A half marathon in Columbia, South Carolina, scheduled for Saturday, December 13, never filed for the necessary permits to hold its race, according to the Columbia police department. The race is listed as part of the Other Hearst Subscriptions, a national series created by long-time race director Dean Reinke, who told Runner’s World Newswire he’s no longer involved with the Columbia race or the USRA series.

“To date, there has been no submission of any permits pertaining to the Columbia Half Marathon,” the department’s public information officer, Jennifer Timmons, wrote in an email to Newswire. The race's website was accepting registrations at least through the end of October. On December 8, registrants received an email saying the race would be rescheduled for 2015.

The news about the race’s uncertainty was first reported by South Carolina’s WIS TV station on November 21. In the story, Reinke told WIS, “I understand all approvals are in place and participants are in communication.”

However, when Newswire emailed Reinke seeking clarification on the race’s status, he responded, “I am not involved.”

In a follow-up email, Newswire asked why the Columbia Half Marathon remained listed as part of the USRA Half Marathon series. On December 4, Reinke told Newswire he is no longer affiliated with the USRA series. “We have been out of that loop for many months since early this past year and I have moved on,” Reinke wrote.

Reinke did not provide information on who is now in charge of the USRA series. Reinke’s contact information still appears to be connected to the series: On December 2, he responded to an email sent to the address listed on the USRA site. On December 4, he placed two calls to Newswire from the phone number listed on the series’ Facebook page.

The USRA site is hosted by Sport Ngin, which conducts registration and collects entry fees on behalf of sporting events. A Sport Ngin employee told Newswire the company sent Reinke registration money for the Columbia Half Marathon in October; the company declined to specify an amount. A different Sport Ngin employee told Newswire the company had not been told by Reinke that he is no longer affiliated with the USRA series.

The USRA Half website says that its series consists of 23 events held in small to mid-size markets. Its current calendar shows three upcoming races, including the Columbia Half Marathon.

Michael Baldwin paid $65 to enter the Columbia Half Marathon and got an entry confirmation on October 30. When he received no other information from the race in the ensuing weeks, Baldwin emailed Reinke and posted on the USRA series’ Facebook page asking where packet pick-up will take place. On December 8, he received an email from the USRA series that read, “The Columbia Half Marathon is under new direction and will be rescheduled for 2015. You will be informed of the new date when it is finalized.” The email was sent from the same USRA address that Reinke responded to Newswire from on December 2. The email to Baldwin did not mention entry fee refunds. Baldwin said he intends to stick with his original plan of a fraud claim via his bank to recoup his money.

As of Monday, December 1, the USRA site’s homepage also listed a half marathon and 5K in Las Cruces, New Mexico, on Sunday, December 7. However, Las Cruces Convention & Visitors Bureau sports sales manager Edward Carnathan told Newswire on December 1 that the Las Cruces CVB severed ties with Reinke due to an unpaid police bill. Newswire can find no record of the race being run this year.

One of the three listed upcoming races, the Clarksville Half Marathon/5K to Benefit Big Brothers Big Sisters, on March 7, 2015, is misleading, according to Amy Carroll, executive director of the Big Brothers Big Sisters chapter in Clarksville, Tennessee. Carroll said her organization was the charity partner for the race in 2013 and that Reinke promised to donate a portion of the proceeds from each entrant to the organization. When the Reinke Sports Group, which at the time was the name of Reinke’s company, never made a donation, Big Brothers Big Sisters Clarksville called off its partnership and no longer has an affiliation with the race. “I have asked for our name to be taken off that race, and Dean informed me that he is no longer associated with that race,” said Carroll.

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below, the Reinke Sports Group was dissolved in September 2013. A new company under Reinke’s name, NRG Sports, was granted license as a limited liability corporation on September 1, 2014.

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