The 8th Anniversary of the 2010 Capital City Half and Quarter Marathon on May 7, 2011 has a new course, a new quarter marathon and new charity partners. Register Now, and come Celebrate like a Champion with us:

NEW CHAMPION COURSE: A new course starting on the corner of Spring and Neil and then finishing on Nationwide Ave in the heart of the Arena District. After numerous meetings with the Columbus Police Department, the City of Columbus and Nationwide Realty Investors we have put together not only the best Cap City course ever, but what is arguably one of the best half marathon courses in the country.

NEW HEALTH AND FITNESS PARTY MAY 5TH AND 6TH: With thousands of out of town participants coming to join us in Columbus, Ohio we have booked rooms at the special rate of $129 a night at the Hyatt Regency Columbus and have added pre race expo party on May 5th and 6th in the recently renovated Battelle Hall, the likes of which you have not seen. Put it this way, we don't "do" pipe and drape. Our live mile markers will be there, our participant lounge will be open, and Columbus Champions will all be there to help Celebrate You.

CELEBRATION COURSE TOUR - we were the first to introduce the live mile marker concept on course last year. Now wait until you see the "Celebration Tour" around all 13.1 and 6.55 miles.

A BIGGER PARTY - With a huge expanded post race area and the new course we are able to invite 15,000 of our closest friends to come Celebrate with us.

THE BEST VALUE! - Register before October 31 and get the best value of the year. There are no additional fees to register online. The price you see is what you pay to get into the celebration.

FACEBOOK - If you Follow us on FACEBOOK, you know we put out special offers, announce other events, and communicate with you often. Come join us!

We want to help raise ONE MILLION Dollars for charities at this year's Capital City Half Marathon.

The Capital Kids Program is again going to be the exclusive beneficiary of the Capital Kids Mascot Chase and an official charity of the Capital City Half Marathon. I have had some great meetings with Sheri-Lynn Wynn the new Program Director for the Capital Kids program and we have a lot in store for the kids over the next few months.

RUN FOR A REASON - In 2011, Team in Training will, for the 7th year in a row, be an Official Charity of the event .

I have worked with Andrea Zelinski from Team in Training for years as TNT participants in Cap City have raised hundreds of thousands of dollars. TNT is hoping to raise well over $200,000 from this event alone in 2011. The money will go toward research, patient services and education in efforts to find a cure for blood cancers.

MAKE YOUR MILES MORE MEANINGFUL! We are very proud to announce the addition of the American Cancer Society's DetermiNation program as an Official Charity for 2011. I have had the pleasure to meet with and spend some time with Kristy Kalnitzky from the DetermiNation program. We think this will be a huge addition to the event and I look forward to working with her and her team. Together we have already come up with some great ideas to help raise funds and help the American Cancer Society in their mission to help create a world with less cancer and more birthdays.

The event will continue to support a number of other local, regional and national charities. We would welcome new charity partners or to have you be part of our charity volunteer program? Come check us out.

I was asked recently how Cap City was able to grow to 10,000 participants from 5,500 in just two years. Carey Pinkowski, the race director of the Chicago Marathon once told me that nothing "markets the race like the race". I would add, nothing "markets a city like a visit to the city". Cap City has a huge competitive advantage over other events as we are in Columbus, Ohio.

Columbus is truly a Champion City. From the Buckeyes, to the Crew, to the Clippers, and soon the Bluejackets, there are championships all over this city. Have you been to Columbus recently? The race course starts and finishes in the vibrant Arena District. You tour the "high five miles" that connect countless experiences on Columbus' historic High Street. An essential part of the Columbus experience, the city's distinctive districts are full of fun things to see and our course highlights all of them.

We are going to be highlighting various areas and activities you can see and experience on your visit to Columbus on our travel page and on Facebook.

The tour continues with these great events:

Come see us on October 15th and 16th at the Columbus Marathon to taste the wine you will receive at the Flying Feather Four Miler and to get your free Cap City 13.1 and 6.55 stickers.

The Dead Celebrity 3 Miler - October 30th.

The Buckeye Classic - November 14th.

The Flying Feather Four Miler - November 25th.

All race information can be found on the M3S Celebration Tour Site.

Our entire team and all of our partners are excited for the 8th Anniversary of the Capital City Half Marathon and I invite you and your family to come join us in the spring.

David