Close to Home: Sonoma's call to cut Napa-to-Sonoma Wine Country Half Marathon makes no sense

I am stunned by the decision by the Sonoma City Council to not approve the running of the Napa-to-Sonoma Wine Country Half Marathon. I am not part of Destination Races, other than being one of their runners who will be hugely disappointed if the council doesn't reconsider.

This is Destination Race's flagship event and was to be its 14th year on the same course - always finishing in the Sonoma Plaza as approved by prior Sonoma City Councils dating back to 2004. Runner's World has named this race one of the Top 10 Half-Marathons in the World, bringing immense publicity to the town of Sonoma. Runner's World is the leading road racing magazine in the world, and it typically sends one of the editors to the race. While certainly not of the same magnitude, this feels like the Boston City Council refusing to issue a permit for the Boston Marathon because it clogs up some streets for several hours. As with Boston, the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, the New York City Marathon, the Rose Bowl Parade, etc., “clog up the streets” of those respective cities for several hours, yet I'm sure canceling those events is the last thing on their minds.

Having run the Napa-to- Sonoma race multiple times, I've seen an awful lot of Sonoma residents lining the final stretch (Broadway) urging on the runners, so I know there is some level of citizen support for this race. There are many beautiful scenes along the course, but the signature part of the course is the last 400-500 years along Broadway. That stretch is often called Sonoma's Boylston Street - the street of the final stretch drive of the Boston Marathon.

Many Boston Marathons have been decided on that last drive. Having run both races, I find Sonoma's Broadway finish stretch equally as inspiring.

Surely, the City Council has queried businesses around town. The 3,500 to 4,000 runners and perhaps that many more spouses/supporters hitting the town of Sonoma probably does clog some streets (e.g. the northbound lane of Broadway) for a few hours, but it also must bring in an enormous amount of revenue to wineries, shops, restaurants and hotels in Sonoma, as well as surrounding communities.

I understand the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation receives a sizable donation from not only this but several other Destination Races events. Locally, the Hanna Boys Center in Sonoma has been a charity organization supported by Destination Races for many years with a sizeable donation. In return, they send a significant number of their boys to Destination Races to fill volunteer roles, giving those boys an opportunity to perform several responsible tasks and interface with a wide variety of people from around the world. There have always been very positive interactions between the Hanna boys and us runners.

I would hope that the City Council would reconsider this decision. I would invite any council members who have not attended the race in the past to allow it to occur for at least one more year and then see for themselves. Position yourselves along Broadway, experience the excitement this race brings to Sonoma and cheer me on - I'll need encouragement by then.

Bob Frazier is a retired Hewlett-Packard employee who has run in the Napa-to-Sonoma Half-Marathon for 11 consecutive years. He lives in Santa Rosa.