FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Marine Corps Marathon Start Line Relocates to Home of Contest Winner
Alexandria, Virginia resident and former U.S. Marine wins Comcast SportsNet
"Start the Marine Corps Marathon from Your House" Contest
ALEXANDRIA, Va. - (March 31, 2009)- The iconic red arches that thousands of
runners pass under at the start of the Marine Corps Marathon (MCM)
temporarily relocated to the Alexandria home of former U.S. Marine Hank
Hart on Tuesday, March 31. Hart was joined by MCM Race Director Rick Nealis
and other Marine runners on a short training run as part of Comcast
SportsNet's "Start Marine Corps Marathon from Your House" Contest. The run
concluded with Hart breaking the official MCM finisher ribbon to kick-off
the MCM registration season.
The MCM visited the Hart household to set up the iconic MCM start arch,
plus provide post-run hospitality, prizes, chiropractic services and Miles,
the MCM mascot. As part of Comcast SportsNet's contest, Hart has won VIP
treatment on marathon day, Sunday, October 25, including two sought-after
elite entries for the marathon, two tickets to the MCM pre-race pasta
party, official MCM apparel and VIP parking on race day.
Hart has participated in the MCM 17 times between 1977, the second year of
the event, and 2008. His personal best finish time is 3:28:42 in 1979.
Hart, 62, served as a U.S. Marine from 1972 to 1974 in logistics. He is
currently working in Dumfries, Va., as a defense contractor supporting
Marine Corps Systems Command. His sons, James and John, and daughter,
Mariah, 27, have also run the MCM. Hart's sons are former U.S. Marines and
Virginia residents. During their service, James, 29, was deployed to
Afghanistan, while John, 23, has served two tours in Iraq.
The contest marks the beginning of online registration period for the MCM,
a process that has traditionally taken only days to fill 30,000 spots.
Registration opens at noon on Wednesday, April 1 on the marathon website:
MarineMarathon.com.
###
|
