What is fueling the explosive growth of the 7th Annual Arizona Distance Classic? Maybe it is the fantastic weather, the tremendous community support, the new Quarter Marathon or the unbelievable mountain backdrop setting. Whatever it is, the registration numbers for the Arizona Distance Classic Half Marathon, Inaugural Quarter Marathon and the Oro Valley Hospital 5k are way up over last year. So far up in fact that we are increasing the registration cap to 3,000 participants.

If you register by November 30th you will receive the lowest price for the event. There are NO additional fees to register online. The price you see is what you pay! REGISTER NOW!

This is the ULTIMATE CELEBRATION EXPERIENCE - Plenty of parking at the start and finish, great aid stations, amazing courses and a fantastic spread of finish line food. This is the destination event you have heard about!

As one participant wrote, "The Race was a blast and the scenery was amazing...It lives up to all the hype!"

NOTE: As of November 15th, our room block is 70% sold out!

Our exclusive VIP Upgrade location is the Hilton Tucson El Conquistador Resort. We were able to secure a limited number of rooms at the $159 price. These rooms come with a FREE VIP UPGRADE.

You will have total VIP access! You get two credentials into the VIP Tent for breakfast and private porta potties. You will also receive the Mizuno half zip official jacket ($70 value). To make this deal completely over the top, we will actually have your VIP Goodybag waiting for you when you check into the resort. Reserve your VIP Room Now!

Check out the video of the resort we made when we stayed there in July.

As I mentioned in the Emerald City newsletter back in August, prior to creating running and walking events, I was a lawyer in the technology space. Our clients were always looking for the "NEXT BIG THING" and then "running" as hard as they could to develop it. Sometimes it was right in front of them, sometimes they had to work very hard to find it. When we bought the Chicago Distance Classic back in 2002 it was a 20k (12.4 miles). The original plan was to develop a series of 20k's. Can you say "8 track player"?

I was lucky enough to be smack dab in our target demographic and was preparing to run my first half marathon. I had little interest in running 26.2 miles but I liked the "full half" marathon 13.1 mile idea. We changed Chicago to a half marathon and in a few years had over 10,000 participants. We then created the Capital City and Arizona Distance Classic half marathons which have experienced tremendous growth. Now the half marathon is the most popular distance on the planet. It WAS the next big thing and is now an established stand alone distance. The "HALF" has become the new "FULL". Can you say "IPOD"?

When we launched the Emerald City Half and Quarter Marathon (6.55 miles) on Labor Day Weekend in Columbus Ohio, we had no idea of the overwhelming popularity of the QUARTER distance. However, looking back, the Next Big Thing was right in front of us. It makes perfect sense. You need to train well, need a race plan and can enjoy all of the Celebration afterwards. It makes our events even more accessible. This is not just half of a half marathon, this is a FULL quarter marathon. In 2011 we have added THE QUARTER to Capital City, Arizona and other stops on the CELEBRATION TOUR! Can you say "IPAD"?

On March 27th, come CELEBRATE with us. You are part of the NEXT big thing. The QUARTER has become the new HALF.

Full Course videos and spectator videos are all up at the Facebook Fan Page for the Arizona Distance Classic.

If you have any event questions, photos, comments or suggestions post them on the Facebook page and we will answer them for everyone to see.

The ULTIMATE boutique event gets better and bigger every year thanks to all of your support.

Come let us Celebrate YOU!

David