Thursday, Feb. 21, 2008
by Keith L. Martin | Staff Writer
City officials and Frederick Marathon organizers say though a new route for the annual race has raised some concerns, everything will be resolved before the starting gun fires in May.
Tonight, the mayor and aldermen will review a proposed new route for the 6th annual running of the marathon and related races for the Frederick Running Festival. The meeting begins at 7 p.m. at City Hall.
Organizers Corrigan Sports proposed moving the event’s starting and finishing line from its traditional spot at Harry Grove Stadium to the Great Frederick Fair grounds on East Patrick Street. The new full and half-marathon routes would wind through downtown, onto Hood College’s campus, then along Monocacy Boulevard⁄Gas House Pike, to the fairgrounds. Participants in the full marathon would head out again, proceeding to Md. Route 144, onto Bowman’s Farm Road and back to the fairgrounds to finish.
Corrigan Sports president Lee Corrigan said the new route was developed after last year’s race, in order to allow parking at one site and to have the start and finish lines in one location. Last year’s half-marathon ended at Baker Park, requiring a shuttle for runners to get back to Grove Stadium for after-race events.
During a January city workshop, Frederick Police Chief Kim C. Dine told the mayor and aldermen that the change puts a time crunch on his agency to change planned police services — including traffic control and officer assignments.
Mayor W. Jeff Holtzinger (R) said Tuesday he was at fault for not putting the revised route on a workshop agenda sooner.
‘‘I’m as much to blame as anybody,” he said. ‘‘The marathon folks got caught in the middle.”
Dine said planning and managing the event is a ‘‘unique” challenge for Frederick’s smaller force. Last year, the marathon required 85 police officers and auxiliary staff, Dine said; the proposed route could require more than that.
Corrigan Sports pays all police personnel costs for the annual event.
Corrigan said since the January workshop, his staff has been working with city police and making presentations about the new route at Neighborhood Advisory Council meetings.
At those meetings, staff presented a map for residents to show when runners would enter their neighborhoods factoring in a 6:30 a.m. start time and estimates for 5-, 9- and 14-minute per mile runners.
Corrigan said the race has grown since its start in 2003 due to its reputation. He anticipates 4,300 runners in four events on May 3 and 4.
‘‘You have a great place and a great time of year ... and that spells success for the Frederick Marathon,” he said. ‘‘... The fact is that this [event] is not a pain, but has a great economic impact.”
According to an economic study by RESI research and consulting group at Towson University, if the marathon reaches its expected milestone of 4,300 participants in May, Frederick’s economy would get a $3.6 million boost, Corrigan said. That figure is generated through jobs created by the event and money spent by runners and guests, most of whom come from out-of-state.
‘‘Everybody truly wins from this event,” he said.
Holtzinger said not all of that money goes to the city — most goes to the state or county through taxes. Nonetheless, he said, the race ‘‘showcases Frederick” and offers good exposure to new visitors.
‘‘When you help Frederick’s businesses, you help Frederick,” the mayor said. ‘‘... The event brings families in to see we are a really nice town and [they] make plans to come back.”
Marathon money
An economic study prepared for Corrigan Sports, organizers of the Frederick Marathon, indicates that visitors spend about $177.50 per day and stay 2.5 days in a marathon’s host city. Of that amount:
