BTW, I should have recognized the likelihood of what the Daily Mail reported. For example:
* The Chicago Marathon, very popular among marathoners, will be run October 8th, 2017; the chances of a motel/hotel having a vacancy within a 10 (20?) mile radius of the start is near zero;
* The Chicago Marathon, very popular among marathoners, will be run March 18th, 2018; the chances of a motel/hotel having a vacancy within a 10 (20?) mile radius of the start is already low, if not near zero;
* The Boston Marathon, the Holy Grail of US marathoners, will be run April 16th, 2018; the chances of a motel/hotel having a vacancy within a 10 (20?) mile radius of the start is already low, if not near zero.
So OhBummer's staff would have had to book for the US delegation within weeks - if not days or hours - of the dates and location being announced. That's just the way heavily attended events of any type work.