2016 Yuengling Shamrock Marathon Weekend

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1 Media Contact: Brittany Vajda Communications Director Office: Cell: On March 18-20, 2016, 30,000 runners from all 50 states and several other countries will lace up their sneakers, adorn themselves in green and take to the streets of Virginia Beach, Virginia. The annual Yuengling Shamrock Marathon Weekend, first held in 1973, has expanded to become a tradition for many young and old, residents and non-residents, athletes and spectators. The three-day event features a Sports and Fitness Expo, races and challenges to accommodate all ages and skill levels and a huge finish line celebration on the beach. Runners enjoy flat, fast and scenic courses along the beautiful oceanfront and recover at a huge finish line celebration that features live entertainment, ice-cold Yuengling beer and much more. With five events, there is a distance for everyone to choose from: the Yuengling Shamrock Marathon, Anthem Shamrock Half Marathon, TowneBank Shamrock 8K, Operation Smile Shamrock Final Mile and the Leprechaun Dash. Weekend Highlights 30,000 Total Participants Expected 2 Day Sports & Fitness Expo with 90+ vendors Speaker Series at Expo with Chief Running Officer, Bart Yasso. More spekaers to be announced. Boston Qualifier King Neptune Challenge: Participants Running the TowneBank 8K on Saturday and the Yuengling Shamrock Marathon and Anthem SHamrock Half full Marathon on Sunday Social Green Room

2 Event History Jerry Frostick, Yuengling Shamrock Marathon Weekend RAce Director made his first impression on the Virginia Beach running scene in 1996 when he opened Inside Out Sports - later re-named Final Kick Sports - one of only a few specialty running shops in the area and a regional leader in triathlon training. During his tenure as owner of Final Kick, he led weekly group runs, coached several elite athletes, and encouraged hundreds if not thousands of new runners of all levels. In 2003 Jerry and his wife Amy Frostick took over as Race Directors for the Shamrock Sportsfest. The Frosticks were avid runners and Shamrock was always their favorite race. They helped promote it through the store and trained people to run the race. The St. Patrick s Day tradition in Virginia Beach was already one of the largest sporting events in the state, but they took it to another level. The Yuengling Shamrock Marathon Weekend has become one of the most popular events in the country, growing from 3,000 participants to a record 30,000 in During their stewardship, Jerry & Amy have added a half marathon, a children s Final Mile run, and challenges and they have expanded the event to a five-race, weekend long running party. In 2009, Jerry and AMy began to concentrate on what they does best race directing - and sold Final Kick Sports. They established J&A Racing headquarters a few doors down in the same shopping center, and began to focus on making a good race, Shamrock, even better. The phenomenal growth of that flagship event is testimony to their success. Most J&A races sell out a few weeks (sometimes even months) before the event, but the Frosticks are willing to turn away thousands of people to keep the size of the race manageable. Their focus is on making the experience memorable for all participants, fostering pride in their community..

3 Fact Sheet What:The Yuengling Shamrock Marathon Weekend, now in its 43rd year, is a weekend of festive activities! These include; a two-day Sports and Fitness Expo, the Yuengling Marathon (26.2 miles), Anthem Half Marathon (13.1), TowneBank 8K, Operation Smile Final Mile, and a Leprechaun Dash (Children s 26.2 yards). All of our races have attracted elite runners from all over the globe and the 8K has been the site of two World Records. The Yuengling Shamrock Marathon Weekend is an experience not to be rivaled by other running events! When: Friday, March 18th 2016 Sports and Fitness Expo Saturday, March 19th 2016 Sports and Fitness Expo, 8K and Children s Races Sunday, March 20th 2016 Marathon and Half Marathon Where: All the events start near and finish on the beautiful Virginia Beach Boardwalk. The marathon and half marathon run through the resort area, along the Virginia Beach boardwalk and pass the historic Cape Henry Lighthouse. All races finish to an old fashion beach party with food and entertainment on the sandy shores of the Atlantic Ocean. Expected Participants Approximately 30,000+ Expected Spectators Approximately 70,000 States Represented In 2014 we had all 50 states present Demographics of Participants Average Age 38 years old Gender Male 42% Female 58% Education Level 41% of participants have a Graduate degree, 83% have at least a 4 Year College Degree Average Income $100,000 - $149,000 Total direct spending $22 million Supported Charities LIVESTRONG, Operation Smile, Mitochondrial Disease Foundation, ACCESS College Foundation, The Noblemen

4 Weekend Schedule (subject to change) Sports and Fitness Expo and Packet Pick up are located at: Virginia Beach Convention Center th Street Virginia Beach, VA Friday March 18, :00 pm 9:00 pm Packet Pick-Up and Registration Virginia Beach Convention Center 12:00 pm 9:00 pm Sports and Fitness Expo Virginia Beach Convention Center 1:00 pm 6:00 pm Shamrock Speaker Series Virginia Beach Convention Center Saturday March 19, :27 am Elite for a Day Start 7:45 am TowneBank Shamrock 8k/ACCESS College Foundation 8k Student Challenge Start 30th Street and Pacific 8:30 am to 12:00 pm Murphy s Finish Line Celebration 10:30 am Leprechaun Dash Start 32nd Street on the Boardwalk 10:00 am 5:00 pm Sports and Fitness Expo Virginia Beach Convention Center 10:00 am 5:00 pm Packet Pick-Up and Registration Virginia Beach Convention Center 11:00 am Operation Smile Final Mile Elementary Students 31st Street and Atlantic 1:00 pm 4:00 pm Shamrock Speaker Series Virginia Beach Convention Center Sunday March 20, :00 am Anthem Half Marathon Start 42nd Street and Atlantic 8:30 am Yuengling Marathon Start 31st Street and Atlantic 8:30 am 4:00 pm Murphy s Finish Line Celebration

5 Social Green Room Yuengling Shamrock Marathon Weekend aims to connect with it s participants not only before and after race weekend, but also during the 3-day event. J&A Racing, Yuengling Shamrock Marathon Weekend Race Organizers, are launching a new Social Green Room during race weekend that will utilize all of it s social media networks and tools to improve the overall race experience for our participants, volunteers, spectators and media. The Social Green Room will use Twitter, Facebook and Instagram for live interaction with all of our participants, spectators, volunteers and media to answer all questions regarding event logistics, push out race-related content and announcements, recognize our sponsors, and create an overall race day feel for those unable to make the event. Social Media users are encouraged to use #SHAMROCKON16 to connect with the Social Green Room via Twitter or through the Yuengling Shamrock Marathon Facebook Page and Instagram. The Social Green Room will be operational during the following hours: Friday, March 18, 2016: 10:00am-9:00pm Saturday, March 19, 2016: 5:00am-6:00pm Sunday, March 20, 2016: 5:00am-4:00pm

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7 FORT STORY WEST GATE FORT STORY EAST GATE SHAMROCK HALF MARATHON outbound route outbound mile marker water stop in this order at each stop: water, gatorade endurance, water (porta-potties will be located at each water stop) inbound route inbound mile marker PowerGel stop live band disc jockey 42ND STREET (START LINE)

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