November 4th marathon Event Features New, Flatter Course
RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA (February 23, 2012) – The Raleigh City of Oaks Marathon Race Committee has announced the sixth annual Raleigh City of Oaks Marathon, Rex Healthcare Half Marathon and News & Observer Old Reliable 10K Run, presented by Raleigh Running Outfitters. The event is scheduled for the morning of Sunday, November 4, 2012. Online registration is now available through the official race website, www.cityofoaksmarathon.com.
This year’s marathon features a newly designed course showcasing the Capital Area Greenway trail system. The new course eliminates many roadways and eliminates a short, hilly run inside Umstead Park. Instead, marathoners will run out-and-back along a flatter, 7.5-mile stretch of the greenway trail to Shelley Lake, a tour that includes the soon-to-be-completed Horse Creek Greenway that runs from Meredith College to Crabtree Valley Mall.
“It’s our flattest, fastest marathon course yet,” says Race Director Ron Wahula. “From N.C. State to downtown and out to the wooded trails of the greenway, the new course shows why Raleigh is one of the best places to run in the country.”
The flatter, USATF-certified course will appeal to new marathoners, Wahula says, as well as marathoners seeking a personal-best race time and those seeking a Boston Marathon-qualifying time.
With a combined cash purse of $12,500 and a participation base of over 3,700 runners, the Raleigh City of Oaks Marathon and Rex Healthcare Half Marathon has established itself as the area’s premier marathon event. The event set a new record for participation last year after reviving the 26-year-old News & Observer Old Reliable 10K run and including it as part of the Raleigh City of Oaks race-day events.
The 2011 event hosted 3,774 participants and raised thousands of dollars for the race’s beneficiaries. This year’s event will benefit The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and Rex Healthcare Foundation.
The day’s events also include a marathon relay and a kids’ “marathon” mile sponsored by the YMCA. All races start and finish at the N.C. State University Bell Tower and begin at 7:00 a.m. The YMCA Kids’ Marathon Mile sets off at 7:20 a.m.
To register for the 2012 Raleigh City of Oaks Marathon, Rex Healthcare Half Marathon, News & Observer Old Reliable 10K Run, or YMCA Kids’ Marathon Mile, visit www.cityofoaksmarathon.com. All registration is being handled on line.
Presenting sponsor Raleigh Running Outfitters established the Raleigh City of Oaks Race in 2007 with the intention of bringing a prestigious running event to the city of Raleigh, one that would draw thousands of runners and spectators and would have a meaningful impact on its beneficiaries.
Raleigh Running Outfitters is an independently owned and operated retailer that supplies shoes, apparel and accessories to all types of runners and walkers. The store operates in two Triangle locations: in Raleigh, at 7449 Six Forks Road in the Celebration at Six Forks shopping center; and in Cary, at 2773 NC Highway 55 in the High House Crossing shopping center.