About 450 people have registered to run in one of this year’s Mill Race Marathon events, a slower pace than last season.
The most popular event, the half marathon, had 258 runners signed up as of last week, which was 11 percent behind last year’s pace.
A week earlier, half-marathon numbers were just 4 percent behind the year-ago pace.
Full-marathon registration is at 88 runners, down from 61 at this time last year — 31 percent off the 2017 pace.
[sc:text-divider text-divider-title=”Story continues below gallery” ]
“There’s a lot of things that are going on right now,” said Randy Stafford, one of the Mill Race Marathon organizers. “At this point, we’re not really that concerned. The numbers vary week-to-week.”
One of the factors in registrations being off may have been the Memorial Day holiday weekend, he said.
Organizers have been in contact with several running organizations that are looking at bringing 20-plus people for the Columbus events, working with them on a small discount for a large-group commitments, Stafford said.
Other outreach efforts by marathon officials included setting up booths at the expos for both the Carmel Half Marathon in late March and the Indy Mini-Marathon in early May.
Prizes and discounts for registration within a week of those events were offered, he said.
“We actually got a very good response — better than what we’ve had in the past,” Stafford said. “So that was very encouraging.”
Erica Tucker, who is handling promotions for the Mill Race events, is involved in other outreach efforts to secure more runners for Columbus. One of those includes asking questions on social media and giving prizes for correct answers.
A scheduled increase is registration fees at the end June typically also results in a spike in a late-month increase in runner commitments.
This is the sixth year for the Mill Race Marathon events, which take place Sept. 21-22.
[sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”Register for the race” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]
Fees for this year’s Mill Race events are $70 for the full marathon, $55 for the half marathon and $20 for the 5K through June 30.
On July 1, the prices increase to $80 for the marathon, $65 for the half marathon and $25 for the 5K. On Sept. 1, it increases to $95 for the marathon, $80 for the half marathon and $30 for the 5K. On race day, it’s $110 for the marathon, $95 for the half marathon and $35 for the 5K.
To register, visit millracemarathon.com.
[sc:pullout-text-end]
