April half-marathon canceled
Only 130 of the needed 600 runners enter.An insufficient number of entries has led to the cancellation of the Pomoco Group Running Crab Half Marathon and 5K for the first time in its 15-year history.
This year's event was scheduled for April 8, but with a month to go, only 130 runners -far short of last year's total of 350 at the same time - had entered the race, according to director Elyse Brown.
The disappointing number prompted a meeting of the race committee on March 2.
Brown advised the members that it would be difficult to meet the budget and the race couldn't operate at a deficit. So on March 6 the committee canceled the race.
To make budget, Brown said, "we would have needed 600 runners and the committee decided we wouldn't get that many runners."
Brown felt that this year's addition of a half-marathon to the Shamrock Sportsfest affected the Running Crab race because fewer runners would want to compete in two half-marathons so close together. The Shamrock's half marathon, which had a field of 5,000 runners, was held on Sunday.
Brown said the Running Crab event would be back next year, but probably not with a featured half-marathon.
I wonder if anyone ever enters this race and runs the whole thing sideways. You know SOMEONE does.