The event, which draws more than 3000 people to the city and equates to more than $200,000 in spending, has been postponed because stage one of the project was not finished on time.

This follows the announcement the 2015 Aroma Festival will not be at The Levee and has been moved to the Riverside Car Park off High Street, where it took place last year.

“I thought the mall would surely be finished in time,” River Run organiser Paul Humphreys said.

“Unfortunately, due to delays and the storm it is not ready.”

The River Run started six years ago as a way to bring day-trippers to the CBD and hold what would become an annual sporting event.

Competitors race along the river bank and up the mall in one of three distance categories and there is also the crowd favourite – the Maitland Mile race.

About 1300 people enter the run and with them come more than 2000 spectators.

“If say there is a coffee or food festival and it is raining then no one would come,” Mr Humphreys said.

“These are people that come irrespective of the weather.

“The plan is someone comes up to spend the day in Maitland, they enter the race, have some lunch, a coffee, maybe even fill their car up.”

Based on day-trip spending the Maitland River Run brings more than $200,000 into the city, a huge boost for local retailers.

“The idea is to revitalise and bring people to town in what is a sporting environment,” he said.

Stage one of The Levee was scheduled to finish in mid June but has been pushed back to August.

With uncertainty around the completion date Mr Humphreys said he was unsure when the River Run could be rescheduled.

“The problem is we just don’t know when work in the mall is going to finish,” he said.