Big Sur Marathon Foundation Donates Over $110,000 to Northern California Fire Relief

Following air quality-related cancellation of 2018 Monterey Bay Half Marathon, funds are raised to help victims of the Camp Fire

Press Release / Carmel CA – The Big Sur Marathon Foundation has announced it will be making a donation of $110,550 to the North Valley Community Foundation following the cancellation of the 2018 Monterey Bay Half Marathon. The 16^thAnnual Monterey Bay Half Marathon, scheduled for Sunday, November 11^th, was canceled due to smoke from the Camp Fire, located in Butte County northeast of the Monterey and Pacific Grove race course.

On Wednesday, November 14^th, the 7,600 paid entrants in last year’s Monterey Bay Half Marathon were notified of their eligibility to choose one of five deferral or donation options. As of January 1, 2019, roughly 80 percent of these entrants had made their deferral or donation selection. Just over two-thirds of respondents chose to defer their registration to the 2019 Monterey Bay Half Marathon while 25 percent chose to donate $75 of their entry fee to Northern California Fire Relief. The deferral and donation options and the percentage of runners who chose each option are as follows:

• 67% – Defer my 2018 Half Marathon entry to the November 10, 2019 Monterey Bay Half Marathon
• 25% – Donate $75 of my entry fee to a non-profit agency supporting Northern California Fire Relief
• 5% – Defer my 2018 Half Marathon entry to the November 15, 2020 Monterey Bay Half Marathon
• 2% – Donate $75 of my entry fee to Monterey County charities funded by the Big Sur Marathon Foundation
• 1% – Defer my 2018 Half Marathon entry to the November 14, 2021 Monterey Bay Half Marathon

“We appreciate the strong response from runners wanting to return to the Monterey Bay area this November and also those who want to help the many folks who were affected by this devastating fire,” said Doug Thurston, Executive Director and Race Director for the Big Sur Marathon Foundation, organizers of the event.

On February 1^st, all runners who chose to defer their entry to the 2019 race will receive a unique invitation via email to register for this year’s event at no cost. Registration for the 2019 Monterey Bay Half Marathon will open to the general public on March 1^st.  In an effort to continue our support of Camp Fire victims, we will be offering a limited edition “Run for Fire Relief” shirt for purchase at the time of registration. A significant portion of every shirt sold will be donated to the North Valley Community Foundation to help fund organizations that are directly serving people displaced by the Camp Fire.

“The needs in Butte County continue and this is a way for even those who deferred their entry to help support fire victims,” Thurston said.

For questions regarding the cancellation and/or entrant deferral and donation options, please visit montereybayhalfmarathon.org/2018-half-marathon-cancellation-faq/.

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About the Big Sur Marathon Foundation

The Big Sur Marathon Foundation is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to create beautiful running events that promote health and benefit the community. Under the brand are three individual race weekends: the Big Sur International Marathon in April, Run in the Name of Love 5K and 2K in June, and the Monterey Bay Half Marathon, 5K and 3K in November. In addition, the Foundation oversees the award-winning JUST RUN® youth fitness program. www.bsim.org #bigsurmarathon