Geist Half Marathon & 5K

Papa John’s Pizza will be the official pizza of the Geist Half Marathon with their $2,000 sponsorship. Ty Despain, manager of the Papa John’s on Fox Road, is excited to be a part of this inaugural event that will have runners going right by his business.

The Geist Harbours Property Owners Association voted to sponsor (2) waterstops along the route of the inaugural Geist Half Marathon. The board of directors felt that the race will greatly enhance the visibility and awareness of several GHPOA neighborhoods including Masthead, Beam Reach, Feather Cove I, and Admirals Bay.

Vince Auten, Beam Reach resident and Geist Half Marathon Vice-President, is going to run the proposed Half Marathon route tomorrow, May19th at 7:30 am. He’ll be driving a Safeco Insurance marked car and starting at the Kroger parking lot just north of 116th and Olio Road. If anyone is interested in joining Vince, be there at 7:30 am!

Indianapolis, IN, May 1, 2007—Geist Reservoir residents, business owners, and local school officials will be on hand at Bella Vita Ristorante today at noon announcing an alternative to the 500 Festival Mini-Marathon next year with the Inaugural Geist Half Marathon and 5K Walk/Run. Organized to inspire health and wellness in the children surrounding Geist Reservoir, the Geist Half Marathon will be held two weeks after the 500 Festival Mini-Marathon and two weeks before the end of school on Saturday, May 17, 2008.

“We want to showcase our great Geist community while encouraging local kids to get on a healthy lifestyle track,” said Tom Britt, President of the newly formed Geist Half Marathon Inc.

Working with the Lawrence Township School Foundation and the Hamilton Southeastern Schools, the upstart organization will fund various programs through the area schools that encourage fitness and a healthy lifestyle. One such program is the “My Community Gets Healthy” initiative debuting this fall through the Lawrence Township Schools.

“Through partnering with local community partners, we hope to increase fitness awareness in our schools throughout the year,” said Christie Love, President of the Lawrence Township School Foundation. “The Geist Half Marathon and 5K Walk/Run will be the culminating event for our kids, giving them something to train for all year long.”

Both the 5K and Half Marathons will start near the intersection of 116th Street and Olio Road to take advantage of the parking available near Hamilton Southeastern High School. Runners and walkers will cross the Olio Road bridge heading south and cut through the Springs of Cambridge and cross the Fall Creek Parkway bridge near the Geist Marina. The 5K runners and walkers will end on the bridge while the half marathon runners will continue west, then south on Fall Creek Parkway to circle the south end of Geist Reservoir. Race organizers expect 4,000-5,000 participants.

“The course will give runners a scenic run through some of the area’s most established neighborhoods,” said Jeff Graves, Geist Half Marathon board member and owner of Vision Event Management Services. “All the runners and walkers will have their races finish on the Fall Creek Parkway bridge at the center of Geist Reservoir.”

Registration cards for the event will be handed out May 3-4 from the Geist Half Marathon booth at the 500 Mini Expo, Convention Center downtown. Registration is also available online at http://GeistHalf.com. Sponsors and volunteers are also needed.

About the Geist Half Marathon Inc.

Founded in March 2007 as an Indiana non-profit corporation, the Geist Half Marathon Inc. is governed by a board of seven individuals consisting of five Geist area residents and two marathon experts: Tom Britt (Publisher of atGeist.com), Vince Auten (Beam Reach Resident), Michael Turik (Admirals Pointe Resident), Rennie Brissenden (Sandstone Resident), Josh Carter (Feather Cove I Resident), Jeff Graves (Owner of Vision Event Management Services and former Executive Director of the 500 Festival Mini-Marathon) and Marty Day (President of Runners Forum and the End Result Timing Company). For more information, visit http://GeistHalf.com.