New River Marathon set for May 4

The third running of the New River Marathon, Half-Marathon and 5K is scheduled for Saturday, May 4.

The family-owned Riverside Restaurant, which sits on the banks of the New River in Brownwood, will again be hosting the start/finish line and the Friday night pre-race dinner, one-mile fun run and guest speaker.The 2012 event welcomed more than 1,000 registered runners to the Brownwood, Todd and Fleetwood communities.

“From the conception, we wanted the runners and their families to have a great racing experience, to experience the beauty of our New River Valley, Ashe County and North Carolina’s High Country and to enjoy a taste of mountain hospitality,” race co-director Ken Sevensky. “It was our desire to create a race festival that offered races that appealed to runners of all abilities.”

Sevensky said he and his fellow organizers were thrilled with the response from the first two marathons. The sponsors, he added, including Fleetwood and Todd volunteer fire departments and community groups, work throughout the course, effectively rolling out the red carpet “to share the beauty of the place we call home with other runners.”

“Our goal for 2013 is to improve on the success of last year,” he said. “This is one of my favorite quotes from 2011 – ‘Out of the more than 20 marathons that I’ve done, only Big Sur rivals the beauty of New River.’ In addition, our sponsor support continues to grow, which will enable us to improve the quality of the race experience and offer an even more unique and valued slate of awards.”

Runners have a choice of four races: marathon, half-marathon, 5K, and one-mile fun run. Walkers are welcome in the half-marathon, 5K and fun run. All races will be held Saturday morning, May 4. However, the one-mile fun run will be held during the pre-race dinner Friday evening, May 3. The New River Marathon is certified by USA Track and Field and therefore serves as a Boston Marathon qualifying event. The half-marathon course is in the certification process.

To learn more about the New River Marathon, visit http://www.newrivermarathon.com, or contact Ken Sevensky at (336) 877-8888. The New River Marathon is produced by Blue Ridge Endurance Ltd., which also produces the Blue Ridge Relay, Southern Blue Relay, Blue Ridge Mountain Throwdown, The Black and Blue, and The Mount Jefferson Challenge.