Posted: August 24, 2005

Athletics: "Rock 'n' Roll Half-Marathon" Proposed for Downtown San José Next Year

Major race expects more than 15,000 runners and 50,000 spectators

San José, Calif. ---- Accompanied by Goo Goo Dolls drummer Mike Malinin, Olympic marathon gold medalist Frank Shorter, and local rock and roll band Ro Sham Bo, San José Mayor Ron Gonzales welcomed the producers of the Rock 'n' Roll Marathon race series proposing to bring the inaugural "musical half-marathon" to San José in October 2006.

The 13.1-mile race on downtown San Jose streets proposed by Elite Racing, Inc., is expected to attract 15,000 runners and walkers and more than 50,000 spectators. It would feature live bands and cheer squads at every mile, and finish with a post-race party and headliner concert at the HP Pavilion at San Jose.

"San Jose is an ideal city for the 'musical marathons' because of our great tradition for both track and field and for music," said Mayor Gonzales. "Downtown San Jose is a beautiful setting for a race course, and I'm looking forward to a long partnership that will provide great entertainment and another outstanding sporting event for our community."

The event also would include elite athletes invited to provide world-class competition, a wheelchair invitational race, finish-line festival, and a two-day health and fitness expo at the San Jose McEnery Convention Center. The event anticipates bringing over $12 million in direct spending to San Jose.

"I'm excited about building on our successful concept in San Jose," said Tim Murphy, CEO of Elite Racing. "All the ingredients are here for a fabulous race and great musical entertainment that will bring this community together."

Elite Racing is a sports marketing and management company that organizes eight world- class running events each year, including "musical marathons" and half-marathons in San Diego, Nashville, Arizona, and Virginia Beach (www.eliteracing.com).

Frank Shorter won the Olympic marathon gold medal at the 1972 Olympic Games and the silver medal at the 1976 Olympics. He is a five-time national 10,000-meter champion and a four-time national cross-country champion.

Mike Malinin of the Goo Goo Dolls band is an avid runner and ultra marathoner. The band was formed in 1986 and has headlined Rock 'n' Roll Marathon concerts in other cities.

The San Jose City Council will consider the proposal at its regular meeting beginning at 1:30 p.m., Tuesday, August 30, at San Jose City Hall.

Under the proposed the agreement to be considered by the city council, Elite Racing would produce a premier half-marathon in San Jose on Sunday, October 8, 2006, to be followed by annual events on subsequent Columbus Day weekends in 2007 and 2008.

Each event would include a major two-day health and fitness expo at the San Jose Convention Center, premier headliner concert, community cheerleading competition along the racecourse, and national broadcast on Fox Sports Network reaching at least 70,000,000 homes.

The City of San Jose would provide support activities including road closure and traffic management, public safety services, community outreach, and clean-up.

Estimated costs to the city for its services would not be greater than $187,500 and could be as low as $137,500 depending on a formula based on the number of participating runners and hotel rooms booked for the event.

San Jose has successfully included high profile sports events as part of its long-term economic development strategy to increase national recognition and support the local hospitality industry.

With the assistance of the San Jose Sports Authority, San Jose has attracted a broad range of events in recent years, including the both inaugural San Jose Grand Prix and the Dew Action Sports Tour this summer, the 2002 and 2007 NCAA Men's Basketball Western Regional Finals, Pac-10 Women's Basketball Championships, Olympic trials for rhythmic gymnastics, judo and taekwondo, and 2007 National Gymnastics Championships.


[source]http://www.runnersweb.com/running/news/rw_news_20050824_Elite_San_Jose.html[/source]