Half Marathon Promotes at Fox Cities Marathon

Last weekend, Door County Half Marathon co-founder Dave Eliot connected with more than 500 runners at the Community First Fox Cities Marathon.

The Door County Half Marathon booth featured information on the Half Marathon and general Door County information, as well videos about the Half Marathon and the course in scenic Peninsula State Park. Those videos can be viewed at http://www.doorcountyhalfmarathon.com. Registration for the May 1, 2010 race opens Nov. 1 and is capped at 1,200 runners for the Half Marathon and 400 for the Nicolet Bay 5k.

The Door County Half Marathon was created in 2008 as an event to bring visitors to the peninsula in the early spring season and promote the county to a new niche clientele. After two years, the event is already showing returns for local businesses. Last year’s Half Marathon boasted more than 1,000 registrants who filled motel rooms, coffee shops, and restaurants throughout Northern Door.

“We wanted to create an event that would bring people up here on a beautiful spring weekend that has traditionally been slow for business owners,” Eliot said.

Paul Woerfel, owner of the Homestead Suites in Fish Creek, had high praise for the impact the event has had in just two years.

“In my 28 years as an innkeeper in Door County, I’ve never seen any one new event have such an immediate impact on creating tourism in Northern Door County,” Woerfel said. “It has taken a weekend that was very slow and turned it on its ear.”

Over 500 brochures were distributed at the Fox Cities Marathon, in addition to hundreds of copies of Door County Living magazine and the Peninsula Pulse. For information on how your business can take advantage of this promotion by becoming a race sponsor, contact Race Director Brian Fitzgerald at [email protected] or 920.421.1518.

Race participants have raved about the event in online discussion boards and blogs, with several commenting specifically on the warm reception they received from local business owners and residents.

“…the Door County community also made my husband and me feel very welcome over the course of the weekend,” said Nancy Ziemba in a review on Active.com. “A nice touch, as it seemed that the community was well aware that the racers were in town.”