byLarry Eder
The recently announced Competitor Group Half Marathon Grand Prix is a very smart idea for Competitor Group. The half marathon distance is one of the most popular distances worldwide and is a focal point for many elite athletes. Putting together a half marathon series with their current events and providing a focus for media will add to coverage of the sport.
Competitor Group Announces Half Marathon Grand Prix
· Global tour to include all 29 Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathons and Sunday’s EDP Lisbon Half Marathon
· Points awarded for place and finish time in each race for professional and age group athletes
· Inaugural Grand Prix to culminate with Age Group Championships in San Antonio on Nov. 17
· Professional division to compete over two-year calendar for a $240,000 prize purse
SAN DIEGO – (March 20, 2013) – Competitor Group, Inc. (CGI), the leading international operator of world class endurance events, has announced the creation of a new Half Marathon Grand Prix. With points based scoring for place and time, age group and professional competitions are the first of its kind in the running industry, showcasing what has become the dominant and fastest growing distance in the sport of road racing.
The Half Marathon Grand Prix will include all of the 30 half-marathons CGI organizes as part of the Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon Series and the EDP Lisbon Half Marathon, an IAAF Gold Label Road Race which takes place this Sunday, March 24. The professional division will compete over a two-year calendar for a grand prix championship prize purse of $240,000 and began with the P.F. Chang’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Arizona Half Marathon in January 2013.
“Over the past decade the half-marathon has become a special event in running for both professional and age group athletes alike. As an industry leader behind the Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon concept, this new Half Marathon Grand Prix is a monumental step forward for everyone involved in the sport of road racing,” said Tracy Sundlun, SVP of CGI. “With this global program our objective is to continue to grow the visibility and popularity of road running by showcasing the world’s best athletes at the world’s most popular distance.”
While the Half Marathon Grand Prix will include all 30 CGI half-marathons, it will feature the most prestigious half-marathons in the world as the six major events in the professional division, including the Rock ‘n’ Roll Philadelphia Half Marathon, renowned for five World Records and the current men’s and women’s U.S. all-comers records, and the EDP Lisbon Half Marathon, home of the current men’s Half Marathon World Record. In addition to Philadelphia and the EDP Lisbon Half Marathon, major elite races will include Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathons in New Orleans, where double Olympic Champions Mo Farah (GBR) and Meseret Defar (ETH) recently beat stellar fields, San Diego, Lisbon and San Antonio, where the year’s final GP event will award double points.
The age group competition will highlight competitive athletes from 18 to 80+ involving all 30 Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathons and the EDP Lisbon Half Marathon. Points toward the Half Marathon Grand Prix rankings are earned and tracked throughout the one-year calendar based finish time and place, with updated standings posted online at the conclusion of each event. Four events will be worth double points – Rock ‘n’ Roll San Diego, Philadelphia, Lisbon and San Antonio – with the leaders in each age group division after Rock ‘n’ Roll Savannah flown to San Antonio to compete in the season finale for a $1000 prize package.
“The age group rankings offer a simple two-pronged scoring system that every athlete can easily understand,” added Sundlun. “We’ve worked hard to create a meaningful and rewarding program, which will attract and satisfy the sport’s serious age group athletes and be as inclusive as possible with a championship race in San Antonio that is sure to provide drama until the very end.”
For additional information about the Half Marathon Grand Prix, including official rules, current standings and more, visit: HalfMarathonGrandPrix.com.
About The Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon Series
Organized by Competitor Group, the Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon Series is the ‘World’s Largest Running Series’ with more than 500,000 runners taking part in thirty-one destination events around the world. What started as a simple idea in 1998–the idea of making running fun– soon transformed the U.S. running landscape by infusing the race course with live bands, cheer teams and entertaining water stations. The outdoor festivals encapsulate cities in their entirety and culminate with a finish line festival featuring a concert headlined by some of the best music acts around. Over the 16-year history of the series, charity partners have raised more than $287 million through the events for a variety of worthy causes. Today, the series of entertainment themed marathons and half-marathons has spread to 31 cities around the world and continues to enjoy great appeal for the traveling runner, tremendous local support and has firmly established itself as a dynamic running platform. For more information, or to register for an event, please visit RunRocknRoll.com or follow @RunRocknRoll on Twitter.
About Competitor Group
Headquartered in San Diego, Calif., Competitor Group, Inc. (CGI) is the active lifestyle industry’s leading media and event entertainment company. The aggregate CGI customer base now exceeds 7 million endurance enthusiasts and athletes. CGI’s portfolio of media assets include a digital community across the Competitor Endurance Sports Network of websites. Additionally, Raceit.com, a leading digital registration platform, is the catalyst for the company’s race services offering that looks to meet the needs for endurance events of all sizes on behalf of the entire industry.
CGI owns and operates more than 83 events around the world, including the flagship Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon Series in 34 international destinations, the Land Rover TriRock Triathlon Series, the NFL Run Series and the Columbia Muddy Buddy Series, collectively delivering more than 600,000 professional and amateur participants in 2012. Anchoring the company with rich content and marketing leverage are five publishing properties dedicated to running, cycling, triathlon and the world of multisport including Velo, Inside Triathlon, Triathlete, Women’s Running and Competitor with a combined monthly circulation of over 700,000. Further information about CGI and its digital, publishing and event entertainment properties can be found at CompetitorMediaKit.com.
