For Immediate Release: 5/20/2013 10:26 am
Worcester, MA (May 17, 2013) - The City of Worcester furthered its goal of becoming the healthiest City in New England by 2020 today with the announcement of a new running festival. The first annual Worcester Running Festival will take place on Sunday, June 15, 2014. The event expects to draw runners from around the northeast and aims to become a cornerstone in building community-based fitness events in Worcester. The festival includes a Half-Marathon, 5K and a 1K Youth Fun Run.
"We are so excited to be a part of this annual event! Teaching our children at a young age to move more and encouraging them to be physically active are lessons that set a pathway for a long lasting healthy lifestyle," said Derek Brindisi, Division of Public Health Director.
All three races included in the Worcester Running Festival will begin and end at the Worcester Common, behind City Hall, 455 Main Street. However, to celebrate the inaugural event the public is invited to help design the course for the Half-Marathon. Race organizers will choose the top three course designs. The winner will be then chosen by registered runners through an online contest. Prizes will be given to the top three designs, including a grand prize for the winner. Full contest details are available at http://www.runworcester.com. This innovative initiative gives runners a chance to become involved in the race from the start and adds an exciting component to the event.
The Worcester Running Festival is being organized by Charles Breagy, who has a proven track record as a race director. He is well known within the running community across the country having organized race events for over two decades. In recent years, Breagy has successfully promoted the "Tour de Worcester," which consists of the Jay Lyons Memorial Road Race, the Worcester Firefighters Memorial 6K and the Canal Diggers 5K. Nearly 2500 runners have participated in each of those annual races. Breagy also created the "Tour de Patrick" a two state, three race series, including Worcester's Celtic 5K. This past March, over 2900 people ran in the Celtic 5K - a record number for the event. Breagy has also organized the Scary Monster Dash in October and this December he will launch the Worcester Jingle 5K. Each race includes a 1K youth run to support the City's Healthy Community Initiative.
"I am delighted to be a partnering with the City of Worcester by bringing great running and walking events to the City. As a former member of Central Mass Striders, I know the great history and tradition of running in Worcester," said Charles Breagy. "I would like to thank the City for its tremendous cooperation. I would also like to thank our sponsors, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, Bay State Savings Bank and Atlas Distributing."
In addition to promoting active lifestyles, the Worcester Running Festival is expected to have a significant economic impact on the City. Similar road races have brought in tens of thousands of dollars to the local economy as participants frequent area restaurants, shops and hotels.
"Destination Worcester is proud to collaborate with the City of Worcester, sponsors, local vendors and race directors to support and grow our existing events and to establish new ones," said Robert Murdock of Destination Worcester. "Our goal is to foster economic growth and further healthy initiatives for our residents and visitors to our City. Events such as the Worcester Running Festival prove that Worcester is a City on the move."
The Worcester Running Festival is already receiving widespread community and corporate support. Harvard Pilgrim Health Care has announced it will sponsor the 5K race and Bay State Savings Bank has signed on as the 1K Fun Run sponsor.
"There is nothing better than having people from all over New England come to our City to participate in such fun and healthy events - Worcester Running can certainly count us in as the 5K sponsor!" said Kate McEveoy-Zdonczyk, Vice President, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Central and Western Massachusetts Markets.
"Bay State Savings Bank is excited to be sponsoring the Bay State Savings Bank Youth 1K which is part of the new 2014 Worcester Running Festival," said Diane Giampa, Senior Vice President, Bay State Savings Bank. "Bay State Savings Bank is pleased to be able to support events such as this that continue to bring people to downtown Worcester. We believe that the more people that can be exposed to the exciting developments in the City, the more people will want to return here."
On-line registration forms, times and entry fee information for the Worcester Running Festival are available at http://www.runworcester.com.
