FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Mark Cihlar
773-765-9028
Lakeshore Marathon Adds Chicago's Navy Pier to Marathon Course
Chicago, IL (May 1, 2005) -- The Lakeshore Marathon today announced that it
has received approval to add Navy Pier to its May 30th Marathon and
Half-Marathon courses. The new courses, which will continue to feature a
tour of Chicago's waterfront and parks, will now include a loop of the
famous Chicago landmark, extending nearly a mile out into Lake Michigan as
part of the 26.2-mile course.
Navy Pier has been a Chicago landmark since it opened In 1916 as a shipping
and entertainment complex. It served as a military training site during two
world wars, and then became the original University of Illinois Chicago
campus. In 1995, a $150 million redevelopment plan re-envisioned Navy Pier
as an entertainment and recreation attraction, featuring indoor botanic
gardens, a ferris wheel, IMax theater, museums, the Chicago Shakespeare
Theater, and numerous shops and restaurants.
"Navy Pier is one of the great tourist attractions of Chicago and its place
on the course will create a unique opportunity for runners to experience
this marvel. The East Point of the Pier, which stretches almost a mile out
into Lake Michigan, provides participants with some of the best views of
Chicago’s spectacular skyline and lakefront. The race courses deliver a
great tour of the shoreline, and the addition of Navy Pier completes that
tour and further pays tribute to Daniel Burnham's vision of how the
lakefront supports health and recreation," stated Mark Cihlar, Founder of
the Lakeshore Marathon.
In addition to Navy Pier, the marathon course visits the Lincoln Park Zoo,
and runs past 7 beaches, 6 harbors, 3 wildlife sanctuaries and Chicago
landmarks including Burnham Harbor, Soldier Field, McCormick Place, the
Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum, and the Museum Campus, home to the Field
Museum, Shedd Aquarium and Adler Planetarium.
In addition to the Marathon and Half-Marathon which will be held on
Memorial Day, May 30th, the Lakeshore Marathon weekend includes a 5-mile
Memorial Walk, and a 5k Run / Walk that’s co-hosted with the U.S. Forest
Service. The Healthy & Natural Living Expo on May 28th - 29th at the
McCormick Place Convention Center starts the weekend. A Memorial Day
Ceremony will precede the Start of the Marathon at the Gold Star Memorial
on the Great Lawn of Burnham Park adjacent to Soldier Field.
The 2005 Lakeshore Marathon will be the fourth anniversary for the event.
In the three years It has run, over 5000 participants from every state and
25 countries have participated in the running events, providing the City of
Chicago with over a $10 million economic impact. Education and
Environmental Initiatives have also resulted in the planting of 14,000 new
trees.
Founding and leading Lakeshore Marathon Sponsors include: Amino Vital,
Hyatt Regency McCormick Place, Nordic Track, SBC Yellow Pages, Chicago
magazine, WXRT-93.1 F.M., Dick Pond Athletics, Inc., Peggy Notebaert Nature
Museum, Clarke’s Restaurant, Affinity!Ville Inc., Carb-BOOM, Fig Media,
Fitness Formula Clubs, and the USDA U.S. Forest Service. For additional
information, interested parties should check out the event website at
www.lakeshoremarathon.com, or call 773-765-9028.
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