FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Registration is Now Open
For 2014 Garden Spot Village Marathon/Half Marathon
NEW HOLLAND, Pa. - Sept. 25, 2013 - The sixth annual Garden Spot Village
Marathon and Half Marathon is scheduled for Saturday, April 12, 2014.
Registration is now open, and race organizers areoffering early
registration discounts for marathoners and half-marathon participants.
New this year is the Lancaster Family YMCA Kids Marathon, which will be
held inconjunction with the pre-race pasta dinner and expo at Garden Spot
Village on Friday, April 11. For students in kindergarten through eighth
grade, ages 6 to 12, the event provides a chance to cover the marathon
mileage little by little over time, while getting a feel for what it's like
to participate in an organized running race.
Participants in the Kids Marathon can start logging their mileage now, and
will run the last 1.2-mile leg starting at 6 p.m. on April 11.
"This leg will start and end at the Garden Spot Village Marathon
start/finish line. We'll have a runners' chute set up with a timing clock,
so the kids will get the feel of the big race festivities. Finishers will
receive a medal," says Scott Miller, chief marketing office at Garden Spot
Village and race director for the marathon.
Registration for the 2014 Garden Spot Village Marathon and Half Marathon
opened at the recent Bird-in-Hand Half Marathon. Runners who complete both
events in the same calendar year receive the Road Apple Award, which is
unique to Lancaster County, Pa.
"This year, we gave out more than 240 Road Apple Awards. Runners are flying
in from all over to get one," said Miller. "I expect our half marathon will
sell out again in 2014."
Early-bird discounts
Once again, Garden Spot Village Marathon organizers are offering generous
discounts for early registration.
Adult participants receive a $30 discount if the register by Dec. 31, 2013.
Discounts of $20 per participant are available to those who register
between Jan. 1 and Feb. 28, 2014.
After Feb. 28, registration is $110 for the marathon and $100 for the half
marathon. Special rates for students 17 and under are $45 for the marathon
and $35 for the half marathon. Pre-registration discounts do not apply to
student registrations.
Tech shirts are included with all registrations received before Mar. 1.
After Mar. 1, shirts are available on a first-come, first-served basis.
The race begins at 8 a.m., and race packs will be available at 6:30 a.m.
The 26.2-mile, USA Track & Field (USATF)-certified, Boston Marathon
qualifier course starts near the Legacy Garden on the 104-acre campus of
Garden Spot Village, a retirement community in Lancaster County, Pa. The
course winds through the scenic Amish farmlands at the foot of the Welsh
Mountain beforelooping back to the campus at 433 S. Kinzer Ave. in New
Holland. Water stops and Porta-Johns are located every two miles along the
route, and all participants have access to showers, a pool and a hot tub
after the race.
The marathon is unique in that the masters' cash awards are the same
amounts as the overall awards. Cash awards will be given in four marathon
categories: Men Overall, Women Overall, Men 50-plus and Women 50-plus. In
each category, awards are $500 and a trophy for first place, with trophies
for second and third place. In addition, there will be first, second and
third place awards for men and women in age categories, in five-year
increments ranging from ages 13-19 to age 80-plus. All finishers receive a
medal.
A pre-race pasta dinner will be held at Garden Spot Village on Friday,
April 11, beginning at 5 p.m. Tickets are $15 per person for ages 13 and
up; $8.95 ages 6–12; children ages 5 and under eat free.
Proceeds from the marathon benefit the Garden Spot Village Benevolent Fund,
which helps support residents who need financial assistance.
For more information, or to register for the race, visit
www.gardenspotvillagemarathon.org or find us on facebook.
For information on sponsorship opportunities, contact Linda Dodge at
.
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