PRESS RELEASE - PACE TEAMS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
CONTACT: Rick Ganzi
Pace Teams Coordinator
Metro Health Grand Rapids Marathon
616 393 0076 (Home)
616 403 6397 (Cell)
ricoswan@pol.net

Alan Headbloom
Media Relations Coordinator
Metro Health Grand Rapids Marathon
Phone 616 892 3400 (Office)
Phone 989 430 1044 (Cell)
alan@headbloom.com


Donald Kern
Race Director Metro Health Grand Rapids Marathon
Phone 616 293 3145 (Cell)
cooladventures@aol.com

Why Run Like the Wind When You can Waddle Like a Flock of Penguins?

Grand Rapids, Michigan, 25 October 2007.

Many marathons offer pace teams to keep runners from running unevenly—sometimes too fast, sometimes too slow. However, the race staff of the Metro Health Grand Rapids Marathon (GRM) does it differently in a couple of ways.

Instead of offering time increments on a clock—3 hours 10 minutes for an open class Boston qualifier, 3:20, 3:30, etc.—runners in Grand Rapids will have the chance to run marathon times that different celebrities have actually run. Why run a 4:30, when you can run with the GRM 4:29 team and beat Oprah? Why plan just to finish, when you can run with John “The Penguin” Bingham's pace team?

The Celebrity Pace Teams, sponsored by Running Circles, will have 37 runners pacing both the marathon and half marathon this year. Their paces will range from fast (3:14, the finish time of mythical Greek marathoner Pi) to not so fast (4:44, actual finish time of sports writer John Bingham). The pacers are experienced marathoners who will function as coaches, cajolers, motivators, and guardian angels out on the course. For marathoners—especially first-timers, they are a great resource, and runners should plan to use them.

The second way the GRM is different is that the pace crew will start helping runners before the race begins. The most common error made by novice marathoners is going out too fast. Runners who stop at the Pace Team table at the Marathon Expo will receive more than the customary strap-on pace-bands for their wrists. They will answer questions about their training and recent races, find out what constitutes a realistic time goal, and be assured of starting the race at a proper pace. Pace Team captain Rick Ganzi and his Team will be there to discuss all pacing issues to make sure runners are as ready as they can be for race day.

For more information, runners can check out: http://www.grandrapidsmarathon.com/pace_teams.aspx

The Metro Health Grand Rapids Marathon looks forward to welcoming runners at the Expo on Saturday. They should feel free to go up and introduce themselves to Dr. Rick, the Pace Team Guy.

The Expo is open from 9:00 to 6:00 on October 27 at the David D. Hunting YMCA. Runners, their families, and friends are all welcome.