First introduced in 2000, the 21.1-kilometre run through the countryside just north of Port Perry has grown over the years and now includes a five-kilometre jaunt as well, raising plenty of money for local charities over that span.

But logistical problems have tripped up the 2008 edition of the run, forcing its cancellation, Ms. Connolly explained last week. However, while disappointed at the idea of having to put a halt to this year's run, Ms. Connolly added the break will allow her and other organizers to spend more time preparing and improving the popular run.

Originally slated for Saturday, Sept. 6, the event clashes with a planned soccer event at the Scugog Soccer Fields, Ms. Connolly said. That's key, she said, because run participants travel north and south along Old Simcoe Road, right past the soccer fields, which would create unsafe conditions.

Adding to the difficulty, Ms. Connolly continued, is the fact most participants use the Port Perry Half-Marathon as a tune-up for other larger runs in places such as Toronto and Niagara Falls. That means it would be tough to schedule the Port Perry event any earlier or much later in the running season, she said.

"We have a good placement right now; people use... our race as a training event for other (runs) and we still want to offer that opportunity," she said. "September is such an intense running month and there are races all the time. (The Port Perry event is) notorious for being used as training for half or full runs in Toronto."

There's also the Port Perry Terry Fox Run to work around, she added.

"We want to keep it on the same Saturday (the first weekend of September) and work out a long-term plan and hopefully we can all come to a happy medium," Ms. Connolly said.

As for 2009, she said organizers may look at adding runs of different lengths to the key half-marathon, but that the overall route would stay the same. One change that already has been made is a new website for the event: www.pphm.org has been changed to portperryrun.ca.

"We're just going to take this time, this year, to make everything a little more solid," Ms. Connolly said. "We're going to regroup and give everyone a break and we'll come back strong for 2009."