SAN DIEGO -- Organizers of the San Diego Rock 'n' Roll Marathon are going to return more than $340,000 of public subsidies and grants, which an independent audit found should never have gone to the event in the first place, it was reported Friday.

Marathon organizer Elite Racing applied for the funds using an affiliated charity that co-hosted the local race, The San Diego Union-Tribune reported.

Since then, an independent audit ruled the co-hosting role played by nonprofit Elite Racing Foundation for Children, Education & Medical Research was overstated, according to the newspaper.

Elite Racing, which is based in San Diego and is one the country's largest race promoters, was taken over by Competitor Group in January 2008. The audit was funded by Competitor Group, which declined to release the document.

"The foundation was operating inappropriately, in many instances for the benefit of the for-profit," Scott Dickey, Competitor's chief operating officer, told the Union-Tribune.

The San Diego Rock 'n' Roll Marathon consists of 26.2 miles and is in its 12th year. It is the seventh largest marathon in the country and melds music and running.

For this year's marathon on May 31, more than 18,000 runners are expected to make their way through several San Diego neighborhoods, including downtown, Hillcrest and Mission Beach.