Officials from the Cellcom Green Bay Marathon have begun chasing hundreds of race entrants who misused registration coupons intended for employees of the event sponsors.
Race Director Sean Ryan said organizers noticed a significant increase in the number of discounted registrations in January, then worked with the six sponsor companies to confirm the entrants were qualified to use the coupon codes. They found about 300 who received the entry discounts did not appear to have ties to the sponsors – either as employees or the immediate family members of employees.
Ryan suspects the coupon codes provided to the sponsor companies were shared with other runners.
With the price breaks ranging from $30 to $50 each, that meant upwards of $10,000 in lost revenue for the marathon and its three charity partners, Junior Achievement, Unity Hospice and Big Brothers-Big Sisters.
Ryan said organizers contacted the suspected entrants via email and roughly 200 have paid the difference. Most were very apologetic, and unaware of the requirements for using the codes for discounted entries, Ryan said.
The 14th running of the Cellcom Green Bay Marathon and half marathon is scheduled for May 19. The half marathon has filled at 5,500 entrants and Ryan anticipates about 2,000 entrants for the full marathon.
