Friday, November 16, 2012

8th Annual Thunder Road Marathon Races in Charlotte - Nov. 17

The 8th Annual Thunder Road Marathon, Half-Marathon, and Presbyterian Orthopaedic Hospital 5K will be run Saturday, Nov. 17 (rain or shine)
Bag Check: 6:00-7:30AM
Full/Half-Marathon begin at 7:45AM
5K begins at 8:15AM
The Start Line will be on Tryon Street at 1st street/Levine Museum Avenue of Arts intersection. (see media parking info below)
The Finish Line/Victory Lane Area will be at Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. and S. Davidson Street (see media parking info below)

Publix Thunder Road Marathon Health & Wellness Expo
Friday, Nov. 16
10:00AM – 9:00PM
(Vendor Expo, Packet Pick-up and Registration)
*No race-day registration available

EXPO: The Blake Hotel
555 South McDowell Street
Charlotte, N.C. 28204

MEDIA PARKING/CHECK-IN:
· Please check in via phone with Jenni Walker (704-649-6571)
· Any media who want to park by the start or finish lines, or along the course need to print out the attached car pass and put it in their car or media vehicle.
· Media Parking by the Start Line will be located on Levine Museum Avenue of the Arts – please enter from S. Church Street. The attached Thunder Road media pass is required.
· Thunder Road staff will be available after 5:45AM for any on-site media interviews by the start-line area. Please contact Jenni Walker (704-649-6571) to set up an interview in advance.
· Media Parking at First Baptist Church parking lot off of Caldwell Street (this parking lot is NOT open to the public and is only available for Thunder Road staff, vendors and media). For any parking questions contact Jenni Walker at 704-649-6571.

EVENT HIGHLIGHTS/MEDIA OPPORTUNITIES:
• City Proclamation to be presented by Councilman Andy Dulin at 7:30AM at Start Line
· Fan Zones with entertainment throughout the course: http://www.runcharlotte.com/fanzones.htm
· 2012 Neighborhood Challenge: Neighborhood Associations along the course will be competing for two $500 cash prizes. Click here or visithttp://www.runcharlotte.com/neighbrohood-spotlight.htm for a listing of the participating neighborhoods.
· Thunder Road Stock Car courtesy of Comp-Cal to start race and then park a finish line for photo-op backdrop.
· Victory Lane Highlights:
o Buffalo Wild Wings Patio Celebration
o Chick-fil-A VIP Area
o Entertainment
o Massage Garage
o Awards
· Photo and b-roll opportunities
· Post-race interviews: Winners, runners with inspirational stories, event staff

COURSE INFORMATION:
For a list of road closures, visit http://www.runcharlotte.com/parking-roadclosurers.htm. Some intersections will be closing at 3PM Friday, Nov. 16 and others will begin at 5AM Saturday, Nov. 17.

Detailed course maps can be found at http://www.runcharlotte.com/2012maps.htm. The Half Marathon is limited to three (3) hours and the Marathon is limited to six (6) hours.

About Thunder Road Marathon
The Thunder Road Marathon is the second largest marathon in the Carolinas and unites the excitement of road racing, music, family-friendly entertainment and the Charlotte region's rich heritage of stock car racing. Featuring a marathon, half-marathon and 5K run, the event draws participants from 48 different states and Canada. In its seven-year history, the race has raised more than $250,000 for local charities. For more information or to register or volunteer for the 8th Annual Thunder Road Marathon, zoom to www.runcharlotte.com.

Stayed connected with Thunder Road Marathon on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/ThunderRoadMarathon and Twitter at @ThunderRoadCLT.