The road race season is ramping up in Vancouver, but one CTV viewer wondered why registration fees for so many running events are non-refundable and non-transferable.

Chelsea wrote Steele on Your Side to ask why it’s not possible to get a refund for the registration fees on many of the major running races in the city, including the $128 fee she paid for the upcoming Lululemon Sea Wheeze run in August.

Lululemon told CTV it follows the best practices established by the majority of other big race events and does not allow transfers for the Sea Wheeze run to ensure medical safety and liability issues are covered. The company says it doesn't provide refunds because it wants to be respectful to the 10,000 runners who registered quickly before the event sold out -- in just four weeks.

The Vancouver International Marathon Society, which organizes the BMO marathon, told CTV that in order to provide adequate medical support during the event the society is required to have accurate records of registered runners. As a result, runners are not permitted to offer or transfer their unused bibs to other participants.

Runners agree to the registration terms and conditions, which include medical waivers and it is imperative for the safety of runners to have this accurate information, the agency said.  

The organization that operates the Scotiabank half-marathon told CTV that in order to organize a large event it needs to determine numbers ahead of time so it can provide runners with things like shirts, medals, water, food and race bibs. Once the registration is processed, the items are accounted for. But the Scotiabank half-marathon is one of the few races that will let you transfer your bib to another runner if a participant gets injured or something unexpected comes up.