Every May for the last five years, the Carson Park area in Eau Claire has become a place where thousands upon thousands celebrate personal triumph by crossing the finish line of the infamous 13.1 or 26.2-mile running course at the Eau Claire Half-Marathon and Marathon.

But five years is all the event will last, for now anyway, as marathon organizer Karen Drechsel announced last week the event will be discontinued for the time being.

According to a press release, Drechsel said the race is being discontinued for a number of reasons. They are now having to compete for runners with marathons in Green Bay and Minneapolis, and there has also been an increase in Eau Claire area races all year-round.

The event, which had almost 1,500 participants in 2013, also served as a fundraiser for the YMCA of Eau Claire to build a new facility, raising more than $119,000, according to the Leader-Telegram.

YMCA Director Ken Van Es said the marathon was a huge beneficiary to the YMCA and he is disappointed to see the race come to an end.

“It garnered a lot of people coming into town to run it,” Van Es said. “I think it was a great community event and we hate to lose a community event of any sort.”

However, he said he appreciated all of the efforts Drechsel and her husband, Kevin, put into the organization of the marathon and all they did for the YMCA.

“Putting on a race of that magnitude, particularly a 26-mile long race, is a huge commitment,” Van Es said. “Kevin and Karen are both Y members, and they thought this would be a good way to give to the Y in a way they couldn’t necessarily do out of their checkbook.”

UW-Eau Claire senior Steph Jauquet competed in the half-marathon last May. She said the event was well run and spectator friendly and was disappointed to see it come to an end.

“I personally thought a lot of university students and adults got involved,” Jauquet said. “I think someone should pick it up. You could qualify for bigger races and it was a smaller town and a good atmosphere. So I think people are going to miss that.”

But Van Es said there is still hope for people who would like to see Carson Park play host to thousands of runners once again. He said he has been approached by different individuals and groups inquiring about helping him and the YMCA continue the event.

“Lots of people have shown interest in keeping this alive, so there is a hope that it may not go away,” Van Es said. “We’re kind of working on that this week with a variety of people who are interested in seeing this thing continue.”

The Eau Claire Marathon had more than 1,200 participants in all five years of its existence. Efforts to resume it are in effect.