Competitor Magazine and Bad to the Bone Endurance Sports have joined forces to promote and grow the sport of ultra-distance running through its annual 100K-Ultra Race of Champions (UROC).
This new alliance with Competitor magazine reflects the race's mission to increase the sport's visibility in both the road and trail running market. While being open to all runners, the Ultra Race of Champions highlights the best athletes in the sport of ultra-distance running, offering up a 100K championship course comprised of smooth pavement, rocky trails and singletrack dirt.
“Competitor magazine is the ideal partner to present this competition to our desired readership; It represents a dream audience of on and off-road runners,” says UROC co-founder and race director Dr. Francesca Conte.
UROC co-founder and race director J. Russell Gill III echoes Conte’s sentiment. “By providing wide-reaching media exposure to a national network of athletes, Competitor will bring the sport into the limelight and showcase the Ultra Race of Champions in new and exciting ways. We are the very fortunate beneficiaries of the foresight shown by Competitor Group’s executive team who recognize that the Ultra Race of Champions is leading the charge to bring ultra running mainstream.”
“Ultra running represents a key growth area in recreational running” says Doug Kaplan, senior vice president of Competitor magazine, “and this event is right in the crosshairs of where the sport is going. UROC has quickly emerged as the top-tier event in the ultra running world, one poised to set new standards for competitiveness, prize money and overall exposure.”
No one knows this better than former Western States 100-Mile Endurance Run record holder Geoff Roes, also the Ultra Race of Champions (UROC) Elite Athlete Liaison and last year’s UROC’s men’s champion. “Until the Ultra Race of Champions, there had been no definitive ultra championship race . . . There is growing demand for an ultra running event that celebrates and encourages as many top level runners as possible to come together on the same course, on the same day, to compete in a true Championship race. In UROC, we finally have that event.”
That event returns to Wintergreen Resort, a premier four-season mountain-top resort on 11,000 acres in the heart of the Blue Ridge southwest of Charlottesville, Virginia. Wintergreen Resort caters to a diverse group of outdoor enthusiasts year-round and will this fall host elite runners from around the world as they battle for the $20,000 UROC 2012 cash purse.
“UROC is clearly one of North America’s most elite running events and Wintergreen Resort is excited to be the host venue for a second year,” said Todd Clarke, director of mountain operations for Wintergreen Resort. “We truly look forward to showcasing the surrounding beauty and challenging terrain of the Blue Ridge Mountains where our staff live, work, and play.”
The Ultra Race of Champions will take place on Saturday, Sept. 29, 2012. UROC 100K is open to runners of all abilities with registration through www.ultraroc.com. Elite runners should email J. Russell Gill at rungillrun@comcast.net or Geoff Roes at grroes@yahoo.com for more information. Additional event information and race updates can be found at www.ultraroc.com and www.running.competitor.com.
