Pittsburgh Marathon off on the right foot

By Karen Price, TRIBUNE-REVIEW

URL: http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/s_613860.html

The Dick's Sporting Goods Pittsburgh Marathon is just more than two months away, but already the registration numbers are approaching the record for the event.

The marathon was last run in 2003, drawing the most participants ever at 6,419, said race director Patrice Matamoros. As of Friday, more than 5,500 runners had registered for the marathon, half-marathon and relay, to be held May 3.

"We will surpass our early goals and an internal goal, and now we're looking to have one of the biggest marathons in Pittsburgh ever," Matamoros said yesterday. "The bulk of our registrations, 71 percent, are coming from Pennsylvania, so it shows that Pittsburgh was really ready (to have the marathon back)."

This year's race will be the 20th running of the marathon. It consists of the full 26.2-mile marathon, the Philips Respironics half-marathon and the FedEx Ground Marathon Relay, open to four-person teams running legs ranging from 5.4 to 7.6 miles.

Walkers and wheelchair participants also are welcome. Walkers have a maximum time of seven hours in which to complete the course.

"It is symbolic of a city that's moving in the right direction and making some good things happen," Mayor Luke Ravenstahl said of the marathon's return. "I know I've been approached by runners repeatedly who suggested that we needed to make sure we got our marathon back, and the good news is that it is."

Ravenstahl and the race sponsors yesterday announced the Pittsburgh Fitness Challenge and the Mayor's Cup Award, similar to the Mayor's Great Race Challenge in 2007 but geared toward not just city employees but all Pittsburgh-area corporations.

The Fitness Challenge is a friendly team competition that encourages groups of runners and walkers to train together. The Mayor's Cup will be awarded to the area company with the largest team, by percentage of employees. Participants can choose to do the marathon, 13.1-mile half-marathon or the marathon relay, which consists of distances of five miles or more.

"You don't have to be an elite athlete to participate in this event," said Ravenstahl, who did not commit to running but said if anything, he'd take part in the relay. "You don't have to run the 26.2 miles. You can participate in the relay. You can team up. We want to issue this challenge now because it's not too late to start. You can still get involved and sign up."

To register a team, e-mail teams@pittsburghmarathon.com or go to www.pittsburghmarathon.com.

Once a team is registered, individuals can select the team to join during the online registration process. Racers who have already registered as individuals but want to join a team should send an e-mail with the request toinfo@pittsburghmarathon.com.