Marathon a rally for 3 charities, community

People are talking about the Hayden Lake Marathon a lot lately, and many are wondering if it is going to happen this year. Recently, somewhere along the way, certain residents living on the public road running around Hayden Lake have been fed a few misconceptions through the rumor mill. Hopefully, this letter will put to rest some of the misinformation that has been circulated.

Hayden Lake Marathon is a collaborative charitable event formed by three non-profit organizations: Coeur d'Alene High School Cross Country Team, Jumpin' Beans Mobile Food Bank, and the Hayden Lake Chamber of Commerce. All committee members and organizers are volunteers, so 100 percent of the proceeds will go to charitable causes. The race has been planned from the beginning with safety in mind, and planned as the perfect way to showcase the beauty of Hayden Lake and bring visitors into our area. Also, organizers wish to promote healthy lifestyles and promote business in Hayden - known as the "gateway to recreation."

Organizers designed a safety plan using suggestions from, and following requirements of, Northern Lakes Fire District, Kootenai County Sheriff's Office, Panhandle Health, the City of Hayden, the City of Hayden Lake, and Lakes Highway District. From the beginning, Lakes Highway District has taken great care to help organizers design an event that keeps all roads open, and allows the normal flow of traffic in either direction around the lake. Residents and emergency vehicles will continue their use of the public road during the event. Mail will be delivered the day of the race, as confirmed by the U.S. Postal Service.

Some misinformed individuals have stated that marathons need to occur on running paths and trails, but almost every marathon in the world occurs in whole or in part on public roads. Eclipse Traffic Control has been hired from the beginning to put together a certified traffic control plan for the event. Oct. 19 was chosen for its historically low vehicular traffic count. The number of runners allowed at any given time will be limited, due to a staggered start, and limits have been set on the number of registrants. At no time will large packs of runners be making their way around the lake. Runners running two abreast are likely to encounter one or two cars per hour, and can shift to single file running to accommodate the passage of rarely occurring vehicles.

One resident voiced concerns, stating "the Moose are in the rut, and hunters could shoot the runners." Let this be a stern warning to all hunters: Shooting wild game along East Hayden Lake Road is poaching. Poaching is against the law. Also, shooting at a group of runners traveling along an open and visible public roadway is likely to result in major problems with law enforcement agencies. We advise hunters not to poach humans on Oct. 19 from 7 a.m. until 1:30 p.m. We advise runners not to don antlers.

We anticipated that most residents in Hayden would be excited about such a beautiful marathon event, and that they would want to come out of their homes to cheer for runners passing briefly by each driveway. We were truly surprised that some residents do not want athletes to pass by their homes while competing in this event, and that some residents are not in favor of charitable events designed to raise awareness of Hayden and its gorgeous lake. We were also surprised that some residents believe that a public road is for their exclusive use, simply because they live along the road. The taxes that pay for public roads come from the people in the area collectively, and the public therefore has the right to enjoy the road, as do the residents. In fact, signage along Hayden Lake Road states in multiple locations, "Share the Road."

Some have stated that public notice to residents should have occurred prior to event approval. When volunteers from the charitable organizations that formed this event asked about public notice protocol, they were told to "Let residents know about the event by submitting a public notice in the Coeur d'Alene Press, and put out lighted marquees at the entrances to the lake road one week prior to the event." We did not anticipate that certain residents would disagree with such an effective notification plan.

We thank all the warm-hearted and generous people in our community who have worked so diligently to make the Hayden Lake Marathon a reality.

Jason Ball is a Hayden resident and race director of the Hayden Lake Marathon, Half-Marathon, and 10K.