Progress made, but it could be weeks before decision is made on S.L. Marathon

SALT LAKE CITY — U.S. Road Sports met the city's deadline for staging the Salt Lake marathon — mostly.

And that means there will be a marathon on April 21 — maybe.

"Essentially, U.S. Road Sports provided most of the information we requested by the deadline," said Art Raymond, spokesman for the mayor's office. "They were missing a significant document from the county, but we decided to give them a little leeway on that, and so now we're set to begin the review process."

That is a process that could take "weeks."

And the fact that Tuesday's deadline for application material was submitted — at least all but one document — only means the process can now move off of square one.

"This in no way indicates approval," said Raymond. "Basically, it means we have all of the information we need to begin the review process. …The permit process is moving forward."

And while the fact that the permitting process is just beginning sounds bad, one of the men helping plan the April 21 event for U.S. Road Sports said it's not.

"In most municipalities, it's not like you turn in a permit and it's all done," said Zemola, CEO of Chicago-based Special Events Management, which handles about 40 races per year. Zemola's company is handling certain aspects of the race for U.S. Road Sports, which bought the race on Feb. 10 from Chris Devine, the man who started the event nine years ago.

"My experience with most municipalities is that you're working in good faith," he said. "Sometimes you don't get a permit until a few days before the event."

He said if there are problems, however, officials usually let organizers know so they can make changes or adjustments.

The document U.S. Road Sports was missing was an application for a mass gathering issued by Salt Lake County.

"There was some misunderstanding about what they needed from Salt Lake County," said Raymond. "It appears it was an error of omission."

There seems to be three major concerns for U.S. Road Sports and Special Events Management as they attempt to stage the troubled event with a little more than two months until scheduled race day.