Lawsuits, Ethics Complaints Fly as Newport Marathon Battle Continues On

Marathon runners across the country feel like they’re jogging in place as two Rhode Island event management companies duke it out over the Newport Marathon.

The ongoing dispute is between Eident Sports Marketing, the longtime host of the Newport Marathon, and Gray Matter Marketing, a company run by a former Eident employee that won the permit for the race in a controversial Newport City Council vote in March.

Though at the time it seemed Gray Matter Marketing had sealed the deal, the dispute between the two companies has spilled over into a court battle, dueling permit requests for races on the same day in the adjacent town of Middletown, ethics complaints filed by Eident against the Newport City Council and subtle changes on their websites as both keep accepting registrations.

“What it comes down to

is if people want to run

on Ocean Drive.”

Runners across the country are finding themselves in myriad situations, some describing it as a state of running purgatory. Some have registered for the marathon through Eident — before the controversy erupted. They now find themselves possibly running a marathon on Aquidneck Island on Oct. 11 that won’t set foot in Newport. Or maybe not even on Aquidneck Island at all.

Others haven’t registered with either Eident or Gray Matter for the competing Oct. 11 events, and are unsure with which to sign up. Many are so dismayed, they’ve said they’re going to look into other races, like the Gansett Half Marathon, hosted by the Narragansett Running Association, on Oct. 25.

Complicating matters further is Eident’s recent unanimous Narragansett Town Council Approval for a marathon and half-marathon in Narragansett on Oct. 11 — the same day as the competing Marathons in Newport and Middletown.

In interviews, both Matthew Gray, owner of Gray Matter Marketing; and John Matthews, owner of Eident, said they have no reason to bow out of the race that has developed between both companies.

“We’re confident we’ll get the permit in Middletown,” Matthews said last week.

“Things are going well for us in terms of registrations but there is that sense of confusion out there. We are getting communication from people confused if they’re registered for our race or not. What it comes down to is if people want to run on Ocean Drive,” Gray said, referring to the spectacular stretch of the race along the row of Gilded Age mansions, ”if that’s the course they want to run.”

Matthews declined to comment on the Superior Court case that started when Gray filed a request for a preliminary injunction calling upon Eident to halt registrations and stop marketing his planned Oct. 11 event.

Superior Court Judge Walter R. Stone has continued the matter until after the Middletown Town Council hears the permit requests from Eident and Gray Matter on May 18. Both applications are identical copies.

The judge reportedly has agreed that Gray Matter did secure a permit from the Newport City Council, but there is a question as to whether the court really can say that there can only be one marathon per day per town. He asked both sides to prepare what they feel would be an ideal resolution to the issue and submit them for review in the run-up to the Middletown meeting on May 18.

Gray specifically wants a disclaimer posted on Eident’s materials that the actual Newport Marathon is being hosted by a different company and registrations are in a different place. He also has suggested that people who registered for the Newport Marathon through Eident should be turned over to Gray Matter.

And then there’s the complaints Matthews filed with the Attorney General’s office alleging ethics violations on the part of the Newport City Council, specifically Councilor Justin McLaughlin’s recusal and later un-recusal that turned the tide and broke a deadlock that had effectively killed the race with no permit issued two weeks earlier.

He also accused Councilor John Florez of not disclosing that he is on the board of Boys Town in nearby Portsmouth. Boys Town is one of the charities slated to receive a minimum of $10,000 as part of the revenue sharing model proposed by Gray Matter Marketing. Florez responded by noting he is uncompensated for his volunteer work on behalf of the organization.

“There’s a potential the vote that night [in Newport] could be nullified,” Matthews said. “I’m not going to comment on what happens after that. But as far as Middletown goes right now, unless we get our Newport permit back, we will be applying to run our entire race in Middletown.”

Matthews said he has received widespread support from the running community, especially veterans of the Newport Marathon, which Eident hosted since 2008 up until this year’s brouhaha.

At a recent race in Providence, he said, “we had several runners question me personally about the situation and every single one of the said they’re going to run our race, no matter what.”

Matthews has described himself as the victim of pay-to-play politics. And it’s no secret that there is bad blood between both promoters, with Matthews characterizing Gray as an opportunist who used a trumped up dune trampling issue and his local roots to sway the council to drop a longtime vendor.

Gray, on the other hand, said he simply thought there was a desire on the part of the city to consider a different vendor after the dune trampling incident. During the course of the Newport council’s deliberations, he repeatedly referenced correspondence from the city beach manager and other officials that had sharp criticism of Eident.

The spectacle has left a bad taste in the mouth for many runners who up until now had considered the Newport Marathon a desirable and gorgeous event. A qualifying event for the Boston Marathon, the race historically has brought thousands of runners from out of state — and around the world.

“Not knowing who is managing the Newport Marathon, or if there will be two 2015 Newport Marathons on the same date, sends a negative ‘Do Not Proceed’ message to potential runners like myself,” said Erik Johnson, of Indianopolis, IN, in an e-mail message. “I hope all of the parties reach an agreement in the best interests of Newport and the sport of running. And quickly! Fall is fast approaching.”

Johnson said he’s still searching for a place to run his third marathon this fall.

On Gray Matter’s Facebook page, runners have asked for updates on the situation.

On May 9, Mike Forrester inquired and Gray Matter said “we have held the permits for Newport since March 18. This will be the only race in Newport, R.I.”

Forrester: “I mistakenly registered for their event instead of yours. I tried to get out of it. I want to run yours, but they insist theirs will happen.”

Gray Matter: “Mike they applied for permits in Narragansett in North Kingstown on the same date. That is where they plan to host a race. They will be required to refund you.”

On April 21, Kerri Stevens asked Eident for an update.

“Very Complicated matter. If you’d like to email support@eidentracing.com with your phone number someone will contact you to discuss” was the response. “The only update we can provide is that we will have a race on October 11th. For legal and strategic reasons, that is all we can say at this point.”

Confused? Below is a chronology of our reporting on this issue.

Newport Marathon Dies after City Council Fails to Pick Between Rival Vendors

Newport Council to Reconsider Vote that Killed Newport Marathon

Newport Marathon is Back On after Council Re-Vote

Eident to File Complaints after Losing Newport Marathon Permit