Canceled Twin Cities Marathon, 10 Mile registrants will receive full refunds

Twin Cities in Motion (TCM), the nonprofit that produces the annual Twin Cities Marathon and 10 Mile, informed runners Friday they will receive a full refund of their registration payment for this year's canceled races.

The organizer canceled the Oct. 1 event just hours before the starting gun after officials learned high temperatures could become too dangerous for participants, marking the first marathon cancellation due to weather.

TCM initially hoped to have refund details by Oct. 5 but ended up delaying the announcement a full two weeks so it could work through the cancellation process with its insurer and determine what it could offer the approximately 8,000 marathoners and 12,000 10-milers. Registration costs for marathon runners ranged from $129 to $220, marathon officials said.

Refunds, which will not include transaction fees, will process through the nonprofits' registration partner, Race Roster. The first refunds will go through beginning next week, but it could take up to six weeks to process all 20,000 runners, according to the email.

TCM is dipping into its cash reserves at a six-figure level to finance the refund, TCM President Dean Orton said. In the email to runners, the nonprofit wrote it was "able to stretch resources" to finance the refunds by combining event cost savings, cash reserves and money from the claim.

"We're currently board approved to utilize up to $350,000 of our cash reserves, and we were also able to find event expense savings due to the cancellation of a similar amount," Orton said. "It all contributed to our ability to deliver a 100% refund."

Financial challenges have caused the nonprofit to shift its business model, with operating costs outpacing revenue from fees and contributions the past few years. In 2019, registration accounted for 70% of TCM's $4.9 million in revenue.

This year, costs to prepare the canceled Twin Cities Marathon and TC 10 Mile were up 25%, or about $500,000, when compared with 2019, Orton said. The nonprofit needs to increase its revenue after experiencing significant dips in 2020 and 2021 (47% and 20%, respectively, when compared to 2019) because of the pandemic, which canceled events and limited participation in them. Net income in 2021 was $320,526, a far jump from being $261,073 in the red in 2020.

"Our priority throughout this process was to do the best possible for you, while remaining an active, vital and solvent member of the Twin Cities nonprofit community," the email stated.

In the email, TCM acknowledged the out-of-pocket costs runners might have also incurred beyond registration.

One runner, Florida resident Daniel Guenechea, said he spent nearly $2,400 for his trip to Minneapolis to run in the marathon. The costs included airfare for himself and his wife, a hotel stay, food, transportation and the $178 race fee. The cancellation, Guenechea said, soured his relationship with the organization.

The nonprofit stated it would provide more information next week about potentially discounted registration fees for affected runners who want to participate in next year's races.

"We're committed to continuing our efforts to engage people through movement and stewarding the community's marathon weekend tradition," the email stated.