Continuing its expansion into Europe, Competitor Group Inc (CGI) has confirmed that the Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon Series will officially add a half-marathon in Dublin, Ireland, to its schedule of events in 2012. CGI has reached a partnership with Athletics Ireland to launch the inaugural Rock ‘n’ Roll Dublin Half Marathon, which is expected to attract more than 10,000 participants and is currently scheduled for Monday 6 August 2012.
“Ireland and its capital city of Dublin are a perfect fit to host a Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon Series event,” said Peter Englehart, CEO of CGI. “Dublin is a bustling city with a great love of sports, outdoor entertainment and world-class cultural offerings. We are extremely happy and pleased to bring an event of this calibre to the city and we know there will be a lot of excitement around this race every year.”
Dublin joins Madrid, Edinburgh and Lisbon as European tour stops for the 2012 Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon Series.
The Rock ‘n’ Roll Dublin Half Marathon is now part of an international series of musically themed marathons and half-marathons, uniquely combining entertainment with a scenic 13.1 mile road course. The event features live bands performing at every mile along the route, cheerleaders encouraging runners, themed water stations and a finish line concert headlined by a major act.
The race weekend in Dublin will begin with a two-day Health & Fitness Expo where all participants go to pick up their race number. The expo will feature several running and fitness retailers, exhibits with free nutritional samples and a series of interactive clinics.
“This event provides a perfect stage to grow local participation in athletics and it also comes at a time when we are increasing our focus on sports tourism,” said John Foley, CEO of Athletics Ireland. “Competitor Group is a worldwide leader in the endurance sports sector and it has an international presence that will help bring runners to Dublin from around the world. We want people to come to Dublin for our beauty and our culture and leave with an unforgettable running experience.”
Runners can take advantage of a special three day registration offer through to 19 November by registering online at RunRocknRoll.com. Registration will officially open 1 December, and will be provided by the Active Network.
The Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon Series began in San Diego in 1998, and combines elite competition, recreational running, musical entertainment and charity fundraising into a single event. The series of musically themed marathons and half-marathons has expanded across the US from five events in 2008 to 18 events in 2011.
With charity partners raising more than US$260 million at the events to date, the Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon Series has become one of the most successful charity fundraising platforms in the world. With the addition of the Rock ‘n’ Roll Dublin Half Marathon, the tour schedule will feature events in 29 worldwide destinations in 2012.
