Guinness Book World Record Attempt to be Part of 31st Milwaukee Lakefront Marathon on Sunday

Sept. 27, 2011 - PRLog -- MILWAUKEE, WI – The 31st annual Milwaukee Lakefront Marathon promises to be another exciting sporting event with 3050 runners from 38 states, Washington DC and 5 other countries convening to participate in the race. A Guinness World Record attempt is also scheduled to be part of this year’s race. The marathon will be held on Sunday, October 2nd and will begin a half an hour earlier than usual at 7:30 a.m.

This year’s marathon’s route will also be slightly different than last year. It will still begin at Grafton High School but will take an extra half-mile loop along the lakefront on Concordia University’s campus. Then, it will continue along the lakeshore through the North Shore neighborhoods and end along the sea wall and along the lagoon in Veterans Park just north of the Milwaukee Art Museum. The awards presentation will be at 12:15 p.m. at the lakefront. A detailed race map can be found at http://www.milwaukeelakefrontmarathon.org/lfm/Maps/CourseMaps .

Guinness World Record Attempt
An exciting Guinness World Record attempt will also be made during this year’s race when 62 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 karabiners that are attached to race belts. The first runner will have the karabiner 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 hoping to raise $75,000 for the rehabilitation care 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. To date they have raised $73,000. It will surely be something to see!

Olympic Dreams May Start at Milwaukee Lakefront Marathon
There will be more excitement at this year’s marathon when Amber Druien, age 26 of Woodstock, Ill tries to qualify for the Olympic Trials. The Women's Standards for qualification are 2:39:00 or under for a paid trip to the Trials, or a finish of 2:46:00 for the trip at their own expense. Typically more than 150 qualifiers compete at the Trials for one of three spots on the US Women's Olympic Marathon Team. Druien was an NCAA Division III national track champion at Illinois' North Central College.  She works at the Naperville Running Company, a premium athletic shoe store. Although not confirmed, Druien may be joined by two other female runners also pursuing an Olympic Trials qualifying time.  

Kid’s Marathon Part of Weekend’s Activities
Milwaukee Lakefront Marathon organizers will also be hosting a “special marathon” of sorts for kids on Saturday, October 1, at 3 p.m. Approximately 150 kids are expected to run in the noncompetitive race, which was created to specifically promote physical activity for kids ages 5-14, and to also foster a love of running by having them run a marathon (26.2 miles) a little bit at a time.

The children participating in the kid’s marathon will have run 25 miles prior to their event on October 1. Then at 3 p.m. they will turn in their logbooks listing the miles they have run and finish the last 1.2 miles of their marathon together on the actual Milwaukee Lakefront Marathon racecourse. They will be crossing the same finish line along the sea wall and  the lagoon in Veterans Park just north of the Milwaukee Art Museum as Lakefront Marathon participants.

Milwaukee Lakefront Marathon Health & Fitness Expo Open to the Public
On Friday, September 30 from 4-7 p.m. and Saturday, October 1, 9 a.m.-6 p.m. at MSOE’s Kern Center, 1245 N. Broadway in downtown Milwaukee the public is invited to attend a Free Health & Fitness Expo sponsored by the Milwaukee Lakefront Marathon. The event includes many exhibitors as well as a variety of wellness speakers, including Bart Yasso, one of the best-known figures in the running world and author of “My Life on the Run.” For a complete list of vendors and speaker presentations visit www.milwaukeelakefrontmarathon.org.

The Economic Impact of the Milwaukee Lakefront Marathon:
The 31st annual Lakefront Marathon, organized by Badgerland Striders running club, is expected to draw more than 3,000 marathon runners in addition to their family members and friends. The annual race, which is larger than many conventions hosted in Milwaukee, fills hundreds of hotels rooms, restaurants and the streets of Milwaukee's North Shore. According to a survey by Events Response, in 2010 the total race and runner spending was $1.2 million-$2.4 million with the US Department of Commerce multiplier. For more information on the marathon, visit www.milwaukeelakefrontmarathon.org.

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