BOSTON — After years at the helm of the Boston Mini Marathon, the Boston Community Club presented the City of Boston with all the rights and privileges associated with the Mini-Marathon and Festival on Monday night during the City Council meeting.

Since 1979, runners and walkers from across the United States have traveled to Boston for the famous route through the pastoral countryside, sharing the road with farm equipment and curious cows behind fences along the way.

Traditionally sponsored by the Boston Community Club, the race/walk event and the festival have grown to proportions that speak highly of the leadership and hard work that have gone into the event.

Seeing the growth, the Boston Community Club realized its milestone achievement, but agreed it was time to hand over the rights and privileges to the City.

“At our January meeting, new officers were elected, and a new direction for our mission was adopted,” the Community Club said in a statement. “After taking last year off to reflect on our role in hosting the Mini Marathon and Festival, we determined that hosting the event does not align with our mission as we shift our focus to more community-driven projects.”

Based on that decision, the Boston Community Club approached Mayor Danny Groover and the City of Boston, gifting them the rights and privleges associated with the Boston Mini Marathon and Festival logo, along with the Miss Boston Pageant float and the shelter where it is housed, as the Community Club would no longer host the Miss Boston Pageant either.

The City of Boston gladly agreed to take the reins, ensuring the legacy of the event would continue for decades to come. The City’s Tourism Committee will now head the event, beginning in 2025.

“We really appreciate the opportunity to continue making this a success,” Groover told the Community Club. “We appreciate y’all doing this for us for all these years, and we look forward to the Tourism Authority taking it on with the assistance of the City Government.”

Following an official signing, Tourism Committee Board Member Logan Smith gave an update to the Council on efforts already underway for 2025.

“We have started working on the Mini-Marathon event, and it is live on Facebook,” Smith said.

Roughly 500 people have already responded to the event, sharing they are coming, while 10 vendors have confirmed to the Boston Arts & Entertainment Society that they will be in attendance.

“It’s looking pretty promising,” Smith said.

Runners can also begin registration, but Smith did not have a firm count on those registrations yet.

The Mini-Marathon and Festival will be held on the last Saturday in October. For more information about the event, visit the city’s website, www.bostonga.com, or call 229-498-6743.