“Obviously my biggest concern is Philadelphia which takes place in just over 2 weeks time,” elite athlete coordinator Matt Turnbull wrote to athlete managers in the wake of the decision. “I’m aware that some of you have already purchased airfares for athletes and these will be reimbursed in full. If your athlete(s) still want to compete for prize money they are welcome to travel and will be looked after accordingly, though any agreed appearance fees unfortunately will not be paid. The European RnR Races will function as normal with Carlos Moia and Miguel Mostaza leading the elite athlete recruitment respectively.” While ongoing contracts with athletes like Meb Keflizighi, Deena Kastor, Shalane Flanagan and Kara Goucher will be honored to their conclusion, this decision marks the practical end to Competitor Group’s nearly $1 million elite athlete program. It’s is a sad end to a long legacy of excellence and speed, and a telling sign of the health of pro running in America.

You can be sure that former Philly race director Mark Stewart didn’t think that when he handed the Philadelphia Distance Run to Elite Racing in 2005 that several years later it would end up on the ledger of private equity managers who would pull the plug on the event’s glittering history. But the message is clear, CGI doesn’t believe having fast runners at their events drives registration or sponsorship, and in the end isn’t relevant to their brand.

Philly would have been the third domestic half-marathon in the Grand Prix series for 2013 (New Orleans and San Diego were included ex-post facto) with only the San Antonio race in December remaining this year. As such it makes you wonder what precipitated such an abrupt act? It would have been more understandable to announce the program’s cessation beginning in 2014. But even as the prestigious Philly Half loomed, and the CGI sales staff was actively seeking to find a sponsor for the GP and TV, the whole thing came tumbling down.

Perhaps a little history would be helpful.

Tim Murphy founded Elite Racing in San Diego in 1988. Among his early events was the Carlsbad 5000, an event that would help transform the sport with its speed and age and gender specific races over a fan-friendly loop-style course. At the time nobody thought people would sign up or travel to run a road 5K. But with American mile legend Steve Scott setting the first of multiple world records on the sunny, seaside course, the event and Murphy’s rep were made.

One year later Ambrose Salmini, executive producer of ESPN’s Running & Racing, a 26-week series covering endurance sports, added Road Race of the Month to his stable. I was brought on as host. In 1989 Race of the Month covered Carlsbad for the first time, and as a result of having ESPN on hand, Murphy signed an extra $40,000 in sponsorships.

Two years later Salmini Films sold Race of the Month to Murphy who used ESPN to build his business. Along with producer Rich Jayne, I travelled the world covering the ever-expanding sport of road racing. When Mike Long joined the team as elite athlete coordinator, the fun really began.

From Ireland to Indonesia, Kenya to Guatemala we scoured the globe and the States for the best races as the sport blossomed. Then in 1994 New Yorker Tracy Sundlun joined Murphy as a consultant, before coming on full-tme as his partner in 1997. The following year they changed the face of the sport again, this time even more profoundly than with Carlsbad.

With the coming the Suzuki Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon in San Diego in June 1998, the sport of running was introduced to the concept of fun along the way rather than simply speed from point A to point B. Though the inaugural RnR Marathon had its difficulties gaining local support (traffic tie-ups, what else?) the formula of rock bands along the course and a major concert after the race proved to be wildly popular with runners.

Soon Rich Jayne and I were covering fewer outside events, and focusing on the growing list of Elite Racing produced races. Eventually Elite Racing added Rock ‘n’ Roll events in Nashville, Phoenix, Virginia Beach, San Jose, and San Antonio. Through it all Murphy continued to emphasize elite competition even as he marketed music and cheerleading to the masses and city officials.

Rock ‘n’ Roll was so successful that events everywhere began copying the formula, while outside investors began cueing up. But when our beloved Mike Long died suddenly of a heart attack in July 2007, much of Tim’s enthusiasm for the business died with him. No one who knew Mike felt any different.

Mike’s position was filled by England’s Matt Turnbull that fall. Matt had come over from Nova Interntional, event managers of the Great North Run and other top fight road competitions in the U.K. If there was a younger version of Mike Long lurking anywhere in the world, Matt Turnbull was he.

By December 2007 Falconhead Capital LLC out of New York came calling with their checkbook wide open, and purchased Elite Racing along with a group of other companies (Competitor Magazine, Velo News, Triathlete, Muddy Buddy, etc.) to form Competitor Group Inc.

So you see, what we now know as Competitor Group, which Falonhead Capital sold after five years to Celara Capital out of San Francisco in November 2012 for a mutiple of their own purchase price, is really part of the sport’s legacy. But private equity is one kind of business, racing is another, and it seems fast money and fast racing aren’t all that compatible, especially the way fast racing has evolved.

What Effect Elsewhere?

Whether this decision will bear fruit or poison the CGI well, only time will tell. The fear from the sport’s standpoint, however, is the potential cascading influence the CGI decision might have on other events.

As largest purveyor of endurance events In the world, CGI’s footprint makes quite an impression. So if they see no value in elite competition, what happens if, say, the board of directors of the NYRR, fresh off the costly disaster of Hurricane Sandy in 2012, decides they could save quite a bit of money if they followed CGI’s lead? Why should we spend $3 — $4 million on various races when CGI has moved that money elsewhere for strategic reasons without any negative effect?