Runners from 24 states and 4 countries make history Sunday, May 6, at 7:00 am, at the fourth annual Potomac River Run Marathon and Half-Marathon at Belle Haven Park, a mile south of Old Town Alexandria, Virginia. For full information and course maps, see www.pvtc.org/marathon. Conducted by Arlington Cooperation Foundation, Greater Washington Sports Alliance, and a co-op of charities and running clubs, the scenic, historic course starts at Belle Haven Park and heads down and back on the Mount Vernon Trail along the Potomac River through the woods of George Washington Memorial Parkway. At sunrise, runners see herons, cranes, geese, and perhaps deer. May 6 is World Laughter Day (, Time, Jan. 17, 2005, p.26), and the marathon celebrates with 26 miles of smiles.

Marathon Competitors

Among the runners are returning champion John Piggott (42) of Williamsburg VA, with a 2:29 marathon best, winner of the first and second Potomac River Run Marathons in 2004 (2:42:10) and 2005 (2:40:47). Challenging Piggott will be athletes from Kenya: Wilson Kibet, Ernest Kipruto Kibor, Victor Kiprono Kimeli, and Pius Kibet . Headlining the women's half-marathon is Ethiopia's Meseret Gebeyehu, a 2:52 marathoner in 2006.

All entrants get the best goodie bag this side of Boston: SportScience performance t-shirts, refreshments (Ultima Replenisher, AccelGel, and Red Bull) on the course, finisher medals by Dan Kain Trophies, a sumptuous picnic sponsored by Whole Foods and Honest Tea, and finisher certificates by mail. Cash prizes go to the top 3 overall in the marathon and half marathon ($300 1st, $200 2nd, $100 3rd). Gift certificates from Georgetown Running Company, Falls Road Running Store, and Glory Days Grill go to the top 3 by 10-year age-group male/female, plus gift baskets from Trader Joe's and Cabot Coop Creamery to first over 4 hours and first over 5 hours. Awards begin 10:00 a.m. for the half-marathon and 12:00 p.m. for the full marathon at Belle Haven Park.

Spectators Welcome

Although parking is tight at Belle Haven Park, spectators can watch the race from anywhere along the George Washington Memorial Parkway -- West Boulevard Drive, Fort Hunt Park, River Farm Drive, Lucia Lane, and Riverside Park.

Charities:

The 2006 marathon donated $7,500 to charities and race organizers hope to donate even more in 2007.

Beneficiaries are The Five Marathon Charity Partners:

AIMS for India 
Asha for Education 
Association for India's Development (AID) 
Big Brothers Big Sisters of National Capital Area 	
Stop the Silence: Stop Child Sexual Abuse 
plus Invisible Childen, 
Cystic Fibrosis Foundation 
National Kidney Foundation Team National Capital Area 
MCP is a co-op of volunteers from five charities allied to 
train together for Marine Corps Marathon and share the work of 
fund-raising.

OTHER EVENTS

The weekend's events include more than just the races. Saturday, May 5 at 9:00 am, the day before the race, Arlington Cooperation Foundation and Keep Washington DC Beautiful conduct a clean-up of the Mount Vernon Trail from Belle Haven to Riverside Park. Volunteers are welcome -- bring gloves and working clothes.

"Our goal," said race director Jay Jacob Wind, "is to leave the campground cleaner than we found it."

Immediately following the Saturday clean-up, Marathon Charity Partners program meets for the season's first workout 10:00 am, marathon runners from all over the country and the world converge with MCP runners for the Friendship 8K.

Saturday at 12:30 pm, Courtyard by Marriott hosts a special screening of the documentary film Invisible Children. The marathon's College of Running open at Courtyard by Marriott, 2700 Eisenhower Avenue, Alexandria, VA 22314. All attendees earn a certificate. The College of Running is free to the public. Guest speakers:

2:00 p.m. - John Steitz -- Welcome and introductions
2:05 p.m. - Jay Wind -- "Crash Course" on the marathon
2:15 p.m. - Ben Cooke of Georgetown Running Company -- Equipment
3:00 p.m. - Dr. Bernard Etherly - Injury prevention and stride clinic
3:45 p.m. - John Steitz -- Hydration
4:30 p.m. - Walt Cline of Velocity Sports Performance -- Activating the muscles
5:15 p.m. - Jay Jacob Wind, marathon director -- Pre-race preparation

Exhibitors:
2:00 - 6:00 p.m. - Dr. Bernard Etherly; Kate Bouterie, Ameriprise Financial; Jennifer Lauda, Mary Kay Independent Consultant

Saturday at 6:00 p.m. the traditional pre-race pasta dinner featuring guest speaker Terri Lynne "Peach" Willis, a 15-year liver transplant survivor running her first half marathon on Sunday. Sunday, set up begins at 5:00 am. Late packet pick-up opens at 6:09 am (sunrise), non-competitive Early Bird start at 6:30 am, warm-up at 6:35 am, National Anthem at 6:52 am, and competitive start at 7:00 am.

Key Points

"We are proud of our international micro-marathon," said director Jay Jacob Wind. "In 2004, we overcame seemingly insurmountable obstacles to make this marathon an international success. Now, MarathonGuide.com gives us a double-five-star rating as one of the best small marathons in the world. We encourage our guests to enjoy the restaurants, shops, and theaters of Alexandria. We thank National Park Service, our sponsors, supporting clubs, volunteers, and participants. We keep this event in perspective -- We think of it as a big picnic preceded by a footrace."

"This event shows why the Washington DC region is so great for sports," said Robert Sweeney, executive director of Greater Washington Sports Alliance. "A group of runners had a vision, and we supported it to demonstrate how inspirational sports can be for our community."

Sponsors

In addition to Greater Washington Sports Alliance, sponsors include Georgetown Running Company, The Christopher Companies, Big Wheel Bikes, Ferris Baker Watts, Glory Days Grill, Gold's Gym, Brueggers Bagels, Capital Bagel Bakery, KSB Cafe of New York, Honest Tea, Whole Foods Market, Bally's Sports, Dr. Myles Schneider, and Red Bull, with support from Capitol Hill Runners, Chesapeake Bay Running Club, IDB Runners Club, Montgomery County Road Runners, Northern Virginia Running Club, Potomac Valley Track Club, and Reston Runners.

History

Potomac River Run Marathon continues a long tradition of DC area distance races. For 60 years, the Alexandria-based Potomac Walk (later called Alexandria Volkslauf) attracted hundreds to the Mount Vernon Trail. In 1964, the original Washington's Birthday Marathon (now in Greenbelt and Beltsville MD) ran from Mount Vernon to the Washington Monument. Marine Corps Marathon started in Arlington and DC in 1976. In 1979, Dannon sponsored Two Bridges 36-Miler up and down the trail; that event is now National Capital 20-Miler. DC Parks and Recreation organized a hometown DC Marathon from 1981 to 1986; a private company conducted Washington DC Marathon in 2002; and some of Potomac River Run's organizers ran unofficially after Washington DC Marathon was cancelled in 2003. In 2005, Chesapeake Bay Running Club added Lower Potomac River Marathon, and in 2006, Greater Washington Sports Alliance inaugurated the new National Marathon. Potomac River Run Marathon is proud to follow that long tradition.