Marathon improvements announced

CELINA - Organizers of the third annual Grand Lake Marathon plan to enhance the finish line areas, as well as liven up a lonely stretch of the course and add new events, including a possible senior's marathon.

Ryan King, co-owner of Can't Stop Running, a running/walking speciality store in Piqua, and the marathon's new director, updated the Celina Rotary Club on Tuesday afternoon about this year's race around the lake set for Sept. 24. The race is sanctioned by U.S.A. Track and Field and is a Boston Marathon qualifier.

King said organizers identified the race's finishing lines as areas for improvement. They intend to increase the number of spectators and add more food, drinks and booths by organizers, vendors and other groups.

"There's a lot of opportunity around the finish line areas for groups, organizations, businesses and it's something that we're really trying to develop," King said. "We want to involve more of the community. That involvement is good for the participants because obviously when you get done running that race and you come across the finish line, you love to see more excitement, the more activity that's going on."

Organizers also want to enliven a rough, lonely stretch of the race, King said.

"Certainly from Celina to St. Marys, you've got the most people, you've got the most spectators and you have the most lake view," King said.

But once racers make it past St. Marys and start heading south across Guadalupe Road, "it gets to be a long stretch."

"We're pretty excited about the fact that we're going to have a lot more music, a lot more aid stations, a lot more activity going on in that area," King said. "It's a big focus for us."

Organizers also are considering adding a senior's marathon. Much like the kids' marathon, the senior's race would be an incremental marathon, in which participants in August and September keep a log of the miles they've run and complete the last mile on Sept. 24.

"Leading up to it, it's one of these things where we can host walks for the seniors, having some good activity for them leading up to it," King said. "It's about wellness, it's about the community, it's about the area."

Working with key sponsors, organizers really want to emphasize "the wellness factor," culminating with the race on Sept. 24.

"We're going to spend months leading up to it talking about not just showing up on race day and participating and going home but the whole wellness factor," he said.

So far, registration for the Grand Lake Marathon is up 40 percent compared with the same time a year ago and includes participants from 15 states. King hopes to get runners from every state and anticipates as many as 900 - 100 more than last year - signing up for the half marathon.

Former race director Roger Bowersock previously said nearly 2,000 runners took part in the full marathon, half marathon or other races in each of the first two years.

King said much emphasis has been placed on increasing the number of runners in the full marathon, from roughly 250 last year to as many as 400 this year.

"We definitely want to make sure that if we're closing down the roads and going through all the efforts, that we're seeing a lot of people that are going to go around the lake," King said.

After last year's race, Rocketship Sports Management, a nonprofit corporation dedicated to promoting athletic events and group fitness activities, turned over control of the marathon to King.

King said he and his wife have been warmly welcomed by area residents.

"Everybody I've met literally around the lake has been very welcoming of the event, very excited for the event and now that it's approaching Year Three, very comfortable with the event," King said.

For more information, visit www.grandlakemarathon.com.