The group that has organized the Mother Road Marathon that traverses Oklahoma, Kansas and Missouri announced Thursday the race will “cease operations” because of declining resources and profits.
Tom Rogers, CEO and president of The Twelveone Group that put on the 26.2-mile footrace on Route 66 from Commerce, Oklahoma, to Joplin, Missouri, stated the race’s “insurmountable challenges” in a Facebook post:
1. Transportation — By nature, this unique 3 state event requires shuttling participants from Joplin, MO to Baxter Springs, KS or Commerce, OK. When the event was first launched, we were able to outsource transportation services from our large local school district. Insurance conditions changed, and that busing became unavailable. Though we leaned on smaller rural districts over the last 2 years, their insurance carriers have now begun discouraging the practice. Our charter bus options are incredibly limited and certainly cost prohibitive in relation to the economics of the event.
2. Economics – In lieu of the shuttle shortage, the event requires several thousand participants to make financial sense to sponsors and contracting of all medical, emergency, and law enforcement personnel. The lack of transportation impacts the number of participants and registers it unfeasible economically.
3. Medical – We have asked an already burdened team of medical professionals to add another large project to their already stressful schedule and have decided that is unfair.
The Twelveone Group stated anyone who registered for the 2019 race will receive refunds in the mail this month.
The Mother Road Marathon has endured a checkered history. Twelveone revived the race in 2017 after a several-year hiatus caused by declining participation and complaints about a previous promoter.
With two interruptions in less than a decade, it seems doubtful the marathon can be revived for a second time.
I also suspect the October event became overshadowed by the popular Route 66 Marathon in November, less than 100 miles away in Tulsa.
(Screen-capture image of 2017 Mother Road Marathon medallion from KSN-TV report)