FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Sarah Huot
(603) 540-3146
Manchester City Marathon Set To Run November 4, 2007
Revival Of Historic New England Marathon Of Manchester Will
Also Include Half Marathon
Manchester, NH January 10, 2007 - The Manchester Marathon Association
announced today that the inaugural Manchester City Marathon will run on
Sunday, November 4, 2007; a separate half marathon will run at the same
time, both races starting and ending in downtown Manchester.
There has not been a full marathon in Manchester since the old New England
Marathon of Manchester in the 1930's drawing all the big names, including
Clarence DeMar, Tarzan Brown, Jock Semple, and Fred Brown. For nearly a
decade, the old race was considered one of the premier events in New
England distance running. Highlights of that race included Tarzan Brown
challenging "Mr. Marathon" DeMar, falling just short at the very end. Brown
won subsequent back-to-back marathons-in New York on Saturday and
Manchester the following day--after a whirlwind overnight train ride.
Thousands lined the highways for a glimpse of these legends.
Now New England's Marathon is back, running in New Hampshire's largest
city! This is the first new Marathon in the Northeast in several years,
and is generating a lot of excitement.
Manchester is building for the future, and is becoming a big time sports
town once again. It is home to the American Hockey League's Manchester
Monarchs, who play in the state-of-the-art Verizon Wireless Arena, and the
AA Eastern League New Hampshire Fisher Cats, who also have a terrific new
home, MerchantsAuto.com Stadium. Manchester will now be home to a major
Marathon too!
History and tradition aside, these races will bring an entirely new
dimension to distance racing, not only to the Granite State and in New
England generally. They will start and finish in Downtown Manchester, with
race headquarters set for the Athlete's Village at Veteran's Park on Elm
Street. On Friday and Saturday, November 2nd and 3rd, the Radisson Hotel
will host the Sports and Health Exposition. Vendor applications are now
being accepted for space at this two-day event.
Organizers expect a large and competitive field in both races, offering
substantial prize money for each: There will be $12,500 awarded in the
marathon, and $6,800 in the half marathon. There will be an emphasis on
teams as well as individuals: The top team in the marathon will take home
$750, while the team winners in the half will earn $500. Individual
winners will earn $1,500 in the marathon and $1,000 in the half marathon.
There will also be cash prizes for the top five marathoners, and top three
half marathoners, along with monetary prizes for the top three masters in
each race, and first New Hampshire woman and man in each. Additionally,
there will be non-cash prizes for the first three racers in five different
age groups through 70+. Beautiful long-sleeved tech shirts will also be
given to the first 1,000 pre-registered racers.
There will be live music and family entertainment for the pre-race and
post-race festivities at Athletes Village. There will be a unique Soup
Taste Test Challenge, with many area restaurants offering their special
recipes to all in attendance. The post celebration will also include a
variety of food and beverage items for all.
Yankee Timing will provide chip timing for accurate and immediate results
with both courses USATF certified. The marathon will be a BAA Boston
qualifier.
Any potential medical issues will be handled by one of New England's best
medical providers and Presenting Sponsor of the Half Marathon, the Elliot
Hospital.
A portion of the proceeds from the each race will benefit the Cystic
Fibrosis Foundation nationally, and the Mental Health Center of Greater
Manchester, locally.
On-line registration is available at www.ManchesterCityMarathon.com, or
through the Cool Running Calendar at www.coolrunning.com.
Inquiries and applications by mail should be sent to:
Manchester City Marathon
P.O. Box 933
Manchester, NH 03105-0933
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