from CompleteRunning.com…
The dirty laundry of some big city marathons is being aired in public. Oddly enough, the organizers of the Las Vegas Marathon figure in many of the recent controversies.
When results from the 2007 Honolulu Marathon were lost due to problems with a new timing tag system, it was revealed that the system had similar complaints from runners in the Las Vegas Marathon.
Coupled with a story about the small percentage of proceeds that went to a charity affiliated with the Seattle Marathon was news that the winners of the 2006 Las Vegas Marathon didn’t receive their prize money for a year.
Now the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports that Devine Racing, owner of the city’s marathon, owes more than $100,000 to at least a dozen local vendors for the 2007 race, and still owes money to a handful of businesses for the 2006 race.
The company also owns the Los Angeles and Salt Lake City marathons and the Chicago half-marathon.
The Review-Journal article also lists in a sidebar the unpaid vendors, many of whom state they will no longer do business with the marathon. Even the head of the Nevada Highway Patrol said, “They’ll get nothing for December 2008 – no permits from us – unless we get the full amount up front.”
In a press statement, Devine Racing CEO Chris Devine said all outstanding debts will be paid by June 15, and that he doesn’t expect similar difficulties this year since race registrations are “30% ahead of last year’s pace.”
