New Bedford Half Marathon

In our continuing efforts to offer the very best to our racers, we now use the D-Tag timing system. You can read a complete FAQ about the timing system here…

One of the many goals of the ChronoTrack system is to simplify the timing process for athletes. A single-use tag eliminates the need for several organizational choke points that allow the athletes to spend more time focusing on their competition and less time waiting in lines. Shorter lines before the race to pick up your bib and chip and no line to return your tag or chip afterward are just some of the benefits to the ChronoTrack system.

The D-tag is easy to attach your shoe and is far lighter and less intrusive than other timing tags and chips. Once the D-tag is attached to your shoe, you will quickly forget that it is even there! Instructions for attaching the D-Tag to your shoe are available here.

Key Benefits

Start and Finish Timing
Single-use Tag
Accurate Time
No Fees for lost or unreturned tags
Less hassle post race
Lighter, Less intrusive tag
Easier to attach to shoe
No pre-race check-in
No complicated or time-consuming post-race tag turn-in

Timing Start Mats and End Mats

In previous races, we’ve only had “end mats” to track your race time as you pass over the finish line – but starting this year, we’re now going to have “start mats” as well.

Start Mats are expected to help ensure accurate timing of your race result even if you get out of the start gate a little bit slowly. With thousands of runners starting off at the same moment, it can take a couple of minutes to get through the start gate if you’re at the back of the pack. This year – don’t worry. We’ve got you covered with the addition of the start mats!

Race Results from CoolRunning.com – HERE

Photos – HERE

With a field of over 2100 runners in the 2009 New Bedfod Half Marathon, newcomer Pat Tarpy won the men’s race with a time of 1:03:27. Heidi Westerling (last year’s winner in the women’s) won again this year with a time of 1:11:35.

Men’s:
Runner # 1660 – Patrick Tarpy – Providence, RI – 1:03:27
Runner # 1880 – Joseph Koech – Melrose, MA – 1:05: 14
Runner # 2094 – Derese Deniboba – Bronx, NY – 1:06:20

Women’s:
Runner # 1462 – Heidi Westerling – Acworth, NH – 1:11:35
Runner # 813 – Kristin Barry – Scarborough, ME 1:17:43
Runner # 1659 – Stephanie Reilly – Whitensville, MA – 1:17:46

New Bedford Resident Winners:
Male: Runner # 1763 – Scott Anderson – New Bedford, MA – 1:17:02
Female: Runner # 1764 – Chrissy Anderson – New Bedford, MA – 1:27:54

Complete Race Results are now available at CoolRunning.com – please follow this link…

Spectators and others visiting Downtown New Bedford for the Half Marathon Road Race on March 15 will get a special treat this year – a “Downtown Restaurant Run.” Restaurants, pubs and sandwich shops will be offering free samples of their specialties. Not to be outdone, Downtown retailers will feature race day discounts and Downtown museums will be open free to the public. The event is being sponsored by Downtown New Bedford, Inc., in cooperation with race sponsors Friendly Sons of St. Patrick and the City of New Bedford.

Downtown New Bedford, Inc. Executive Director, Diane Nichols, explained that the Restaurant Run event and the Half Marathon just seemed like a perfect fit. “Downtown New Bedford is so alive now,” she commented. “Race day offers a perfect opportunity for us to show off our great dining establishments and unique shops. We want our visitors to experience what a fun and friendly place this is.”

Click to visit Downtown New Bedford Inc. for more information.

The list of participating restaurants and pubs includes: Brick (pizza); Cafe Arpeggio; Catwalk Bar and Grille, Cork Wine & Tapas Bar, Destination Soup, Freestone’s City Grill,  The Green Bean cafe, Hibernia Irish Pub, No Problemo Mexican Restaurant,  On-A-Roll Specialty Sandwiches,  Pour Farm Tavern, Rose Alley Ale House,  Spicy Lime Thai Cuisine and Travessia Winery. Participating retailers and museums include: The Bay/Cottage Clothing, be jeweled, The Bedford Merchant, Blush Beauty Bar, Calico, Carter’s Clothing, Celia’s Boutique, Elaine’s Home of the  Black Whale, Gallery X, Judith Klein Gallery, Arthur Moniz Gallery Moby Dick Retail, TL6  the Gallery, Vetu Consignment and Gifts, and the Whaling Museum.

Maps showing the locations of all participating venues and their individual offerings  are available at each location and on our web-site at www.downtownnb.org. Attendees getting their maps stamped at  the businesses on the map will have their names entered in a lottery with great  prizes donated by sponsoring businesses:  Cape Air- 2 roundtrip tickets NB to MV,  New England Fast Ferry -4 roundtrip tickets;   Hampton Inn -overnight stay, Whaling City Expeditions & Waterfront Grille-harbor tour for 4 and $50 gift certificate; Cork Wine & Tapas Bar-$50. gift certificate – Family 4 Pack of passes to the Whaling Museum,  Buttonwood Park Zoo, and Oceans 18 Indoor Black Light Mini Golf.

The event will begin at noon and continue to 4:00 pm with some merchants opening earlier and/or closing later. Free parking will be available at both the Elm St. and Zeiterion garages as well as at the Custom House Square parking lot.

For additional information, contact Diane Nichols at 508-990-2777 or dnichols@downtownnb.org.

New Bedford Half Marathon can expect some guest appearances from national and local celebrities

Runners and their supporters of this year’s New Bedford Half Marathon can expect some guest appearances from some national and local celebrities beginning with pre-registration at the YMCA on Saturday afternoon, the day before the March 15th race. Rick and Dick Hoyt of Team Hoyt and Biggest Loser celebrities Marc and Jay Kruger will be running the 13.1 mile race. They will also meet and greet runners and their families at pre-registration at the YMCA on Saturday afternoon. And, two-time Boston Marathon winner and current New Bedford Half Marathon record holder Geoff Smith will also be playing a role in the 32nd running of the Half Marathon.

Team Hoyt plans to be at the March 14th pre-registration, selling copies of their book, from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. (Registration begins at 12 p.m.) Dick and Rick Hoyt are the father-and-son team that has been running every kind of road race, from 5K’s to Iron Man triathlons for over 25 years. Rick, a quadriplegic since birth, has been the inspiration of Team Hoyt as Dick pushes and pulls him in a specially-designed wheelchair in races around the country. Their message is one of inclusion of the disabled in every arena and the Hoyt Foundation raises money to educate the able-bodied about the challenges that the disabled face every day. They will be running the New Bedford Half Marathon in preparation for the Boston Marathon in April which, if all goes according to plan, will be their 1,000th road race.

Also on hand at pre-registration will be Marc and Jay Kruger, two local brothers who became famous last year when they competed on NBC’s reality competitive weight-loss program

“The Biggest Loser.” A year after their participation on the show, the Kruger brothers have continued their physical fitness regimens and are becoming familiar faces on the local race circuit. Thirty-six-year-old Marc Kruger lives in Dartmouth while 32-year-old Jay Kruger lives in New Bedford.

And, international running legend Geoff Smith has also agreed to participate on race day. Smith is expected to be available to talk to runners during the post-race award ceremonies at Carney Academy Elementary School. Smith is a two-time Boston Marathon winner and competed in the Olympics for Great Britain in 1980 and 1984.

This is the 32nd running of the New Bedford Half Marathon which is rated one of the top 25 half-marathons in the country by Runner’s World magazine. Organizers are expecting over 2,000 runners to participate in the race.

Pre-registration takes place on Saturday, March 14th from 12:00 to 4:00 at the New Bedford YMCA located at 25 S. Water Street, New Bedford.

The New Bedford Half Marathon is hosted by The Friendly Sons of Saint Patrick. Presenting Sponsor is Eagle Industries.

The graphic (below) is the one that will be used on this year’s shirts.

It features our new New Bedford Half Marathon logo, the Friendly Sons of Saint Patrick name (race hosts/organizers) and most importantly, the logo of Eagle Industries our Presenting Sponsor (thank you Eagle Industries!!!!).

Hope to see you all at the race! Be sure to volunteer and get yourself a shirt!

Eagle Industries - Presenting Sponsor

Team Hoyt

The New Bedford Half Marathon Committee has received the exciting news that Team Hoyt (The Father & Son duo of Dick and Rick Hoyt) are going to be running in our race this year.

This will be one of their last training races prior to the Boston Marathon in April. A truly empowering story, the Hoyt’s have now competed in over 65 Marathons and multiple Ironman Triathlons.

This year will be their 27th Boston Marathon and if the timing is correct, the Boston race will be their 1,000th race together.

We here on the New Bedford Half Marathon Committee are proud to have Team Hoyt in our field and we are lucky to be a part of this historic year and their tremendous accomplishment!

The Friendly Sons is pleased to announce that Eagle Industries are the Presenting Sponsors for this year’s event. [visit Eagle Industries website]

The following is an Eagle Industries press release concerning the sponsorship decision:

New Bedford Half Marathon – March 15th 2009

Eagle Industries is proud to be the premier sponsor for the New Bedford Half Marathon taking place Sunday March 15th 2009.  This year will be the 32nd annual running of the New Bedford Half Marathon. This historic race starts in front of City Hall Square and takes the runners on a scenic and challenging run through city streets closed to automotive traffic throughout the entire 13.1-mile course. The race showcases much of what New Bedford has to offer, runners pass historic mansions owned by Whaling Captains of the 18th and 19th century as well as two City parks designed by Frederick Law Olmsted. The runners will face a strong and punishing head wind and be rewarded for that with a forgiving tailwind as they head out and return on the Peninsula of West and East Rodney French Boulevard as they pass the Historic Ft. Rodman / Ft. Taber waterfront stronghold. This race is more than a historic look at the city, this is a world-class half marathon and positioned each year on the third Sunday of March, it is a great speed-training race for the Boston Marathon, which follows in April on Patriots Day in Boston.

This year’s race is recognized by USA Track and Field New England as a Grand Prix series event. The 7 race Grand Prix series brings 500+ members of USA T&F recognized clubs to the field of runners, which helps elevate the level of competition and increase the exposure of this storied event.

Another item of importance in the 2009 race is the involvement of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick. This all-volunteer non-profit community service organization has agreed to take over the race and act as a steward of the event for the community. Proceeds from the race will help the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick increase the amount of goodwill they are able to share in the local community. As an organization their focus is on spreading the pride of their Irish heritage along with community services including blood bank drives, Food for the needy, Scholarships to local high school seniors among many other activities. The Friendly Sons were honored to be selected to replace the founding members of the race committee and look forward to maintaining the quality and consistency that thousands of runners and spectators have come to expect over the last three decades.

Founded as a sewing company in a basement in Missouri, Eagle Industries remains family-owned and has grown over the past 30 years to five production facilities employing over 2,400 people.  Eagle’s ability to design and manufacture top quality products for our military and first responders has earned the company a reputation as a world leader in highly technical nylon gear.  This consistent growth in an otherwise struggling U.S. manufacturing industry has allowed Eagle to continue to expand its operations and provide new employment opportunities in all of its facilities.

Eagle acquired the manufacturing facility in New Bedford, MA in November of 2007.  The company implemented major improvements to working conditions within the plant, provided a wage increase to all workers and has hired more than 50 new employees over the past year. In an uncertain economy, Eagle has provided job stability to hundreds of workers in New Bedford. Eagle is excited to be in New Bedford, and forging good working relationships within the community.

“Our experience in New Bedford has been outstanding.” Said Scott Carver, Eagle Vice-President. “The city of New Bedford, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and Congressional delegation have given us incredible support. We have found a workforce here in New Bedford that is second to none.   Eagle has been seeking ways to increase our involvement in the community and is pleased to work with the Sons of St. Patrick by sponsoring the New Bedford Half Marathon.  We believe it is a significant event for the city that helps attract people from all over the region to see the unique natural and historic assets of this area and we look forward to a great race.”

[visit Eagle Industries website]

Hello readers and welcome to our brand new website!

The New Bedford Half Marathon is hosted by The Friendly Sons of Saint Patrick – a New Bedford based Irish-American cultural organization. We are a non-profit 501 (c) 3 organization.

As an organization, we are actively involved in our community by way of food drives, toy drives, student scholarships and other community oriented charitable activities. Proceeds that will be raised in the operation on the annual New Bedford Half Marathon will be spent in the New Bedford area helping those in need.

We’ll be posting occasional news and updates on our progress in planning and organizing this year’s race. We hope you stay tuned.

Please let us know (by commenting in this blog) if you need help, have specific race related questions or have ideas to help make our half marathon even better!

Best wishes to you all!