Posted: May 5, 2005

Athletics: Lakeshore Marathon Adds Chicago's Navy Pier to Course

CHICAGO - (May 2, 2005) - The Lakeshore Marathon 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 30, 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 28-29 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 5,000 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 FM, 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.

Ryan Lamppa, Running USA Media Services Director
385 Oak View Lane
Santa Barbara, CA 93111

(805) 696-6232, fax (805) 967-5958
Ryan@RunningUSA.org
www.runningusa.org.