Publix Georgia Marathon Community Update

February 15,2011

The following information is provided to inform the Atlanta and Decatur community about the upcoming Publix Georgia Marathon & Half Marathon, previously called the ING Georgia Marathon & Half Marathon, and to help people that live, work, and worship near the event plan their travel during race weekend, March 18-20, 2011.

Schedule of Events on Friday, March 18 - Sunday, March 20, 2011
• Health & Fitness Expo at the Georgia Dome - Friday 3/18/11 12 Noon-7pm and Saturday 3/19/11 10am-6pm. Free and open to the public. The Expo includes race packet pick-up, speakers, and approximately 100 fitness-oriented exhibitors and vendors.

• Run Wild 5K & Kids Fun Run at Grant Park - Saturday 3/19/12 7am-10:30am. Race day registration and packet pickup starts at 7am, the 5K starts at 8am, and the Kids Fun Run starts at 9am.

• Publix Georgia Marathon & Half Marathon - Sunday 3/20/11 7am - 2pm. Start-Finish at Centennial Olympic Park.

The Marathon & Half Marathon Course - Sunday, March 20, 2011
The Publix Georgia Marathon & Half Marathon course is the same in 2011 as in 2010. The race starts and finishes at Centennial Olympic Park and makes a counter-clockwise loop through in-town neighborhoods, by parks and historic sites, and through 4 college campuses.

• Approximately 80% of participants run the Half Marathon course, which is entirely within Atlanta/Fulton County. The Half Marathon participants will finish the race at Centennial Olympic Park by approximately 10:30am.

• The remaining 20% of participants run the Marathon course, which splits from the Half Marathon at the intersection of North Ave & N. Highland Ave, continues east to Decatur, and returns to Atlanta. The Marathon participants will finish the race at Centennial Olympic Park by 2pm.

To view detailed street closure and traffic information, go to www.GeorgiaMarathon.com, and hover on Community to view the following topics:

• Marathon Course - The Course Map shows the locations of the Start-Finish area, the Marathon and Half Marathon mile points, 19 Hydration Stations, MARTA stations, and other key information.

• Road Closure Info - The Street List and Traffic Lanes shows each street on the course, the lanes open to traffic and lanes reserved for runners, and the close/reopen times for each street. Traffic and Road Closures provides detailed information about access points that cross the course, key north-south and east-west streets inside the loop of the course, no parking zones, and travel suggestions for race day.
With this information, you can plan your travel on race day. Drivers near the race course are urged to plan your travel route to avoid crossing the race course, travel before the applicable street lanes are closed, or take MARTA, where possible.

MARTA
If a MARTA rail station is near your race day destination, taking MARTA rail can help you avoid traffic delays. Drive to one of the 23 MARTA Stations that have free daily parking and take the train. Go to www.itsmarta.com or call 404-848-5000 for MARTA information including the 23 MARTA stations with free daily parking.

Postcard Mailing
Each year about 3 weeks before the race, we send a Community Alert postcard to approximately 38,000 addresses in each postal carrier route along the course, to alert people about the upcoming race, direct them to the Community section at www.GeorgiaMarathon.com for street closure and driving information, and provide our email address and phone for questions.

Volunteers Needed
There are many volunteer opportunities for people who live and work in the community. Whether you like to volunteer inside, outdoors, on the course, or behind the scenes, we have many volunteer assignments available throughout race weekend. To view the volunteer jobs available, go to www.GeorgiaMarathon.com and click on Volunteers. Contact Jayne Nickell at jnickell@usroadsports.com with any questions about volunteering.

Questions? Need assistance with driving directions?
If the instructions in this email and on the website don't fully answer your questions about how to drive to your race day destination, please contact me with your start and end address and I will be happy to suggest an itinerary that will avoid the race course.

For churches and businesses, if your members and customers, respectively, had difficulty driving to your location during the 2010 Georgia Marathon, feel free to contact me with your address and I will be happy to suggest driving directions for you to communicate to your constituents.
For best results, please contact me in February, so that you have time to become familiar with the driving directions and, where applicable, communicate them to your constituents before the race.

You can reach me at progers@usroadsports.com or at 404-832-0786.

Thank you,
Peggy Rogers
Community Outreach Director