Registration Opens for 'Across the Bay 10K' Chesapeake Bay Bridge Run, Today

Registration for the Across the Bay 10K, which will enable runners to traverse the historic Chesapeake Bay Bridge for the first time in eight years, opens at 12:01 a.m. this Saturday (Nov. 9) at bridgerace.com.

Race organizers anticipate registering as many as 20,000 runners before race day on Nov. 9, 2014. With a course that includes the entire 4.35-mile length of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, the Across the Bay 10K offers runners one of the longest and highest over-water spans in road racing.

A special pre-registration program has already signed up 5,000 runners and the race's Facebook page (facebook.com/10kacrossthebay) has more than 14,500 followers.

"We're hearing a lot of excitement and anticipation about general registration opening Saturday," said Peter Paris of St. Michaels, co-founder of the race with Sparrow Rogers, also of St. Michaels. "We've had so much positive feedback about this event, in large part because for the first time since 2006 runners from throughout Maryland, D.C. and Virginia will be able to cross the Chesapeake Bay from atop this landmark bridge here on the Eastern Shore. They don't want to miss this unique and exhilarating opportunity."

The cost to enter the race is $60 per runner with a discounted rate of $50 for members of the military. Runners are encouraged to fundraise for charity and last week two charities were selected to benefit from the race, Bosom Buddies Charities in Queen Anne's County, and the Yellow Ribbon Fund, a national organization based in Bethesda, Md.

The race gives each charity a beneficiary package worth $50,000 in partnership with the event. Race organizers are confident event participants will eclipse this amount with their own pledging and fundraising effort.

Earlier this month, race organizers announced that Dave McGillivray, one of the top race directors in the U.S., will oversee the event with his team at DMSE Sports, a race management firm he founded in 1981. McGillivray directs the B.A.A. Boston Marathon and more than 25 other sports events, including other iconic U.S. road races such as the New Balance Falmouth Road Race on Cape Cod and the TD Beach to Beacon 10K in Maine. He is considered a legend in the running world for his race management skills as well as his personal feats of endurance, including his groundbreaking run across the U.S. for charity in 1978.

The 6.2-mile point-to-point course will take runners over the 4.35-mile Chesapeake Bay Bridge, which reaches 186 feet at its tallest point. When opened in 1952, the bridge was the world's longest continuous over-water steel structure. The parallel span was added in 1973. The heavily traveled bridge links Virginia, D.C. and Baltimore to coastal communities such as Ocean City, Md., Rehoboth Beach, Del. and the Eastern Shore. Annual traffic on the bridge is estimated at about 30 million vehicles.

Across the Bay 10K group registrations and sponsorships are available by e-mailing the race organizers at info@bridgerace.com.

For almost three decades, the annual Bay Bridge Walk and Governor's Bay Bridge Run gave thousands of walkers and runners the opportunity to cross the bridge on foot. Due to escalating costs and other factors, the last event took place in 2006 and was later permanently canceled by MdTA.

About Chesapeake Bay Bridge Run LLC
Chesapeake Bay Bridge Run, LLC is a Maryland-based partnership founded by Peter Paris and Sparrow Rogers. The Across the Bay 10K will be hosted by Live Work Play in QA, the State of Maryland and the Annapolis Visitors Bureau.

About DMSE Sports, Inc
Founded by Dave McGillivray in 1981, DMSE Sports is a leader in sports event management, specializing in creating, marketing and producing mass participatory athletic events throughout the U.S. and abroad. DMSE manages the B.A.A. Boston Marathon, the TD Beach to Beacon in Maine, the New Balance Falmouth Road Race on Cape Cod, the Finish at the 50 at Patriot Place, Run for the Dream in Williamsburg, Va., the Bellin Run in Green Bay, Wis., and the Boston Marathon Jimmy Fund Walk, among others. Over $100 million collectively has been raised in events McGillivray and DMSE Sports have managed over the past 30 years.

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