Oakland Mayor Jean Quan On-Hand As Over 1,500 Runners Participate In The First Annual "The Town's Half Marathon Filtered By Brita"

OAKLAND, Calif., Aug. 16, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --  Oakland Mayor Jean Quan, City Officials and Community Leaders supported over 1,500 runners who participated in the city's first annual "The Town's Half Marathon Filtered By Brita" on Saturday.  The 13.1 mile race through Oakland's historic and urban neighborhoods followed by a world-class cultural festival at City Hall is a landmark community event in support of the city's revitalization efforts. 

"The city of Oakland is thrilled to host the first annual "The Town's Half Marathon Filtered By Brita," said Mayor Quan.

"We have a passionate and dedicated running community here in Oakland and we are excited to showcase the best elements of our city as part of this historic annual event.  With an eclectic selection of award-winning and locally-owned restaurants here in downtown, this post-race food and wine festival on the steps of city hall is a unique, world-class experience," said Mayor Quan. 

Spanning 13.1 miles from start to finish, the race route, named "Tour of Oakland" is the city's first hyper-local route experience.  Iconic areas along the route includes Jack London Square, Downtown, City Center, Uptown, Piedmont Ave, Temescal Alley & Telegraph Ave and Grand Ave from Pleasant Valley to Lake Merritt.  The race start and finish took place at Frank Ogawa Plaza. 

"We've worked closely with City Officials and met extensively with Community Leaders and Running Enthusiasts over the last year specifically to design and produce a one-of-a-kind experience that showcases the best of Oakland," said Ryan Dawkins, President of Project Sport, an Oakland-based even production company which produced the event.

"We are honored and inspired to support our city's revitalization efforts by offering our town a unique race and authentic downtown festival centered on all the greatest aspects this city has to offer.  From the route to our thrilling musical finish and cultural festival with local wineries, craft beer, artisan chefs and live music, we couldn't be more pleased with the turn out and response to our first annual event.  We've already begun planning for 2016," added Dawkins.

The top male finisher was 25-year-old Mark Ceraldi of Oakland with an official race time of 1:18:57. "I am proud to be here with Mayor Jean Quan. I'd also like to dedicate this race to my grandparents who sponsored me," said Ceraldi. The top female finisher was 24-year-old Catherine Jubinski of San Francisco with an official race time of 1:25:22. "I am super excited to be a part of this! It was also great to meet Mayor Quan," said Jubinkski.

At the finish line, race participants received cutting-edge finisher medals.  Racers also received a Brita filtering water bottle as a gift from The Clorox Company, which generously sponsored the event.

"Our interactive, spinning finisher medal featured our iconic Oak Leaf logo with a modern, sleek and inspiring design," said Dawkins.

"We specifically designed these medals to stand out from other prestigious finisher medals across the running world and we hope the Oakland community and our race participants will forever associate the modern design with the city's forward-thinking revitalization efforts.  We're extremely grateful to everyone who has supported this event including the city of Oakland and all our event sponsors," Dawkins added. 

To register or request information about The Town's Half Marathon Filtered by Brita, visit www.runoak.com. 

ABOUT PROJECT SPORT, LLC:  Project Sport, LLC ("Project Sport"), is a subsidiary of RaceForce, LLC, and a leading sports management and event production company focused on the running and cycling community.  Based in Oakland, CA, Project Sport events combine athletic challenge, destination travel locations and marquee entertainment to produce unique events with a world-class experience.  For more information regarding Project Sport, LLC, visit www.projectsport.com. 

ABOUT RACEFORCE, LLC:  RaceForce, LLC ("RaceForce") is a subsidiary of OmniForce, LLC, and a leading endurance and athletic event production company based in Los Angeles, CA.  Using an extensive network and wealth of core competencies including:  Strategic Marketing; Sponsorship Acquisition and Production Support, RaceForce partners with existing events to offer support where helpful while maintaining the event's grassroots identify.   RaceForce events are legendary and cherished by their respective community.  RaceForce events include:  The Surf City USA Marathon and the Surf City 10 Mile, 10K, 5K & Kids Run in Huntington Beach, CA; The US Half Marathon, Echelon Ride to Revel Cycling Series, San Francisco Turkey Trot, The Livermore Half Marathon & The Town's Half Marathon in Oakland.  For more information regarding RaceForce, LLC, visit www.raceforce.com.

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SOURCE RaceForce, LLC