Posted: January 28, 2004

Athletics: Raleigh Marathon Is Cancelled for 2004

The 2004 Raleigh Marathon scheduled for March 28th has been cancelled. The following notice is from the race's website at: raleighmarathon.com.

We regret to announce that failure to secure a title sponsor has caused us to cancel the Raleigh Marathon scheduled for March 28.

As much as anything, this is a sign of the economic times. Several organizations in the region have lost sponsorships or had sponsorship commitments greatly reduced. Hopefully, things will change in the next few months.

On three different occasions over the last several months, our hopes were high because we thought we were close to signing a multi-year deal. Each time, it did not happen.

Our initial sponsor signed a 10 year contract to sponsor the Raleigh Marathon, but soon after the contract was signed, they closed the main office here in Raleigh and this rendered the contract null and void. We did the Marathon the next two years without a title sponsor, but with several smaller, dedicated sponsors.

The “worst ice storm in 100 years” as it was billed by the local media, 72 hours before the 2002 Raleigh Marathon caused us to take a severe financial hit. Only through the efforts of a dedicate core of volunteers were we even able to hold the race that year.

We waited past several of our set deadlines this year before making this difficult and regretful decision. There are a lot of hard working people who put in hours and hours as volunteers, and we are a volunteer-based committee, who strived very hard to produce this marathon

We have contacted one of the best companies on the East Coast to help us find a title sponsor for a multi-year deal. Once we get a title sponsor on board, we will begin posting on our website and start advertising in magazines and publications.

Thank you and hope to see you in the next few months.