. There’s something for everyone - including many opportunities to volunteer, as well as cheer on the runners.

Current Situation

• Elite Racing, a marketing company based in San Diego, CA, has applied to the City of Vancouver to hold a half marathon, scheduled for July or August of 2007, with the potential for a full marathon to follow. 
• This new marathon would pursue the same target audience as the Vancouver International Marathon, where 50% of the registrants for its full marathon and its half marathon come from out of province.
• If their application is approved, it could possibly be the death knell for Vancouver’s 35-year-old marathon event and a major loss to the local economy it helps to support.
• Unlike the Vancouver Marathon, which is a community based event, Elite Racing operates all their events from their corporate California offices, relying on their own equipment and a staff of 60.

Potential Impacts

• While at first glance it may appear that another marathon event would be a great benefit to Vancouver, the net impact is likely to produce more harm than good.
• In a metropolitan region with only two million people, Elite Racing’s intrusion would split the market, siphon local runners from events like the Vancouver Marathon and the June Half Marathon and severely restrict the ability of these local events to grow or even continue to exist.
• Our research has shown that other marathons in larger centres have had a difficult time growing or even surviving after Elite Racing’s introduction to the market.
• The logistics of hosting another marathon are also an issue as the patience of Vancouver citizens would surely be stretched thin with the additional traffic hassles of a second major marathon, particularly during the peak summer tourist season.

Our Position

• We have recommended that City Council vote no to Elite Racing’s application.
• Should a half marathon be considered, we have asked City Council to protect the existing events and the City’s revenues through the following compromise:
• Minimum of five months apart between half marathon events
• No marathon event in the future
• Course location should not replicate that of the Vancouver Marathon.