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Wysłany: Śro 2:35, 13 Paź 2010 Temat postu: cheered on by legions of drum-beating |
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road closures include: dallas road, between 7:15 a.m. and 2:30 p.m., from james bay to gonzales beach; beacon hill park roadways; belleville street between douglas and menzies, and government street between superior and humboldt. motorcycle police,football jerseys, 1,000 event marshals and professional crossing guards will be in place to direct traffic and control intersections.
"as far as events go, this is the gold standard," acting victoria mayor john luton said friday at a news conference.
"this is absolutely the best-run event i've seen," patchell-evans said. "what's astounding is this isn't a business event. donated time and expertise make it work. what you've got here is really special."
runners,football uniforms, cheered on by legions of drum-beating,nfl sales, bell-ringing supporters, are set to wind through downtown, into james bay and beacon hill park, and along the dallas road waterfront to gonzales bay. good places to watch are mile 0 in beacon hill park and the finish line at the legislature, but driving is another story.
the fitness expert has been impressed by the fact the marathon is run by 1,500 volunteers. additionally, hundreds of thousands of dollars have been raised for charity. the 18 groups involved in the marathon charity pledge program this year are already at a donation total of more than $213,000.
goodlife fitness has become the title sponsor of the marathon, coinciding with the move of the company's president and ceo david patchell-evans, fiancé of former olympic rower silken laumann, to victoria from ontario.
like a tide that's been rising for 31 years, the goodlife fitness victoria marathon has swelled from 700 runners in 1980 to a record 13,495 this year.
sunday's event, which begins at 6:30 a.m. with the 42.2-kilometre marathon, followed by the 21.1-km half-marathon, an eight-km road race, and the thrifty foods kids run, has shown an increase of 13 per cent in numbers over last year. hotel rooms and spare bedrooms are jammed as participants from some 24 countries have highlighted victoria in october on their race calendar. the economic impact for the community is estimated at nearly $5 million. |
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