POCATELLO — A disabled local veteran who about a decade ago fought for wheelchair users to be able to compete in the Pocatello Marathon is once again at odds with race organizers.

Pocatello resident and wheelchair user Tom McCurdy recently visited with the Idaho State Journal to voice his frustrations regarding a recent decision by Pocatello Marathon committee members to not allow disabled individuals to participate in the full marathon race category.

McCurdy says he believes the decision is discriminatory and puts the Pocatello Marathon in a situation where it is no longer in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990.

Firstly, McCurdy, who suffered a spinal cord injury while serving in the U.S. Army in Germany in the mid-1980s, believes discrimination is occurring because the race is hosted and presented by the Pocatello Sports Committee, a local 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Nonprofit organizations are not exempt from the ADA.

According to the Pocatello Marathon’s website, “The Pocatello Marathon — Running The Gap is presented by the Pocatello Sports Committee. Our goal is to provide the highest quality event with a race distance for anyone, an option for the entire family. Our event goes beyond the start and finish line. The Pocatello Sports Committee strives to put together a big time race with the small town flare and (provide) a great experience for all participants, spectators and volunteers.”

And secondly, McCurdy says the ADA Act prohibits discrimination against disabled persons in places of public accommodation, of which the city-owned streets in which the Pocatello Marathon is hosted on and any other city-owned services associated with the event could be considered as such.

“My primary goal is to get the Pocatello Marathon back in compliance with U.S. code,” McCurdy said. “The Americans with Disability Act Title III specifically deals with nonprofit organizations. The spirit of the law in general deals with the fact that people with disabilities have a right to be engaged in work, in state government and in events that are offered to the public.”

Mike Calley, the Pocatello Marathon director, says committee members have done a lot of work over the years to accommodate people of all ages and walks of life to facilitate an environment where anyone can participate in the races and disagrees that anybody is being disallowed from competing.

“We offer categories for wheelchair participants in the 5-kilometer, 10-kilometer and half marathon,” Calley said, declining to comment further on McCurdy’s concerns.

Something that is most frustrating for McCurdy is the fact that he and Calley worked on this same exact issue about a decade ago, first in 2009 and then again in both 2010 and 2011. McCurdy provided the Journal with emails from early 2010 between Calley and himself discussing wheelchair and hand cycle participation as well as letters McCurdy wrote to then-Pocatello Mayor Roger Chase and the mayor-elect at the time and current Mayor Brian Blad.

“The Pocatello Marathon was out of compliance in 2008 and I was told in 2009 while preparing for the race that I could not participate,” McCurdy said. “I had done the race in previous years with several other disabled people. I had a long discussion with (Calley) that ended with the mayor getting involved and conferring with Calley himself. In the end, I have a letter from Mayor Chase and he was under the understanding that all of the races would be open for people with disabilities going forward.”

The letter sent to McCurdy from Chase on Dec. 28, 2009, says, “This letter is to let you know that I have had the opportunity to speak to Mike Calley of the Pocatello Sports Committee regarding the Pocatello Marathon. I believe the compromise they have come up with works. It is my understanding the marathon will always be open to disabled participants.”

McCurdy said the compromise for the 2010 Pocatello Marathon was to allow six wheelchair or hand cycle participants in both the full and half marathons and three participants for both the 10K and 5K races. For the 2011 race, those caps were increased to 15 wheelchair or hand cycle participants in the marathon, 10 in the half marathon and five each in the 10K and 5K races.

The last time wheelchair or hand cycle users were able to participate in the Pocatello Marathon was in 2018, McCurdy says. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the race was not held in 2020.

McCurdy says when he went to register for the race this year, he was discouraged to see that there were no registration options for wheelchair or hand cycle users. It was about two weeks after this year’s race that McCurdy reached out to Calley to inquire about the lack of wheelchair or hand cycle registration options.

McCurdy says he doesn’t want to involve the courts on this matter, but is of the belief that he could easily receive support from disability advocate organizations if he decides to go that route.

He wouldn’t be the first person to file suit against the organizers of a marathon for discriminating against disabled individuals.

In January 2016, a Montana marathon agreed to settle a case alleging it discriminated against athletes with disabilities, according to a February 2016 article published in Runner’s World. In addition to Run Wild Missoula, the parent company of the Missoula Marathon, removing a 12 mph limit on wheelchair and hand cycle users and dropping requirements that they yield to foot runners, the organization also agreed to reimburse the plaintiff in the case, Joe Stone, $13,000 for his attorneys’ fees and other costs.

McCurdy is hopeful Calley and other organizers with the Pocatello Marathon will reinstate its policies from about a decade ago and allow him and others to participate without any limitations put in place because of their disabilities.

“In a community where we’ve got this great sense of welcoming, where we are the Smile Capital of the World, where we are generous and helpful, not allowing wheelchair or hand cycle users to compete in the full marathon is just anathema to who we are,” McCurdy said.