Get in Gear Adds Half-Marathon to Its Race Roster
32nd edition, Minnesota's "Annual Rite of Spring", set for April 25

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By Ryan Lamppa, Running USA wire
Posted Friday, 13 February, 2009

MINNEAPOLIS - (Feb. 4, 2009) - Get in Gear, celebrating its 32nd edition, has added a half-marathon (the fastest growing distance in the U.S.) to its 2009 race roster. The "Annual Rite of Spring" in Minnesota, set for Saturday, April 25, Get in Gear also offers a 10K, 5K and 2K. All events will be held at Minnehaha Park in Minneapolis.

Although there are no limits for participation in the 2K, 5K and signature 10K, the half-marathon will be limited to 1,000 participants this first year.

"We are extremely excited and proud to be able to offer a half-marathon to our family of events to make Minnesota's Annual Rite of Spring truly an event that has something for everyone," said Paulette Odenthal, executive director. "We think the half-marathon will fill the need of the long distance runner who needs the distance as a benchmark for their spring marathon or as a challenge for runners working toward the marathon."

The prize purse for the 10K, which attracts more than 4,000 runners, features $1000, $750 and $500 for first, second and third place Open men and women, plus $250 each for the first Minnesota male and female. The Masters purse is $500, $250 and $100 for first, second and third place men and women, respectively.

The Get in Gear 10K was first created in 1978 as a means to spark interest in fitness. In its first year, over 6,000 participated and from this initial response, the race has been a fixture on the spring running calendar as well as Minnesota's largest 10K race. The 2K was added in 1988 with an educational component for kids' fitness through the Fit for Fun Youth Running Program. The 5K distance was included in 2005 to meet the needs of the recreational and beginner runner.

The Get in Gear family of races is organized by Get in Gear, Inc., a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. Registration is now open for all events at GetinGear10K.com. For more information, contact the Get in Gear hotline at (612) 722-9004.