Virginia's Run for the Dream coordinator aims to grow half marathon
Joe Lawlor, who writes for one of our sister publications, has a nice piece up today on Run for the Dream coordinator Kelly Cannon.
The half marathon, which is held in the Williamsburg area, had 85 Maryland finishers (out of 2254 total) in its inaugural running this year.
Here's some of the interview:
Describe the experience of pulling off the first-ever "Run for the Dream."We wanted to make it a first class, family-friendly event. It was like a perfect storm. Everything came together. People seemed to have really caught the excitement. To plan for it, I went to four different road races, including the Beach to Beacon 10K in Maine and the Women's Half Marathon in St. Petersburg, Fla. The Florida race was where we got the idea to include tickets to Colonial Williamsburg, Busch Gardens and hotel discounts with the admission fee. It was all real exciting.
What was the most challenging aspect of planning for the race?
Definitely the course. We wanted the course to go through the college, Colonial Williamsburg and the parkway. We drove those roads for days and days. We worked really closely with the city, police and fire department so that we would have a safe course the runners could enjoy.
Do you plan on any changes for 2012?
Well, it was triple coupon day at Harris Teeter (this year). We're going to tweak the course so that runners go behind Harris Teeter and customers can have easier access to the grocery store.We're partnering with the Achilles Freedom Team of Wounded Warriors to get more wounded warriors and hand-cycling participants. We're adding a tent to the reception area so that it's not so hot after the race. We're also planning for ice stops and misting tents.
Read the full interview here.
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