Fact Sheet - 2011

                         EVENT DATE: Oct. 2, 2011

Media Contacts: 
     Heidi Fendos 414.778.0766 office, 414.403.0744 cell or Heidi@fendospr.com
     Jennifer Studebaker 262.391.8906 cell or jstudebaker@wi.rr.com

Race Facts:

• Date of Event: Sunday, October 2
• Race Time: 7:30 a.m.
• Starting Location: Grafton High School
• Route: The 26.2 mile race proceeds from Grafton High School through the North Shore communities and finishes at Veteran’s Park in Milwaukee
• Number of Participants: 3,050 from 38 states, Washington D.C. and 5 countries in addition to the United States
• Registration Closed in April for this year’s race
• Event History: The marathon started in 1980 with 585 participants, 2011 is the 31st  race
• Organizers: The Badgerland Striders Running Club
• Race Director and Spokesperson: Kristine Hinrichs
• Volunteers: Over 1,300 help make this event a success each year. Many of the water stations are staffed by area high school cross-country teams. The Striders provide each non-profit club providing volunteers with a donation for their organization.
• Health & Fitness Expo: September 30, 4-7pm and October 1, 9am-6pm at MSOE’s Kern Center, attracted more than 6,000 visitors in 2010.
• Kids Marathon –Approximately 150 children will be participating in the kid’s marathon on Saturday October 1 at 3 pm
• Known as a “runner’s race”: The marathon is well known as a good race for qualifying for the Boston Marathon, and for first time marathon runners

Economic Impact:

• In 2010, approximately 3000 runners and their family members (which total approximately 6000 people) attend this event (bigger than a lot of conventions in Milwaukee). Runners came from 34 states (in addition to Wisconsin) and four foreign countries and a large number of those runners were from the Chicago area (despite the Chicago Marathon being held the same weekend in 2010).
   

2011 News:

• An exciting Guinness World Record attempt will also be made during the marathon when 65 runners representing a wide-range of athletic abilities, experience and ages  join together (both literally and figuratively) to run the marathon. They will be tethered together by a long rope and carabineers that are attached to race belts. The first runner will have the carabineer on his/her right side, the next on his/her left side and that pattern will likewise continue to the last runner. The goal is to run 13-minute miles throughout the marathon. The team will be captained by Runner’s World’s “Mayor of Running” Bart Yasso and includes Wisconsin’s ultra-running legend Roy Pirrung. The team is calling themselves the “Jennipede”, and they are raising money for Jenny Crain, a world-class runner who was severely injured on August 21, 2007 when hit by a car while training for the trials prior to the Beijing Olympics. It will surely be something to see!
• Runner Amber Druien of Woodstock, IL plans to pursue a qualifying time for Olympic Time Trials
• 2011 event is designated as:
• national championship race for Road Runners Club of America (RRCA)
• Wisconsin championship race for Wisconsin USA Track & Field (USATF)
   

Runner Safety:

Resources along the course:

• Water/Electrolyte beverage stations every 2 miles with fresh water supply, not bottled
• Three medical aid stations, located at the race start and miles 13 & 20
• 2 roaming bike teams of paramedics
• 4 rescue vehicles along course and finish line
• Weather:
  • Pre-event updates on local radio WMSE FM 89.7
  • During event: Colored flag system at aid stations for weather alerts based on race event standards and military’s Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) Chart
     

Resources at Finish Line: LFM Medical Tent

• Dr. Craig Young, Medical Director for the race.  Dr. Young is a Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery & Family and Community Medicine at the Medical College of Wisconsin.  He serves as a team physician for the Milwaukee Brewers and also provides coverage for a wide range of sporting and special events, including LFM.
• Extremely high ratio of medical professionals to runners: 60 medical personnel including 15 attending physicians, 20 medical students and residents, several nurses and athletic trainers
• Every runner gets walked through chute by a medical professional

Coordinated Emergency Response Effort:

• Representatives from fire/police/sheriffs departments of 4 cities and 2 counties on the course are stationed in the Emergency Operations Center located at Finish Line
  • Fire/police departments: Grafton, Mequon, North Shore, Milwaukee
  • Milwaukee and Ozaukee County Sheriff