San Diego, CA – August 4, 2010 – The Competitor Group (CGI), the leading media and event company in the endurance sports industry, today announced two new markets for the 2011 Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon Series. The Rock ‘n’ Roll Providence Half Marathon will take place on Sunday, August 7, 2011 and the Rock ‘n’ Roll Savannah Marathon & Half Marathon is scheduled for Saturday, November 5, 2011.

“This is a significant step for the Competitor Group to expand the reach of our brand nationally with two of the most well-known destinations on the east coast,” said Peter Englehart, CEO of CGI. “We have long recognized the strategic importance of having a larger presence in both New England and the Southeast regions and we welcome the additions of Providence and Savannah to our 2011 schedule.”

The addition of the two races increases CGI’s portfolio of national events to 45 with over 400,000 participants expected in 2011. Since acquiring the popular Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon Series in 2008, CGI has expanded the brand from five events to sixteen markets across the country. Providence and Savannah join existing cities of Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, and Dallas on the series schedule.

“It’s a real coup for Rhode Island to host a Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon,” said Martha Sheridan, President and CEO of the Providence Warwick Convention & Visitors Bureau.  “It has a profound economic impact on every destination that hosts a race.  We expect that the Providence event will utilize close to 5,000 hotel room nights, as well as generate significant state tax revenue from dining, shopping and other activities.”

The Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon revolutionized the endurance sports industry when it combined entertainment with running in 1998. Race participants are entertained by live bands playing music at every mile along the course, interspersed with themed water stations and cheerleading squads providing motivation to the finish line.

Each race annually attracts between 13,000 and 37,000 participants and is considered a sports tourism destination, with more than half of the participants arriving from outside the host city. With charity partners raising over $233 million at the events to date, the Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon Series has become one the most successful charity fundraising platforms in the world.

“Our community is excited about this opportunity to showcase a world-class running event in Savannah,” said Joseph Marinelli, President of the Convention & Visitors Bureau. “I applaud the Competitor Group for their support of this race and vision in bringing this event to fruition. We have great expectations for the race and to have a partner with a first-rate brand, known for their top notch entertainment, is not only exciting but synonymous with what visitors to Savannah have come to expect.”

Registration is open for each event on www.runrocknroll.com and the first 500 runners to register online will receive a special entry fee of $55.

About The Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon Series

Organized by the Competitor Group, the Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon Series is known for lining race routes with live bands, cheerleaders and themed water stations.  The original Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon in 1998 is still recognized as the largest inaugural marathon in history with 19,979 entrants. Today, the series of marathons and half-marathons has spread to sixteen markets nationwide, creating the world’s premier series of running events, which will attract more than 350,000 participants in 2011. Race weekends kick off with a two-day Health & Fitness Expo, where all participants pick up their race number and browse over 100 exhibitors featuring free samples, the latest in running gear with a schedule of interactive clinics. The event concludes with a finish line festival and post race headliner concert. For more information, please visit http://runrocknroll.competitor.com. 

About The Competitor Group

Competitor Group, Inc., headquartered in San Diego, CA, is the leading endurance media and event entertainment company dedicated to promoting the sports of running, cycling and triathlon. CGI owns and operates 45 national events delivering more than 350,000 professional and amateur participants in 2010. CGI publishes four magazine titles with a combined monthly circulation of over 800,000 and has recently launched an online endurance community at competitor.com delivering over 1.5 million monthly unique visitors and over 25 million page views.  Further information about Competitor and its media properties can be found at www.cgimediakit.com.  

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Both the male and female winners of this race will have a strong incentive to compete in the Rev3 Half-Ironman distance race in Quassy, Connecticut on June 6. The two victors will be eligible for the $150,000 prize purse available if anyone can win all three Rev3 Triathlon Series races.

Matt Reed will be looking for his first win of 2010. Photo: Larry Rosa

While both the men and women’s lineups feature some of the sport’s tops names, the race-heavy weekends leading up to this race means that the winners will likely be the athletes with the freshest legs. For the men, the favorites include the United States’ Matt Reed, Cameron Dye and Chris Lieto. Dye is coming off of a huge win at the St. Anthony’s Triathlon on April 25. Reed and Lieto faced off at the Miami Interntional Triathlon earlier this year, and Lieto edged out Reed for second place. All three have sat out of some of the big-name races leading up to Knoxville, and will likely benefit in this fast-paced race.

One athlete who seems to perform well no matter how tired his legs are is New Zealand’s Terenzo Bozzone. Bozzone is a late addition to Knoxville and has raced at Ironman 70.3 New Orleans (second place), Ironman 70.3 Texas (first place) and Ironman 70.3 St. Croix (first place) in the last three weeks. Other contenders vying for their share of the $50,000 prize purse include Great Britain’s Stuart Hayes, Australia’s Joe Gambles and Richie Cunningham, and the United States’ Andrew Yoder, Andrew Starykowicz, TJ Tollakson and Brian Fleischmann.

Picking a women’s favorite is difficult, as the usual picks will be racing on tired legs.  Great Britain’s Julie Dibens turned in a dominating performance at last weekend’s Long Distance Wildflower Triathlon and will be looking to make it two-in-a-row in Knoxville. Another power cyclist, Mary Beth Ellis of the United States, is racing for the second time in two weeks after a third place finish at the Escape From Alcatraz triathlon. While the United States’ Rebeccah Wassner has not raced in a few weeks, this will be her first attempt at racing since she suffered a foot injury in April.

Other contenders include New Zealand’s Samantha Warriner, Australia’s Pip Taylor and the United States’ Laurel Wassner, Dede Griesbauer and Amanda Lovato.

Watch the entire Rev3 Knoxville Triathlon live on Sunday, May 9 at 7:30 a.m. EDT on Competitor.com.

See the complete professional start list below:

Men

Chris Lieto finished second at the Miami International Triathlon. Photo: Robert Murphy

Eric Limkemann (USA)
Simon Thompson (AUS)
Andrew Starykowicz (USA)
Stephen Hackett (AUS)
Stuart Hayes (GBR)
Heath Thurston (USA)
Rich Allen (GBR)
Kevin Lisska (USA)
Matthew White (AUS)
Matt Long (USA)
Bjorn Andersson (SWE)
Andrew Hodges (USA)
Ryan Bates (USA)
Eric Bell (USA)
David Thompson (USA)
Brian Fleischmann (USA)
Chris Lieto (USA)
Greg Remaly (USA)
Matty Reed (USA)
John Kenny (USA)
Jasper Blake CAN
Cameron Dye (USA)
Zach Ruble (USA)
Andrew Yoder (USA)
James Cotter (USA)
Richie Cunningham (AUS)
Thomas Winchester (USA)
Kirk Nelson (USA)
Gregory Reznich (USA)
TJ Tollakson (USA)
Graham O’Grady (USA)
Jimmy Archer (USA)
Viktor Zyemtsev (USA)
Richard Swor (USA)
Joe Gambles (AUS)
Terenzo Bozzone (NZL)

Women

Julie Dibens overpowered the entire women's field at last weekend's Wildflower triathlon. Photo: Kurt Hoy

Jennifer Garrison (USA)
Bethany Handley (USA)
Amanda Lovato (USA)
Kelly Williamson (USA)
Mary Beth Ellis (USA)
Dede Griesbauer (USA)
Julie Dibens (USA)
Samantha Warriner (NZL)
Jessica Jacobs (USA)
Laura Tingle (USA)
Nicole Guembel (CAN)
Rebeccah Wassner (USA)
Kari Mayhew (USA)
Jacqui Gordon (USA)
Teri Albertazzi (USA)
Natascha Badmann (SUI)
Laurel Wassner (USA)
Pip Taylor (AUS)

Photos by: Donn Jones and George Walker.

The run-bike-run race, which was a part of the Powerman Alabama Multisport Weekend, featured a 10-kilometer, 60k, 10k course and a $5,000 prize purse for the elites.

Asplund, 33, was the overall women’s winner in 3:06:05. She was fourth following the first run but produced the fastest bike split of the day en route to the victory. Asplund finished nearly a minute ahead of 2009 champion Jessica Jacobs, a Maylene, Ala., native, who finished in 3:06:57. Birmingham’s Deanna Newman was third in 3:13:23.

Sheeks, 27, clocked a time of 2:45:28 to finish as the top American and second overall behind the world’s No. 1-ranked duathlete, Belgium’s Joerie Vansteelant, who pulled away on the bike and finished in 2:42:51. David Thompson of St. Paul, Minn., rounded out the podium with a time of 2:47:27.

The top four American finishers on each side qualified for the USAT Elite Duathlon World Championship Team for the 2010 ITU Elite Duathlon World Championships Sept. 3-5 in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Boulder, Colo., resident Uli Bromme finished fourth on the women’s side to join the medalists as a Team USA qualifier, while Matthew Russell (Ogdensburg, N.Y.) and Dereck Treadwell (Laurens, N.Y.) were the No. 3 and No. 4 Americans on the men’s side, respectively.

2010 USA Triathlon Elite Duathlon National Championship
March 27, 2010 -  Pelham, Ala.
Men
1. Joerie Vansteelant (Torhout, Belgium), 2:42:51
2. Matthew Sheeks (Woodinville, Wash.), 2:45:28
3. David Thompson (St. Paul, Minn.), 2:46:27
4. Matthew Russell (Ogdensburg, N.Y.), 2:46:49
5. Dereck Treadwell (Laurens, N.Y.), 2:49:03

Women
1. Marisa Asplund (Durango, Colo.), 3:06:05
2. Jessica Jacobs (Maylene, Ala.), 3:06:57
3. Deanna Newman (Birmingham, Ala.), 3:13:23
4. Uli Bromme (Boulder, Colo.), 3:13:50
5. Melissa Miller (San Antonio, Fla.), 3:17:38

Race recap provided by USA Triathlon.

Here’s an assortment of images from an exciting and beautiful celebration of running in New Orleans.

VIEW PHOTOS