By Kim Dunbar

The Heart of the Commonwealth is about to start beating a little faster.   On Sunday, June 13, athletes from across New England will converge on the city for the first running of the Worcester Half Marathon.

The 13.1 mile race is part of the 2010 USRA Half Marathon Series, which targets mid-sized markets across the nation that don’t currently offer a half marathon.  Worcester is one of 15 cities involved in this year’s national tour, and hopes it doesn’t end there.

“The idea is to make this an annual event here in June,” said Dean Reinke, head of Reinke Sports Group, organizer of the Half Marathon Series.

Reinke created the Half Marathon Series a year ago in order to tap into the market of grassroots sports. However, his focus was on the areas that didn’t already offer events for its athletes.

“A lot of cities already have too many events, so we chose cities that didn’t have a half marathon,” he said.  “Every market is unique, but Worcester has gone very well.”

Reinke, who has been working on planning the Half Marathon with the help of Destination Worcester since April 2009, said that the city has a large running community and the overwhelming response to the upcoming event has only confirmed his belief.  According to Reinke, the event is on pace to attract about 1,500 to 2,000 participants from 13 different states.

Patrick Lynch, Executive Director of Destination Worcester, thinks that Worcester’s location is one of the reasons the event is attracting such a tremendous response.

“Being centrally located and easily accessible in the state and New England, Worcester is an excellent location for a half marathon and will draw runners from across the region,” he said.  He added that there are also not a large number of races in and around Worcester this time of the year, and no half marathons.

“The half marathon distance is also one of the fastest growing distances for race runners, and so it is a prime time to capitalize on this growing interest,” Lynch said.

This event was made for runners like Princeton resident Megan Weeks, who jumped at the chance to run a half marathon close to home.

“Last summer, I competed in my first triathlon and got the racing bug,” she said. “I have never run a half marathon before and thought I’d challenge myself with something a little different this year.  Because I had also been running through the winter months, I thought a June race would be a perfect fit.”

Reinke said he modeled the Half Marathon Series after the Rock ‘n Roll Marathon.  The race will feature live music ~ either local bands or DJs ~ throughout a course which was designed to showcase the city’s historic community.  But don’t worry runners ~ you won’t be jogging up any of Worcester’s seven hills.

“Worcester has a lot of hills, but we tried to avoid those.  I think this course is very fair,” Reinke said.

In addition to the half marathon, the event also includes a 5K and a 1 Mile Fun Run.  Keeping with the spirit of the organization’s motto, “Where the Runner Comes First,” the weekend will kick off with a Runner’s/Health & Fitness Expo on Saturday and conclude with a party at the finish line.
For more information on the event and instructions on how to register or volunteer, visit worcesterhm.com.

Worcester Half Marathon Street By Street Directions

Start near Main Street & Foster Street
South on Main Street To Chandler Street
Turn right on Chandler Street
Turn right on June Street
Go right around rotary onto Highland Street
Turn left on Haviland Street
Turn right on Institute Road
Turn left on Beechmont Street
Turn left on Salisbury Street
Turn left on Flagg Street
Turn right on Pleasant Street
Turn left on May Street
Merge onto Chandler Road
Chandler Road becomes Madison Street
Go through crazy intersection (Green St., Harding St.)
Turn left on Water Street
Turn right on Franklin Street
Merge onto Plantation Street
Turn left on Atchinson Street
Turn left on SHrewsbury Street
Bear right at fork near Shamrock Street (not sure of street name)
Turn left on Major Taylor Blvd.
Turn left on Foster Street
Turn right on Franklin Street
Turn right on Front Street.

Finish on Front Street in the middle of the 3rd Column to the right of the entrance to Flagship Bank.