Organizers Introduce Myrtle Beach Race Weekend
SC Now – Feb 14, 2012
Continental Event & Sports Management Group, LLC have announced they will produce the 2012 Myrtle Beach Classic Triathlon, incorporating it into a weeklong festival dubbed Myrtle Beach Race Week this October.
The Myrtle Beach Classic Triathlon and the Myrtle Beach Mini Marathon™ and Coastal 5k are set to occur on the consecutive weekends of October 12-21 and will mark the first Race Week Festival the area has ever hosted.
“We’re extremely excited to welcome back Continental Events and Sports Management to the Myrtle Beach area. They’ve done a great job promoting our area to the many visitors who will travel to participate in athletic events like these and we look forward to working with them more going forward,” said Danna Lilly, Director of Group Sales for the Myrtle Beach Area Convention and Visitors Bureau.
Continental Event and Sports Management, LLC was the group that produced the successful Myrtle Beach Mini Marathon™ and Coastal 5K over the past two years, the extremely popular Biggest Loser Event Challenge and founded the ING Miami Marathon.
This year, the Myrtle Beach Classic Triathlon will kick-off Myrtle Beach Race Week Festival on Oct. 12 with a Health & Fitness Expo at the Marina Inn. The triathlon will take place Saturday, Oct. 13 and is comprised of three different distances set to run concurrently throughout the day. The distances include: a sprint (1/4-mile swim, 10-mile bike, and 3.1-mile run); an international/Olympic (1.5-kilometer swim, 40-kilometer bike, and 10-kilometer run); and a Half Iron (1.2-mile swim, 56-mile bike, 13.1-mile run).
The following weekend, the Myrtle Beach Mini Marathon will celebrate a third year in the Myrtle Beach area with the popular Health & Fitness Expo Friday, Oct. 19 and Saturday, Oct. 20; the Coastal 5K on Saturday, Oct. 20; and the Myrtle Beach Mini Marathon on Sunday, Oct. 21. Participants who compete and finish both the Myrtle Beach Classic Triathlon as well as the Myrtle Beach Mini Marathon will receive a special commemorative award recognizing their endurance accomplishment.
This is the first year that the two races will occur only one week apart, bringing ten days of athletes and families to the Myrtle Beach area in
October.
“The Myrtle Beach Classic Triathlon provides a level of competition for everyone. Following the triathlon, athletes will have the opportunity to rest for a week in the beautiful Myrtle Beach area before they race in the most popular half marathon in the area the following weekend,” said Robert Pozo, President of Continental Event & Sports Management Group, LLC.
“We would like to showcase the city as not only a beautiful place to visit but the place to make travel to for your sports vacation. The Myrtle Beach area has all that is required to shape the perfect sports vacation: beautiful scenery, magnificent events, great entertainment and ideal weather,” said Robert Pozo.
Event organizers estimate attendance levels between 5,500 and 6,000 and an economic impact of $8 million for Myrtle Beach and surrounding areas. By combining these two major events and creating a Myrtle Beach Race Week, even organizers say it boosts Myrtle Beach as a sports tourism destination to the same level as other major ‘sport’ cities in the United States.
“We are just getting started. We envision Myrtle Beach Race Week Festival to host other events in future years, such as high school and college cross country meets, seminars from industry professionals and other racing events in the area,” said Gaby Pozo, the events’ race director.
For more information on all events visit www.runmyrtlebeach.com.
