 |
||
 |
 |
|
 |
||
            |
||
|
 |
CONTACT:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: RUNNING LEGEND BILL RODGERS & BOSTON RED SOX ALL STAR TIM WAKEFIELD AMONG RACE STARTERS FOR STATE FARM MELBOURNE & BEACHES MUSIC MARATHON WEEKEND Melbourne, Fla. – Four-time Boston Marathon winner Bill Rodgers and Boston Red Sox pitcher Tim Wakefield will be joining Florida Today Publisher Mark Mikolajczyk as the official race starters during the February 6 & 7, 2010 Melbourne & Beaches Music Marathon Weekend. The running weekend attracts more than 2,000 runners from overseas and throughout the United States and is Melbourne’s Signature Sporting event. The weekend includes the USATF Florida state championship 8k, ½ marathon and full marathon races. The main feature of the event is the ½ marathon, which is the USATF National Championship Masters race. As such, it draws America’s best distance runners age 40 and over. Florida Today newspaper is the title sponsor of the 5k and 8k races, while State Farm insurance is the title sponsor of the ½ and full marathons. The 5k and 8k races are competed on Saturday, and the half and full marathon are on Sunday. Mikolajczyk will be the official starter of the 8k race and accepted this position after original starter, former Olympian and past 5,000 meter world record holder Zola Budd, decided to instead run in the 8k. Mikolajczyk will gun start the 8k and then line up to run the 5k, which begins 30 minutes later. Running icon Bill Rodgers of Boston returns to Melbourne for the second straight year and will also be competing in Sunday’s half-marathon “Melbourne is a beautiful area – especially compared to Boston in February – and I had a great time here last year,” said Rodgers. “It is a pleasure for me to be the official starter of the Florida Today 5k run.” Wakefield, is a Melbourne native and off-season resident. Still going strong in his 40s, the knuckleballer was named at age 42 to the 2009 American League All-Star squad. His stature as one of the best masters-age athletes in professional team sports qualifies him as a perfect starter for both the full marathon and Masters Championship Half-Marathon. Aside from great hospitality and a beautiful course, the Melbourne & Beaches Music Marathon features more than 20 different musical acts along the race route. For more information, www.themelbournemarathon.com # # # # #
January 20, 2010 MELBOURNE & BEACHES MUSIC MARATHON DAY TO START WITH A SPACE SHUTTLE LAUNCH Melbourne, Fla. – Runners in the February 7, 2010 State Farm Melbourne & Beaches Music Marathon & ½ Marathon will want to set their alarm clocks a little earlier than usual as the last nighttime launch in the Space Shuttle’s storied 29-year history is set for 4:39 a.m. on race morning. Nighttime launches are spectacular and visible along much of Florida’s coast. Melbourne is just 30 miles south of the Kenned Space Center and will be a prime viewing area with the best spots anywhere along the beaches of Cocoa Beach, Satellite Beach, Indialantic or Melbourne Beach. The Melbourne & Beaches Music Marathon Weekend is East Central Florida’s premiere distance running event and attracts more than 2,000 runners to historic downtown Melbourne. More than 20 musical acts will be performing along the Marathon and ½ Marathon route, with six acts scheduled for the 5-k and 8-k runs. For more information, visit www.themelbournemarathon.com # # # # #
October 20, 2010 USATF OF FLORIDA AWARDS MELBOURNE MARATHON WEEKEND Melbourne, Fla. – Adding to the allure of the State Farm Melbourne & Beaches Music Marathon weekend set for next February, the USA Track & Field Association’s Florida chapter has announced that its 2010 state championship 8-k, ½ Marathon and Marathon championship races will be held in Melbourne in conjunction with the weekend-long runfest. The State Farm Melbourne & Beaches Music Marathon debuted this past February and was so well received that organizers and the city opted to expand it from a Sunday run to a Saturday & Sunday event that features the Florida Today 5-k & 8-k on Saturday and the ½ marathon and marathon on Sunday. The inaugural event saw an estimated 25,000 spectators and almost 2,000 runners take to the streets of Melbourne, the beachside and its bridges in what the Melbourne-Palm Bay Chamber of Commerce dubbed, “ Melbourne’s Signature Sporting event.” In a near unprecedented move for a first time event and thanks largely to Florida’s wintertime climate, the USATF awarded the 2009 race its National Championship Masters ½ Marathon; an act that immediately put Melbourne on national running maps and on the agenda of the nation’s top distance runners age 40 and over. The USATF announced this past spring that Melbourne will remain the host site of the Masters ½ Marathon Championships through 2012. 2009’s list of competing elite Master runners included 4-time Boston and New York City Marathon winner Bill Rodgers, 1984 Boston Marathon winner Greg Meyer, top contenders Sean Wade and Dennis Simonaitis and winner Paul Aufdemberge. Former world record holder, Olympian and running icon Colleen DeReuck was the winning woman. Most of these runners will be back in Melbourne in 2010 along with the recent addition of another former Olympian and running legend; Zola Budd. “Having the USATF award us these state championship races in addition to the national one is incredible and an acknowledgement of all the city and community support that led to the creation and success of our State Farm Melbourne & Beaches Music Marathon and Florida Today 5-k and 8-k,” said event founder Mitch Varnes. “USATF-Florida is delighted to have Melbourne host our 8-k, ½ marathon and marathon championships. This event is well organized and boasts a scenic waterfront course in the beautiful surrounds of Melbourne,” noted USATF-Florida Long Distance Running Chairman Joe Monks. “We are indeed excited to be affiliated with this great weekend of racing for family and friends.” The State Farm Melbourne & Beaches Music Marathon kicks off on Saturday, February 6, 2010 with the free Ronald McDonald’s Kids Run and the Florida Today 5-k and 8-k races. The ½ marathon and marathon will take place on Sunday, February 7. Information and race applications are available online at www.themelbournemarathon.com . # # # # # Press Releases
|
|
|||||||
