City Says No to 2013 'Canton Marathon' If Not Paid Upfront For Police, Fire Services

After doling out thousands of dollars in police and fire services for the 2012 Canton Marathon without being reimbursed, the city of North Canton is still mulling over whether it will be a part of the 2013 race.

The 2012 Canton Marathon cost the city of North Canton about $9,700. To date, it's seen repayment of about $820. Faced with the option of participating in the 2013 race, now titled Hall of Fame City Challenge, City Administrator Mike Grimes said the city would need to be fully repaid and see a payment upfront in 2013 before agreeing to participate.

Grimes issued a news release Monday after reading a recent Canton Repository story that reported the race's new name and routes.

"They reported that the race will wind through Canton and North Canton; that’s not true," Grimes told North Canton Patch. "(Race organizers) have not cleared anything with my office on that."

According to the release:

"There have been no conversations with or any permission given regarding the running of an event in the City of North Canton known either as the Canton Marathon or the Hall of Fame Marathon. No permission has been given to run this event in 2013 upon any city streets or city property in the City of North Canton."

The paper also reported that race organizers made partial payments to Canton and North Canton on a combined $29,295 and that city officials — not just in North Canton — are reluctant to sign on until they are repaid.

"We even had some concerns from an organizational standpoint because, after doing a few of these (types of events), we knew that we needed more (police and fire services) out there than what they were thinking of," Grimes said.

Stephen Mears, chief executive of the event, said Monday that he understands the city wishes to be repaid for 2012 services and then to be paid upfront for the 2013 race. 

And, he plans to repay the city for 2012 services "as soon as possible."

"The reason that we announced that we were opening registration, that we were moving forward, was so that revenue could come in the door and we would take care of this," Mears said.

He added that the race will be affected if North Canton is not on board this year.

"It’ll impact North Canton, too, because they won’t get the 8,500 people going through town on a Saturday," he said.

The race, now in its second year in 2013, features a five-person team relay, half marathon and 10K and takes place June 16.

Look for the .pdf attached to this story to see more details about the 2013 race.