The University of Washington Medical Center is no longer the title sponsor of the Seattle Marathon. They will continue to sponsor the marathon, but at a much lower level. This is fallout from the story in November that none of the race fees went to the charity listed on their website, only payments over and above the entry fee.
As it turns out, the designated charity, the UW Patient & Family Housing Fund, received a check for $8,346. The revenue for the marathon is over $1 million. Previous charities have left as well, saying they were expected to provide an unreasonable number of volunteers for rather small returns.
The marathon association will also undergo an audit, at the request of the UW, and hopes the results will help clear its name after the recent bad publicity.
The one bit of good news is that the UW Medical Center will continue to provide medical support for the marathon. In 2007, they treated 100 people, including one runner that had a heart attack near the finish line.
Full story.
2 comments:
That's really too bad.
Wow. It's the first time I've ever thought of ditching a race out of protest.
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