FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Icebreaker Marathon Fills Up In Record Time
The InStep Icebreaker Indoor Marathon has reached its capacity in record
time, organizers have announced. The race, which will be held at the
Pettit National Ice Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is scheduled for
January 24, 2010. It is billed as the largest indoor marathon in the
United States.
The inaugural race, held in January 2009, reached its capacity of 100
runners the day before the race. This year the capacity was expanded to
120 runners and filled up in late October. The 120 spots include 40 which
were reserved for runners who signed up for both the marathon and the half
marathon, which will be held the day before the marathon. The marathon/half
marathon combination, called the Gold Medal Challenge, filled up just days
after the marathon.
"Once the fall marathon season ended, we had a surge in registrations,"
said race director Chris Ponteri, "This being our second year, we weren"t
sure what to expect, but to have the marathon and Gold Medal Challenge fill
up more than 2 months prior to the race is very pleasing."
The Icebreaker is held on the running track around the U.S. Olympic
Speedskating Oval at the Pettit National Ice Center. The running track is
approximately 443 meters, which comes out to 95.4 laps around the track for
a complete marathon. The course has been USATF-certified.
The field includes runners from 15 states including California, Florida and
New York. Last year's second-place finisher, Albertus Rohling, and
third-place finisher, Matt Sveum, are among the favorites on the men's
side. Julie Spencer, who won the Fox Cities Marathon in September, is the
favorite in the women's race and could challenge for the top overall spot.
The winners of the Gold Medal Challenge will be the male and female with
the lowest total combined time in the marathon and half marathon.
Some of the area's top ultra-marathoners have registered for the Gold Medal
Challenge. All finishers of the "double dip" will receive a gold medal
while finishers of the marathon will get a silver medal and half marathon
finishers will take home a bronze medal. The Pettit National Ice Center is
an official U.S. Olympic Training Center and recently hosted the Olympic
Speedskating Trials.
The event is organized by InStep Running & Walking Centers, which has four
locations in the Milwaukee area. Ponteri is a part-owner of InStep and
founder of the race. InStep sells a wide variety of running shoes, apparel
and accessories, and also offers clinical services such as physical therapy
and massage therapy aimed at runners.
There are still a very limited number of spaces available for the half
marathon. There are two half marathon race - one at 7 a.m. and the other
at 9:30 a.m. on January 23. Both half marathons have a capacity of 120
runners and times from the two races will be combined for awards purposes.
Registration can be done via Active.com or look for a link on the event
website, www.indoormarathon.com.
Perhaps the most unique event of the weekend will be the Marathon Relay,
which will take place at 1 p.m. on January 23. Teams of 2-4 runners will
run a full marathon in a "tag team format", meaning they can switch runners
as often as possible. The field is limited to 100 teams and registration
has been very strong for this event although there are still spots
available.
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