The Long Beach International City Bank Marathon & Half Marathon recently announced that Volkswagen of American has signed on as the Official Automotive Partner of Southern California’s premier fall marathon event.

The two-year agreement with Volkswagen includes sponsorship of the  Volkswagen 26.2 Bike Tour, a major interactive display in the two-day Health and Fitness Expo and a large Fan Festival at the Finish Line.  Volkswagen will also showcase their global “Think Blue” sustainability campaign, an initiative to promote eco-friendly mobility and progressive ideas for responsible action in everyday life.

We are excited to work with Volkswagen and can not wait for this years’ event! See you at the start line in 149 days!

We’ve received many questions about when the registration for the the Aquarium of the Pacific Kids Fun Run will open, and we are excited to announce that we will be opening registration for this fun event on June 1, 2012.

This fun event that takes place the day before the Marathon has filled up in the past and we wanted to give everyone the heads up to mark their calendars to remember to register!

We look forward to another great event! Make sure to check out the special event page for more information on the Aquarium of the Pacific Kids Fun Run and we hope you join us this year.

Have you heard about the Beach Cities Challenge? You can find out all the information on our Beach Cities Challenge link, but we wanted to make sure you took a moment to check it out! Pacific Coast Highway never looked so good! Conquer the Beach Cities Challenge by completing any combination of full or half marathons at the Surf City marathon, the OC Marathon and the Long Beach International City Bank Marathon. Run all three in a row and receive a fabulous medal!

Qualifying Series Events

Events must be completed in consecutive order to qualify for the medal. Start the challenge at any of these three events in 2011, and complete the next two in a row and receive the Beach Cities Challenge Medal.

If you ran Surf City in 2012, you are already one-third of the way there as Surf City 2012 counts as a qualifying race.

More Information about The Beach Cities Challenge! Click your way over to the Beach Cities Challenge Page!

All the rules and any questions you might have are also listed on the Beach Cities Challenge Page. We hope you join us and take the Beach Cities Challenge!

This morning we were lucky enough to score some time on KTLA 5! We got to discuss the awesome and FREE Aquarium of the Pacific Kids Fun Run, which is one mile and takes place on Saturday, October 16th! There are 300 spots left in this fun run and each finisher will get a finishers certificate and a medal. There will be Aquarium sea creatures throughout the race and all kids get FREE entry into the Aquarium!

Make sure you register your child today to reserve their spot as it’s filling up quick!

Here’s the video from KTLA 5!

Also, we got the chance to talk about partnering with a group of soldiers in Iraq from Long Beach! At first it was a small group on base who wanted a taste of the Marathon over in Iraq and it’s participants continue to grow! There is a group that will be joining us from afar in Iraq on Marathon morning. They are doing the half marathon on the same exact day that we are running it. They have gotten special race t-shirts, banners, goodie bags and will be receiving medals as well. We are so excited to have them partnering with us from afar and are proud of them and all they do for our country!

4 more days!

Make sure to find us on Facebook for the latest news and also on Twitter!

Long Beach is 85% FULL!

Limited space is left in all events! We’ll be registering people until we are sold out, but don’t delay and miss your spot on the start line! Online registration will close October 13th which is NEXT WEDNESDAY! Don’t wait!

Not a runnner? Check out our volunteer page to learn more and sign up!

http://www.runlongbeach.com

Also, check out Buono’s Pizzaria Mamma Mia Carbo Load Dinner Feast! On Saturday, October 16th at 205 W. Ocean Blvd, Long Beach from 5 pm to 7:30 pm. Buono’s – the Official Pizza of the Long Beach International City Bank Marathon is again offering their “All You Can Eat” Mamma Mia Carbo-Load Dinner Feast! Menu Includes: Garden Salada and an Assortment of Breads Assortment of Traditional & Gourmet Pizza Appetizers Farfalle Alfredo with Chicken & Broccoli Penne Arrabbiata with Mushroom Baked Rigatoni Al Forno Ziti with Sundried Tomato & Mushroom Unlimited Soft Drinks, Iced Tea and Lemonade All for only $16.99! Buono’s is walking distance from the Hyatt and other downtown hotels. Free validated parking. Call 562-432-2211 for reservations.

Run Forrest Run! Join Forrest at the Bubba Gump Run Forrest Run 5K on Marathon Sunday! Are you ready to be treated to one of the best 5Ks around? Join Forrest Gump for the Bubba Gump Run Forrest Run 5K and all the festivities on Marathon Sunday! With a great, fun course, enjoy walking or running with a delicious lunch provided by Bubba Gump at the finish line. Make sure you register ONLINE TODAY!

JetBlue Baggage Claim While you are out running the race, your personal items will be safe with the JetBlue Baggage Check. Please bring the red goodie bag that you will be given at the Health and Fitness Expo to be used for your Baggage Claim Bag. The JetBlue Baggage Claim drop off will be located in Rainbow Lagoon next to the pre-race porta-potties. Look for “JetBlue Baggage Claim” signs. After the race, JetBlue Baggage Claim pick up will be in the same location. We DO NOT recommend that you store any valuables, and are not responsible for any lost personal items

Clif Bar Pace Team The CLIF BAR Pace Team is excited to be the official Pace Team of the Long Beach International City Bank Marathon! How It Works: Each Pace Leader will run even splits (every mile will be run in the same amount of time) throughout the marathon, and by following your Pace Team leader, you’ll cross the line under two minutes of your goal finishing time. We’ll have Pace Teams for the following finish times: 3:10, 3:20, 3:30, 3:40, 3:50, 4:00, 4:15, 4:30, 5:00, and 5:30. Meet Your Pacer: You can meet your Pace Team leader before the race at the marathon expo. Race Day: At the expo, they’ll let you know where everyone will be meeting on race morning. They’ll be lined up according to pace and holding signs up with the finish times. Need more info? Learn more about the Clif Bar Pace Team here, www.clifbar.com/play/pace_team/

Inspire Others With Your Story!

Lately, as race day quickly approaches, many people are asking us when the “deadline” for registration is. While there is not a technical ‘deadline’ it’s when all events sell out, which should be about a week before race day, but one cannot predict when this will happen. Waiting that long is a gamble though, because with events filling up fast, and no real exact day of when the events sell out, we can’t promise you entry into any event if you don’t register now. Just a warning we are at 82% full. This is for all events including the Aquarium of the Pacific Free Kids Fun Run and the 5k, Half Marathon, 26.2 Bike Tour and Full Marathon. We do hope you join us this year though, as it will be one to remember!

Also, since many people registered earlier in the year, injuries have been reported during training. We get about 10-15 emails a day requesting a refund or roll-over. We are runners too and understand how upsetting injuries can be and how unexpected they can happen. Sadly, the last day to request these changes was on August 31st and we really can’t make any more changes or exceptions since we are past that date. We understand that you registered a while ago and that injuries aren’t planned. We are very sorry about this, but we hope you understand. If you want to learn more about roll overs and registration please visit the registration page here.

We are also hearing great stories of so many people training and hitting new mileage milestones and we know it will payoff come race day! We are getting so excited for race day and know that this year will stand out from years past. This past week we got our mile markers for the course. They are going to look great out on course and we have a special surprise for that big white section. Hopefully it will take your mind off the miles you’ve ran and can help you focus on how far you’ve come to your goal!

We have really put on our runners thinking caps to make it a race that is runner friendly and something that everyone will be proud of. 26 days and counting!

RUN ON!

We’ve got a new look, a new web page and we are ready to roll this year to make Long Beach the best experience yet! We’re here excited to share some secrets of race management, more about our race and ready to pump you up about running Long Beach!

We are excited that you’ll be joining us this year on October 17th and know it will be a great experience for all runners, walkers, bikers, spectators and volunteers. Still looking to volunteer? We ALWAYS are looking for more, and your help would be truly appreciated. Please email  Phyllis Blanchard, our Volunteer Coordinator at pblanchard@runracing.com for more information and how to make a difference this year.

Get ready for a fun and exciting time in your life whether this is your first half or 20th full, we’ll see you in Long Beach!

RUN on!