CALGARY -- Frustration is growing for runners who won’t be refunded or have their registration fees deferred after the 2020 Banff Marathon was cancelled.   

The race was originally scheduled for June 21, but concerns over the spread of COVID-19 have forced this year’s event to be called off and run virtually instead. 

As stated on the Banff Marathon website, "all entries are non-refundable, non-transferable to another person, and non-deferrable to a future event."

That’s not sitting well with runners like Jenna Kobiela from Saskatoon, Sask., who was scheduled to compete in Banff this June. 

"I understand that there won’t be a full refund option because they have incurred costs, but what they’ve been telling us is that they’ve been at a huge loss if they refunded anything," Kobiela said. 

"That’s kind of hard to understand because the race isn’t actually happening."

In an email to registrants, Banff Marathon says the decision was extremely difficult and disappointing, but it will do everything it can to support runners in the future. 

"We are offering participants a 50 per cent off discount on ANY race distance for either the 2020 or 2021 Banff Marathon events," the email read. 

"We would also like to offer anyone that comes back and uses their 50 per cent off discount code for future events, a special limited edition Banff Marathon Trucker Hat or Banff Marathon visors as a token of our appreciation for your understanding."

Paul Shibley from Grand Haven, Mich., read that email and said it felt like a slap in the face. 

He had purchased a $400 VIP package for his wife to compete in the upcoming race and fully understood the need to cancel, but feels a discount isn’t enough. 

"They could possibly double the registration fee for next year and wipe out and value for that credit," Shibley said. 

"It’s almost like if you can’t make it next year, we’re keeping your money and we’re not telling you how much it’s going to cost next year. We feel cheated."

Banff Marathon response

Banff Marathon race director Paul Regensburg said in a statement to CTV News that issuing refunds to the 1,850 confirmed runners would be "catastrophic" for the event.

"By the time the event arrives, we have already incurred the majority of the event expenses on items such as marketing, staff, office, rent, race shirts, medals, non-refundable deposits, insurance and will also lose out event sponsorship," he said.

Regensburg adds that all participants agree the entry fee is non-refundable if there is a circumstance out of control of the organizer, but Banff Marathon will be fully refunding VIP packages.

The Banff Marathon also said it will not expect any cash support from sponsors this year and has received no financial support from the Town of Banff, the provincial or federal governments.

An 'impossible situation' for race directors

"It’s an impossible situation," said Kirsten-Ellen Fleming, race director for the Scotiabank Calgary Marathon, adding that no race director wants to cancel an event that they've been preparing an entire year to host.

Fleming says Calgary’s event costs more than one million dollars alone for just the one single day. 

Those costs include everything from the purchasing stages, marketing and advertising, paying staff salaries for the year and ordering T-shirts and medals up to12 months in advance. 

"Seventy per cent of the costs have been incurred for the year and when we had to cancel, we still hadn’t received all our registrations."

As a result, Calgary’s marathon event is allowing participants to defer their registration to next year’s race, which places a greater burden on the Run Calgary team. 

"We are putting on virtual events and offering deferrals for next year instead," said Fleming. 

"But if we defer someone’s registration, we’ve already paid for everything this year and will then pay for it next year, so race directors are being as generous as they can without going out of business."