Marty O’Malley has been involved with L’Arche since 1976 and the race director since the beginning.
‘We have a great core committee that makes this race a success.’
Hello, on January 10th 2009, you’ll be organizing the First Light Marathon . Can you tell us where it is located?
The banktrust First Light Marathon will be held in Mobile, AL in the USA.
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How old is the race and why was it created in the first place?
This is the 9th year, The race was begun as a way to promote L’Arche Mobile, a christian community that shares life with people with an intellectual disablity. This was also a way to try to raise money for L’Arche and to promote the city of Mobile.
What kind of route have you set up for the runners? How would you describe it?
The first 10 miles are flat, then there is a gradual incline with a challenging hill at mile 17.5 that is 200 feet in 1/4 mile. From there it is a gradual decline.
How many runners do you expect on Sunday morning? What type of runners do you plan to attract?
We will attract over 1500 people for all four events, we have many first time marathoners and a number of 50 staters (runners on their way to run 50 marathons in the 50 states).
Do you organize other races during the Week-End? If so, on what distances?
Yes we have a 13.1 mile run, a 5 person relay and a 1.2 mile run. We are walker and race walker friendly as well.
At that time of the year, what kind of weather can we expect?
Our lows can be from the mid 30’s (°F) to the low 50’s (1 to 10°C), our highs could be in the mid 50’s to the mid 70’s (10 to 21°C).
Have you planned festivities around the marathon?
Yes we have an expo, a pre race meal with live music on Saturday. On Sunday we have a concert with about 5 different bands for about 5 1/2 hours plus we have lunch for the participants.
The marathon finished, what advice would you give a runner who has never been to Mobile before? A good restaurant, a fancy sightseeing?
We have a number of local retaurants, we have fantastic beaches with white sand and blue water. We also have many historic homes and a number of gardens worth seeing.
In a single sentence, what would you tell the readers of ahotu Marathons to make them register for the First Light Marathon?
Great value that includes 2 meals, 20 water stops, live music saturday, concert on sunday, hand decorated medallions by the residents of L’Arche and over 4500 people on the course for support.