PITTSBURGH,None — There are only two days left until runners line up for the Pittsburgh Marathon, but the activities leading up the event are already under way.
Route For the 2011 Pittsburgh Marathon
The GNC Live Well Pittsburgh Health and Fitness Expo began Friday morning at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center.
The free event supports the Dick's Sporting Goods Pittsburgh Marathon and is a nationally recognized event that welcomed over 50,000 runners and spectators in 2010. For more information on the expo, Click here.
On Friday, event organizers announced that Dick's Sporting Goods has signed on to be the marathon's sponsor for the next 10 years.
This year's highlights include a record number of race participants including 11 men and women hoping to qualify for the 2012 Olympic trials.
Route Change:
The route change is one of several made to grow the race that resumed in 2009 after a five-year hiatus prompted by police overtime and other costs that caused city's support to dwindle and, in turn, discouraged sponsors.
The new route crossing the Allegheny, Monongahela and Ohio rivers was chosen to accommodate 2,000 more runners expected this year, but would be safe for up to 35,000, Matamoros said.
Two of the key changes are roomier starting and finish line areas.
The race will start at Sixth and Liberty avenues, affording runners more than 2 miles of straightaway on the city's widest undivided downtown street.
The location will provide extra room for runners to back up all the way to Point State Park at the confluence of the three rivers before the race starts, and the long straightaway should safely thin the herd of runners as they start the race.
The finish line is near Heinz Field on the city's North Shore, an area containing several large parking lots that will provide a safe haven for finishing runners and race spectators.
Half-marathon runners will use the same start and finish lines because they'll split off from the main race a little before the halfway point and dash across downtown to the North Shore.
For more information on the race and events leading up to it, Click here.
Previous Stories: May 10, 2011: Runners Prepare For Pittsburgh Marathon's New Race Route
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