Details on Meet Me Downtown

On behalf of the Southern Arizona Roadrunners, we thank you for signing up for the June 2nd TMC Meet Me Downtown Night Run and Walk, staged at 200 South Sixth Avenue in Downtown Tucson.  Please remember that the race takes place rain or shine, so be ready to rock next Saturday night!!  At this late date, there are no reimbursements.

Please remember, too, that because of Downtown construction, we’ve changed the race location to 200 South Sixth Avenue, in front of the Children’s Museum and across from Armory Park.  We’re closing Sixth Avenue, Stone Avenue and all the other race streets to all traffic, so you’ll have a fast course with lots of evening shade.  There should be plenty of free Downtown street parking.  See the Downtown Tucson Partnership site for help on navigating construction and finding a place to park.

Below is a schedule of the weekend’s activities, plus additional notes.

Friday, June 1st: 6:00 – 8:00 pm
Wine and Cheese Happy Hour, In-Person Registration, and Packet Pick-Up on Friday night from 6:00- 8:00 pm at The Running Shop (3055 North Campbell).  Meet our special guest from Runner’s World, the running pied-piper and world-renowned writer Amby Burfoot, who will chat and sign books.  (You can also see Amby on KGUN Channel 9’s Morning Blend on Friday, June 1st.)  We’ve never done a social time like this, so we have no idea what to expect.  We don’t know how many will show up, so we’ve ordered food and drink for about 150 from Pastiche Modern Eatery and Wine Bar. . . .

Saturday, June 2nd
10:00am -1:00pm: Packet pick-up and additional registration at The Running Shop (3055 North Campbell, north of Glenn)
5:00-6:30:  Packet pick-up and additional registration at the race site at the Children’s Museum, 200 South Sixth Avenue.  Our sponsors, vendors, and beneficiaries will be available for visits all night.
5:30:  Children’s activities (imagination blocks in the courtyard, face painting, bubbles, and other fun stuff)  begin in the grass area in front of the Children’s Museum, hosted by the Children’s Museum and Tucson Medical Center
6:30:  LeeAnne Savage & Her ROCKSTAR Band starts – check out her performance last week on the Morning Blend
6:45:  Comments by Ross Zimmerman, Julia Strange from TMC, and Amby Burfoot
7:00:  Race start, band rocks on —runners and walkers welcome (strollers welcome, but no other wheels and no animals, please!).  Be sure to smile for the cameras.  All the way from Houston, official race photographers http://www.prphotoshots.com  will snap you out on the course, then you can view and purchase your race photos at their site.  After the race, get your free photo taken by local company PhotoFunBooth - see http://www.photofunbooth.com.
7:15:  Post-race includes fruit and granola snacks from Sunflower Market, cold drinks from Body Armor, and water from Culligan Water—plus fire tricks by local troupe Elemental Artistry and the first-ever Running Race Tucson Food Trucks, with some awesome food to purchase, including pizza, barbeque, Hawaiian shaved ice, cup cakes, and other great munchies. 
8:30 (approx):  Begin awards and raffles – thanks to The Running Shop, Human Kinetics Press, and a few Downtown merchants for providing raffle items
8:30 (approx):  Free showing of The Muppets, courtesy of race beneficiary Cinema La Placita, in La Placita Village at 110 South Church Street
8:30 and onwards:  Bring your bib number to post-race party at Hotel Congress and Maynard’s Kitchen – Hotel Congress is providing a live band on its patio, plus food and drink discounts.  For a quieter post-race experience, head over to Maynard’s Kitchen for additional food and drink discounts. 

Other items:
It will be hot!!  Please use common sense on race night to remain cool – wear light clothes, stay hydrated, and slow down if you need to.  The course will have two Culligan Water Stations, plus WaterMart fresh ice to keep you cool.  Experts say that staying hydrated keeps your core body temperature down, so if possible bring your own water to keep you cool!

Thanks to you and our great sponsors, over $25,000 is being raised for local non-profits: Children’s Museum, Tucson; Museum of Contemporary Art, Tucson; Child and Family Resources; Educational Enrichment Foundation; Cinema La Placita; Greater Tucson Leadership; Imagine Greater Tucson; Critical Path Institute’s PKD Foundation; Southern Arizona Roadrunners; Fox Theatre; and Child and Family Resources.

We all depend on a healthy local economy, so be sure to visit with our sponsor tables at the race site:
Tucson Medical Center
The Running Shop
Caliente and the Arizona Daily Star
Tucson Lifestyle
Providence Service Corporation and Second Saturdays
The law firm of Snell and Wilmer
Body Basics
AAA Arizona
Motorola MotoACTV
Cox Communications
Downtown Tucson Partnership
Hotel Congress
Sunflower Market
Body Armor Sports Drinks
Culligan Water

Gabe Zimmerman Triple Crown details: we will send a special email to all Gabe Zimmerman registrants, but everyone who registers for the 2012 Gabe Zimmerman Triple Crown will receive the new Run Tucson shirt and the special first-leg Triple Crown finisher’s medal.  All Triple Crown registrants can pick up their race rewards at the Gabe Zimmerman Triple Crown table on Saturday night at the race.

Those of you coming from out of town might want to stay at the Hotel Tucson City Center for only $59. Just mention that you’re with the Southern Arizona Roadrunners.  Contact Hotel Tucson City Center, an InnSuites Boutique Collection Hotel at 475 N. Granada Ave.  Call 520-622-3000, ext 808

Thank you!
Thanks to Dave Hill for measuring and certifying the new course and special thanks to Rural Metro/Southwest Ambulance for providing an ambulance on race night.  We’re grateful, too, to the City of Tucson and the Tucson Police Department for allowing us to close some of our major Downtown thoroughfares.  Ajax Barricades and Desert Barricades have helped ensure all of our road closures, too.

Whew – that’s a lot of information, we know, but if you’ve read this far you should be well-prepared for a great weekend!

Tia and I thank you very much for signing up – we’ll see you out there . . . .

—Randy Accetta