FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Collin County's First...and Second...Marathon, and More, at
the New Years Double
Allen, Texas - January 1, 2011 was a great moment for running in North
Texas. Allen played host to its first half marathon, one of only two in
Collin County at the time, with the inaugural New Year's Day Half Marathon.
Planned and executed around the birth of Founder and Race Director Libby
Jones' baby on December 1st, 2010, the race was announced only 4 months
out with a field capped at 200. Through word of mouth only, the race sold
out 45 days before the event.
For the upcoming New Year's, we're excited to announce a huge expansion for
the event. We present the New Years Double - a full weekend of run events!
Two days of races, from 5K up to a marathon, at beautiful Celebration Park
in Allen. This event will be Collin County's very first marathon! And by
offering back-to-back days of marathons and half marathons, this puts Allen
on the national radar for the distance running community. For the second
year, the 501(c)(3) Allen Parks Foundation is the primary beneficiary of
the event.
The New Years Double's two days of events can be run separately, although
it is anticipated many will want to both end the year and start the new
year the active way. There is the Inaugural New Year's Eve Marathon, Half
Marathon, Half Marathon Relay, and 5K on 12/31/11, and the New Year's Day
Marathon, Half Marathon, Half Marathon Relay, and 5K on 1/1/12.
Finishers in all events, even the 5K, each day will receive a finisher
medal. For those completing events both mornings, there will be a much
larger special Challenge Plate, in which the two individual days' medals
will actually be inserted.
The race website and registration officially launches September 1st. The
target is 1,000 participants in each day's events.
Through a buzz campaign on Facebook and a "secret" registration just for
those who followed us on Facebook in August, we have filled over 230 slots
out of the 2,000 total before even officially opening registration!
Allen Parks Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization with the
primary purposes to assist the City of Allen and other local organizations
in enhancing the overall park system through expanded development of parks
and recreational programming and to accept land, bequests, rights of way,
and other donations.
Libby Jones has been an active member of the leadership of the Dallas-Fort
Worth running community for several years.
Her dedication to running outreach while President of the Dallas Running
Club for two years (2007-2008) earned Jones a national award as the 2008
RRCA Scott Hamilton Outstanding Club President of the Year by the Road
Runners Club of America, a national non-profit running organization with
over 1,000 running clubs and events in the United States. Jones is a
successful current and past director of large road-running races, including
the 4,500-person Dallas Running Club Half Marathon in Dallas and the
1,700-person women-focused Heels and Hills Half Marathon.
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