Downtown New Bedford, Inc. Executive Director, Diane Arsenault 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.”

The Restaurant Run participants are listed in a brochure/map that you can pick up at any of the participating venues and will be handed out by volunteers on race day (download brochure here – Part 1, Part 2 – PDF Format). You can start gathering your “stamps” in order to be eligible to win many great prizes that include the grand prize of round trip tickets from Cape Air or an overnight stay at the new Fairfield Marriott Inn and many other great gift certificates at any of the listed locations. A great place to start will be the National Park Visitors Center, located across from the Custom House Square parking lot. You can also pick up a pedometer at the front desk of the Visitors Center and see how far you go!

The list of participating restaurants, pubs and shops to date include: Brick; Cafe Arpeggio, Cafe Balena; Catwalk Bar & Grille; Celtic Coffee House; Cork Wine and Tapas Bar; Destination Soups; Freestone’s City Grille; Ginger Grille; Hibernia Irish Pub; On-A-Roll Sandwich Shop; Rose Alley Ale House; Travessia Winery; The Bay; be jeweled; Bedford Merchant; Carter’s Clothing; Elaine’s Home of the Black Whale; Judith Klein Art Gallery; Moby Dick Retail; Arthur Moniz Gallery; TL6 The Gallery; Vetu; NB Whaling Museum. Maps showing the locations of all participating venues will be available on site and in the week prior. Also can be downloaded at http://www.downtownnb.org. Attendees getting stamps form half the businesses on the map will have their names entered in a lottery with prizes donated by many of our downtown businesses. A complete listing is on the brochure.

The event will begin at noon and continue to 5:00 pm with some merchants opening earlier and 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 dnb@downtownnb.org.

In addition to the official post race meal served at the YMCA, there is also the “Restaurant Run” being hosted by Downtown New Bedford Inc. – Spectators and others visiting Downtown New Bedford for the Half Marathon Road Race on March 21 can compete in the“Restaurant Run.” Running is not required – walk or stroll to our restaurants, pubs and shops galleries and museums.

Many will be offering specials and race day discounts. The event is being sponsored by Downtown New Bedford, Inc., in cooperation with race sponsors The Friendly Sons of St. Patrick and the City of New Bedford.. [read about the Restaurant Run here]

Race Results will be posted at the YMCA along with age group trophies…

Date: Saturday, March 20, 2010
Time Noon to 4:00 p.m.
Place: YMCA
25 South Water St,
New Bedford, MA 02740 [map]

Date: Sunday, March 21, 2010
Time 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.
Place: YMCA
25 South Water St,
New Bedford, MA 02740 [map]

NOTE: NUMBERS ARE NOT TRANSFERRABLE

Team Hoyt is the inspirational story of a father, Dick Hoyt, and his son, Rick Hoyt, who compete together in marathons and triathlons across the country.  Team Hoyt strives to help those who are physically disabled become active members of the community. Join us in spreading Team Hoyt’s message, “Yes You Can!”

You can read more about Team Hoyt here…

Team Hoyt and Easter Seals:

On April 19, Boston sports legends Dick and Rick Hoyt will be running in their 28th Boston Marathon to benefit Easter Seals. The Hoyts have been loyal Easter Seals supporters for more than 35 years.

Click to visit Team Hoyt's Easter Seals Donation Page

Together, Team Hoyt + Team Easter Seals share the belief that children and adults with disabilities should have equal opportunities to live, learn, work and play even to compete in marathons if that’s where their dreams take them.

Be sure to ask your friends, family members, coworkers and employer to make a donation, too! We hope we can count on your support. And we hope you’ll be at the marathon on April 19 to cheer on Team Hoyt in their run for Easter Seals.

“Easter Seals has done a lot for the Hoyt family. We wanted to give something back.” – Dick Hoyt

On Friday November, 20th the 2010 USATF – New England Grand Prix Series was announced, the New Bedford Half marathon was selected to be a participating Grand Prix Race Event  – more to come..

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!

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…

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.

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.