THUNDER BAY -- After five years a local marathon has run its course.
Organizers with the Thunder Bay Marathon Miles with the Giant say a lack of growth has forced them to cancel the event, which featured several races along with its full marathon.
It became an Athletics Canada qualifying event in 2012. There was hope the event would eventually see up to 2,000 runners but after three years with 950, organizers say its not feasible to run the event. Sponsorship was also a challenge.
Spokesman Barry Streib said while the bills are paid, the volunteer board didn't want to risk taking a loss as participants, the main source of revenue, stayed the same.
The board would then be liable for that shortfall. It partnered with city tourism and marketed everywhere it could but there just weren't enough runners coming from outside of Thunder Bay.
"Who knows whether we're too far away I don't know but we made a great effort to make sure we got the word out," he said.
Streib, who was also instrumental in getting the Thunder Bay BluesFest up and running, said an event's first year is usually the most difficult to survive. Seeing success, he had vision of Thunder Bay being on par with Duluth's Grandma's Marathon within a decade.
"It's just not happening and I don't know what to do to make it happen," he said.
A marathon is a lot of work for a volunteer board. From planning to ensuring safety to getting road closures in place. Streib is hoping there's an organization out there with the willingness and resources to get the event back up and running one day.
"I think if a real solid organization got behind it that had the resources to have the patience to grow I think that's what this event needs," he said.
The board of directors thanks its more than 200 volunteers along with the community for its support.
