FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Stone Temple Pilots, ZZ Top and Bret Michaels Headline American Music
Festival at the 2011 Dodge Rock 'n' Roll Virginia Beach Half Marathon
U.S. Half Marathon Record Holder Ryan Hall to Compete in
Labor Day Weekend Road Race
Virginia Beach, VA - July 27, 2011 - It's the original half-marathon of the
Rock 'n' Roll Marathon Series, featuring three days of music on the beach,
13.1 miles of entertainment and a spectacular oceanfront finish line
festival. And after nine straight years of Kenyan domination, an American
will toe the start line as the favorite to become the event's first U.S.
champion.
U.S. Half Marathon record holder Ryan Hall has confirmed that he will be
racing in the eleventh edition of the Dodge Rock 'n' Roll Virginia Beach
Half Marathon on Sunday, September 4, while the soundtrack of the weekend
will be provided by a star-studded Verizon Wireless American Music Festival
lineup featuring the Stone Temple Pilots, ZZ Top and Bret Michaels
headlining the Labor Day Weekend extravaganza.
"With the Stone Temple Pilots performing on Friday night and Ryan Hall
racing on Sunday, 2011 is shaping up to be our best event yet," said Megan
Bitsoff, Event Manager. "We are proud to be part of the Hampton Roads
community with a world class road race that ignited the half-marathon boom
over the past decade."
Entering its 11th year, the Dodge Rock 'n' Roll Virginia Beach Half
Marathon is Virginia's premier running event, attracting between 15,000 and
20,000 participants to the city on Labor Day weekend. Each half-marathon
participant receives free entry into the three-day American Music Festival
by presenting their race number.
The entertainment kicks off on Friday night, September 2 with headliner
Stone Temple Pilots on the 5th Street Beach Stage, followed by a matinee
performance with ZZ Top on Saturday. Runners will celebrate their
half-marathon finish on Sunday night to the party anthems of legendary rock
star Bret Michaels.
"I'm looking forward to my first Rock 'n' Roll event of the year in
Virginia Beach," said Hall, America's fastest distance runner, who has
spent the past month training in Europe. "It will be nice to head back to
the U.S. and run on home soil after the summer season as I continue to
prepare for the Olympic Marathon Trials. I'm sure there will be some great
competition and I'm looking forward to a good solid race on Labor Day
Weekend."
Throughout its history, the Virginia Beach event has produced some great
champions including Paul Tergat and Martin Lel. If Hall was to follow in
their footsteps he would have to break the stranglehold of African
domination at the race; nine of the ten races to date have seen the
champion hail from Kenya aside from year one, which was won by Shadrack
Hoff of South Africa.
Race weekend kicks off Friday with a two-day Health & Fitness Expo
presented by Power Balance at the Virginia Beach Convention Center. The
expo is free and open to the public where over 100 exhibitors offer free
nutritional samples, showcase the latest in running gear and fitness
apparel. It's also a great place to mingle and listen to experts and
celebrities giving last minute racing tips.
Friends and family of participants can purchase a passport pin for $35 to
receive entry to each day of the American Music Festival. For more
information, or to register for the event, visit Competitor.com.
About the Dodge Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon
The Dodge Rock 'n' Roll Virginia Beach Half Marathon will celebrate its
11th anniversary welcoming 20,000 participants to the oceanfront road race.
Open to runners and walkers from novice to professional, more than 20 live
bands and hundreds of local high school cheerleaders entertain and cheer on
participants along the scenic course. The event concludes with a finish
line party and Sunday night concert in partnership with the Verizon
Wireless American Music Festival. For more information or to register for
the Dodge Rock 'n' Roll Virginia Beach Half Marathon, visit @RunRocknRoll
on Twitter.
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