The future’s looking grim for the Des Moines Marathon. Founder Helene Neville says in the four years of its life, the central Iowa running event had grown fast and proven popular, but money woes may doom the marathon. Neville says she has put her heart and soul into it, traveling to many states and working to promote the event. “We’re just brokenhearted,” she says. Neville says she just couldn’t come up with major sponsors to help offset the cost of the event. And there’s plenty of expense to putting it on. It costs around $100,000 for medals, police, barricades and more. She says the key to a good event is raising enough funds to match the entry fees. She says people came from all over to run in last year’s Des Moines Marathon. Forty-seven states and 6 countries were represented, and organizers know that more than 700 people flew to Iowa and participants rented more than 1200 rooms. “That’s a lot of impact,” Neville says. This year’s date had been moved from October to September because they’d won a bid to host the Women’s National Half Marathon Championships sponsored by USA Track and Field. While it looks like the end, Neville says she’s still flipping through her Rolodex, making a last-ditch effort to find sponsors who could keep the Des Moines Marathon from going under. You can find more information about the event on-line at www.desmoinesmarathon.com
