EDITORIAL: From the start, Med City Marathon seemed built for the long run
May 16—It began 30 years ago as a "big dream," in the words of one of its founders. Very quickly, the Med-City Relays and Marathon — today known simply as the Med City Marathon — grew to be one of Rochester's signature community events. Its first-year participation, 916 runners, grew to about 1,100 runners in 1997, its second year.
Organizers said then they believed they'd have to cap ...
May 16—It began 30 years ago as a "big dream," in the words of one of its founders. Very quickly, the Med-City Relays and Marathon — today known simply as the Med City Marathon — grew to be one of Rochester's signature community events. Its first-year participation, 916 runners, grew to about 1,100 runners in 1997, its second year.
Organizers said then they believed they'd have to cap participation at 1,500 runners in Year 3. Fast-forward 27 years, and this weekend's running events — a marathon, half-marathon, 20-mile race, relays, 5K fun run and kids' runs — are expected to attract some 3,200 runners in all. And if you're not the runner type, the weekend offers other attractions — family-friendly events, a health expo, live bands, and the opportunity to volunteer or cheer — making the Med City Marathon in effect our region's first big annual summer festival.
Suffice to say, it's all come a long way since it was dreamed up by founding organizers Wally and Peg Arnold, and, under new leadership today, at three decades old this event is just picking up steam. The economic impact from the two-day event isn't calculated, but safe to say, it's not a small figure. More importantly, the marathon and related events are a nice fit thematically for a city known internationally as a beacon of health and longevity.