Middletown Rejects Eident, Gives Marathon Permit to Gray Matter

The Middletown Town Council on Monday rejected Eident Sports Marketing’s application for a permit to run a road race in that town on Oct. 11 — the same day that rival Gray Matter Marketing plans to host the Newport Marathon, which traverses both Newport and Middletown.

The council instead voted to give Gray Matter Marketing a permit for the Middletown leg of the Newport Marathon on Oct. 11, putting an end to one branch of a multi-limbed dispute between the two sports and event marketing companies.

“There cannot be two road races in Middletown on the same day,” Middletown Town Council President Robert J. Sylvia said before the unanimous vote to deny Eident’s request.

The council also considered a letter from Scott Hallman, of Hallman Portable Toilets, who wrote to compel the council to give Gray Matter the permit, saying he has worked with Matthew Gray of Gray Matter Marketing and has had “nothing but positive experiences while working with them.”

There was no significant discussion before the Middletown council votes Monday night, though the matter had been continued twice since the controversy erupted next door in Newport in March.

The dispute stems from the Newport City Council’s divided vote in March to give Gray Matter the permit, ending an eight-year relationship with Eident, which hosted the race since 2007 and was caught flat-footed. The company has been signing up runners for the race since last fall when the most-recent Newport Marathon ended.

SEE: Lawsuits, Ethics Complaints Fly as Newport Marathon Battle Continues On

John Matthews, owner of Eident, has said that he planned on hosting a full marathon in Middletown on Oct. 11 and expected most of his registrants to run that course instead of opting to run Gray Matter’s Newport Marathon, which will use the same general course (with some small adjustments) as in prior years.

At the same time, Eident secured a permit in Narragansett to run a full and half marathon on Oct. 11 in that town as a fallback measure.

Gray Matter filed suit in Newport County Superior Court, claiming that Eident was causing confusion by promoting the “Newport Rhode Races” the same weekend as the Newport Marathon event.

Gray Matter also wants runners who just want to run a marathon branded the “Newport Marathon” to easily be able to switch registrations or get refunds.

“Thank you to the Middletown Town Council for their unanimous approval of our full marathon course permit. We look forward to hosting a great run through Newport and Middletown this fall!” a post on the Newport Marathon Facebook page said on Tuesday morning.

“So will Eident refund?” asked Sara Chazin.

“We truly hope so!” Gray Matter responded.

“ Ok - let’s wait and see....I hope you aren’t raising your race price anytime soon so when this works out, we get the same price. I do want to run Newport!”

In an e-mail, Gray said that Eident expects to be in court again next Tuesday because Eident has not responded to a May 7 order to notify registrants about the ongoing dispute and the fact that they don’t have a permit for the Newport Marathon.

“ This injunctive relief was ordered so that the many hundreds of runners that had registered with Eident for a Newport race will be made aware that they lack permits and GMM has permits to host an event,” Gray said.

For a complete rundown of the issue, check out a chronology of our reporting below:

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

Lawsuits, Ethics Complaints Fly as Newport Marathon Battle Continues On