GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) – Organizers of Sunday’s Cellcom Green Bay marathon are reflecting on what caused the race to be canceled.
Rain not only stopped the marathon, but also some post-race events from taking place.
“Some of that fanfare we definitely lost and I’m sad about that but we have to do what we have to do to make sure everybody is safe,” says Toni Jaeckels, race director. “Obviously with the rain and the winds, tents were not really holding form, we didn’t really feel it was safe to have table and chairs out there. The finish area band that we had lined up, we wanted to make sure that they were safe. There really is no reasons to make anyone suffer. Even our awards ceremony was a little quicker that it usually might otherwise be.”
Organizers say that the move to downtown Green Bay played no factor in the cancellation and some trails would have been underwater regardless of course change.
“Regardless of the course changes, that portion of the trail still would’ve been under water. That isn’t a new section of the course,” says Jaeckels.
80 percent of half marathon runners still came out, despite the rain, and 71 percent of those registered to run the marathon showed up to run the half instead.
People come from around the world to take part in the Cellcom races and on average it generates about a million dollars of revenue for the area– between hotels and local activities.
“Restaurants, a lot of the folks go shopping while they’re there after they collect their registration down at Lambeau Field. I’m sure a lot of them make it down to the (Packers Pro Shop). They visit some of our boutiques downtown or check out some of the route and find shops along the way. They visit our attractions in the community so that (money) gets spent throughout the community,” says Brad Toll, president and CEO of the Greater Green Bay Convention and Visitors Bureau.
Toll said the cancellation likely had no impact on revenue, since it happened around midnight Sunday.
“For the most part, the people have arrived on Friday, they’ve been here through the course of the weekend, and a lot of folks would depart on Sunday which is likely what happened anyway,” he explains.
Organizers say it simply can’t be rescheduled, since it takes hundreds of volunteers and a lot of planning to host a race with thousands of people.
Additionally, runners sign a waiver saying they won’t be refunded in the event of a cancelation.
