Quantcast

The DNAinfo archives brought to you by WNYC.
Read the press release here.

Harlem Half Marathon Organizer Forced to Refund Fees Due to Lack of Permits

By Gustavo Solis | March 4, 2015 1:32pm
 The Harlem Half Marathon is scheduled for September but running advocates are not sure if the organizers will be able to pull it off in time.
The Harlem Half Marathon is scheduled for September but running advocates are not sure if the organizers will be able to pull it off in time.
View Full Caption
Harlem Half Marathon

HARLEM — The inaugural Harlem Half Marathon hit a road bump months before the start of the race.

The organizer, Mark Anthony Jenkins, was forced to offer refunds to the 200 people who paid $30, $40, and $60 to run the Sept. 19 race because he has not yet secured any city permits.

"I wanted people to understand that since I didn’t get the official permits approved if they feel uncomfortable waiting they can get a refund,” he said. 

If Jenkins, who has ran in many races but has never planned one, is unable to secure the permits for this year, he plans to hold a smaller race in the fall and hold the half marathon in 2016, he said.

The move came after some members of the city's running community criticized him for accepting premature registrations, he said.

“I’ve been hearing from the competitors that since I’m new I don’t know what I’m doing they are saying he shouldn’t have the registration yet," Jenkins said.

Jonathan Cane, a running coach with City Coach Multisport, was excited about the Harlem Half when he saw it on social media in December, but he grew suspicious when he learned that the city hadn't approved any permits.

“We are concerned that when he opened up reservations, he is essentially collecting money on a race that right now we have no assurance that any of this will happen,” he said.

Jenkins' original 13.1 mile route took runners from the Apollo Theater down Fredrick Douglass Boulevard to Central Park, then 60 blocks up Broadway, and down Fifth Avenue back to Central Park, according to the event website.

He is working with the NYPD to find an alternate route that requires fewer road closures, he said.

Will Sanchez, a longtime runner who hosts a public access television show "Gotta Run With Will," does not believe the marathon will happen this year.

"It takes at least two, three years to get any race done," he said. "He wants to do this in nine months? It ain't going to happen. I hope I'm wrong. I love the idea and I was very excited when I heard about it."

Sanchez said he also heard about the race on social media. He asked his friends to sign up and even asked Jenkins to go on his television show. But when he found out about the permits he withdrew the invitation, he said.

He did not feel comfortable endorsing the event before the permits were approved and asked Jenkins to offer the refunds, he said.

Although Sanchez does believe the race will not happen, he was glad to see Jenkins follow through with the refunds.

"You've got to give the guy the benefit of the doubt, he did the right thing [Tuesday] morning," he said.

Jenkins, a Harlem resident, said he decided to create the Harlem Half Marathon to combat obesity and diabetes rates in the neighborhood. His goal is also to expose more people of color to the sport of running, he said.

"I have type two diabetes and I want to do this because running helped me suppress my diabetes," Jenkins said. "I think other people in the community could benefit from running."

Jenkins closed down registration Tuesday and will offer refunds to whoever signed up for the early bird special. He is working with the NYPD and elected officials to make the race happen in 2015, he said.

The NYPD confirmed that they've received his application but would not say when they received it or how long it would take to get approved.

“I am very confident that we will get the permits,” Jenkins said.