Yesterday a bunch of diehard Seattlites huffed and puffed and participated in 37th annual Seattle Marathon. As the thousands of hopefuls lined up (many just hopeful that they could complete it), the announcer said: Remember, you are running to benefit UW Medical Center patient housing today.

In other words, these folks assumed that the hefty$95 for the half-marathon and $120 for the full marathon was going to support the UW Medical Center. That this was a charity event, much the way buyers picking up pink trinkets during October’s breast cancer month thought that their money was all going for a charity.

Well guys, think carefully before you fork over money for the 2008 38th marathon—unless, of course, you just want to pay for the privilege of running through the streets of Seattle. From the Seattle Times:

What many runners may not have realized was that not one cent of their race-entry fee — which costs up to $95 for the half-marathon and $120 for the full marathon — is destined for charity. Only money that runners decided to donate on top of their entry fees will go to charity.

Last year that amounted to only $12,000 — 1 percent of revenue — at an event that now pulls in more than $1 million annually.

The Seattle Marathon Web site plays up the charity connection, with a logo at the top that says “To benefit UW Medical Center Patient & Family Housing Fund.”

The Web site also states prominently that the marathon “is organized and run by volunteers in the community.”

While race organizers do rely on thousands of volunteers, the Seattle Marathon Association’s 2006 tax returns show that the association paid $330,000 in compensation to employees and organizers — triple the $110,000 it paid two years earlier.

So out of $1 million that the Marathon, less than 1% went to charity. Nice, huh. In addition to the compensation, the article gives more of a breakdown for the remainder of the money:

Aside from compensation, expenses included awards and medals ($198,000); supplies ($171,000); printing and publication ($62,000); fees and permits ($37,000); and advertising ($36,000).

Uh, $198,000 for awards and medals??? What were they giving away, diamond encrusted trophies? That figure seems a bit inflated and I wonder whose pocket got lined with that. Supplies for close to $200,000? What kind of supplies do you need for a marathon, to the tune of $171,000.

I hope that they are audited, and that people who paid the entry fee because they were falsely led to believe that it was going to charity sue them.

On the other hand, the article has a nice comparison between Seattle and Portland’s marathons.

Portland
Runners: 12,000

Entry fee: $90 ($150 to register the day before)

Revenue: $1.2 million

Paid to workers: Directors, $28,000; professional fundraising fees, $40,000; accounting fees, $3,600

Entry-fee money paid to charity: $200,000

Seattle
Runners: 11,000 to 12,000

Entry fee: Up to $120

Revenue: $1.1 million

Paid to workers: $330,000 in compensation to employees and organizers

Entry-fee money paid to charity: $0

What is wrong with this picture? My advice is if you live in this area of the country, and want to participate in a city marathon and have your entry fee go to charity, head to Portland. Do not allow yourself to be ripped off by the Seattle con artists, which is basically what this amounts to.