Registration Still Open for Harvard Pilgrim 10K at Patriot Place, Set for Independence Day with 50-Yard-Line Finish Inside Gillette Stadium

Online registration until midnight June 30 at www.harvardpilgrim10k.com; late registration at Patriot Place

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (June 23, 2011) – Runners and families looking for a Fourth of July fitness activity can still register for the Harvard Pilgrim 10K at Patriot Place.

Online registration for the popular race – which received rave reviews last year from participants who relished the opportunity to finish the race at the 50-yard-line inside Gillette Stadium – will remain open until midnight Thursday, June 30 at www.harvardpilgrim10k.com.

After June 30, runners can register in person throughout the weekend at Patriot Place and on race day from 7-9 a.m. at the registration tent behind the Renaissance Hotel next to the Red Robin Restaurant.

“We recommend runners and walkers register online, it’s easier and a little cheaper,” said Mike St. Laurent of Loco Running, who is organizing the race, now in its second year, with Boston Marathon race director Dave McGillivray of DMSE Sports.

Online registration for the Harvard Pilgrim 10K at Patriot Place is $40 and late registration in person is $50. Families who wish to run together can also register online and compete for prizes.

“It’s all for a good cause – actually seven good causes,” said McGillivray. The charities that will benefit from the race proceeds include Camp Harbor View of the Boston Boys and Girls Clubs of Boston; the New England Patriots Charitable Foundation Scholarship Program; Massachusetts General Hospital; Make-A-Wish Foundation® of Massachusetts and Rhode Island; Special Olympics Massachusetts; Rebuilding Together Boston; Employ + Ability, and Prevent Blindness America.

“Independence Day is one of the most popular road racing days of the year,” added St. Laurent. “After taking part in the 10K run in the morning, runners can treat themselves to their traditional Fourth of July cookouts guilt free later in the day.”

Race organizers learned recently that Olympic Triathlete Jarrod Shoemaker will enter the race. Shoemaker is a two-time world champion and USA National Champion who competed in the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Runners who register online can pick up their t-shirt and runner packet at Patriot Place on Saturday (July 2) from 12-5 p.m., on Sunday (July 3) from 10-5 p.m., and on race day beginning at 7 a.m. at the registration tent behind the Renaissance Hotel next to the Red Robin Restaurant, where festivities surrounding the three-day event will take place. Parking is plentiful at Patriot Place throughout the weekend.

The July 4 race begins at 9 a.m. at Patriot Place, loops through historic Foxborough and ends inside Gillette Stadium. Runners will pass under a large inflatable football helmet and finish at the 50-yard line, where they can see themselves on the stadium’s two giant HDTV video screens. Last year more than 3,000 runners crossed the finish line.

On Sunday, July 3, the featured event is the Kids Fun Run inside Gillette Stadium at 4 p.m. with more than 1,000 kids expected to participate. Family and friends are invited to sit in the stands in the stadium to cheer on the young runners. Children 5 and under may be accompanied by an adult when they run. Throughout the afternoon of July 3, festivities include a scavenger hunt with prizes, health and fitness vendors, face painters, a balloonist and a temporary tattooist.

Participants in the Kids Fun Run will receive a free kid’s meal with the purchase of an adult meal at select Patriot Place restaurants, including Toby Keith's I Love This Bar and Grill, Bar Louie, Qdoba, Twenty8, Red Robin, Tavolino and CBS Scene. Participants must present a Kids Fun Run race bib at the restaurant. Children must be 10 years old or younger and one child per adult meal.

Legendary marathoner Bill Rodgers, a four-time Boston Marathon champ, will attend the events on Sunday, July 3 from 3-5 p.m. and be on hand to greet families coming for the Kids Fun Run. The next day, Rodgers also will join the field for the Harvard Pilgrim 10K at Patriot Place. The inspirational Team Hoyt with father, Dick Hoyt, and his son, Rick, will participate in the race as well. The Hoyts, with Dick pushing Rick, confined to a wheelchair since birth, have competed together in more than 1,000 athletic endurance events across the country since 1978 and strive to help those who are physically disabled become active members of the community.

Registration and additional information is available by visiting www.harvardpilgrim10k.com. Find race updates and information on Facebook at www.facebook.com/HarvardPilgrim10k.

The race is owned and managed by Professional Race Events, LLC, a collaboration between Mike St. Laurent of Loco Running (www.locorunning.com), and Dave McGillivray of DMSE Sports (www.dmsesports.com), who also directs the B.A.A. Boston Marathon, the TD Bank Beach to Beacon 10K in Maine and the Run Gloucester! 7-Mile Road Race in Mass.

About Harvard Pilgrim
Harvard Pilgrim is a not-for-profit health plan that provides a variety of insurance plan options and self-funding arrangements to more than one million members in Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine. For the third year in a row, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care is the highest-ranked health insurance plan for overall member satisfaction in the New England region, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2011 Member Health Insurance Plan StudySM. In addition, for the seventh consecutive year*, Harvard Pilgrim was named the #1 private health plan in America, according to an annual ranking of the nation’s best health plans by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA)**. For more information, please visit www.harvardpilgrim.org.

* NCQA’s Health Insurance Plan Rankings 2010-11 – Private ** U.S. News/NCQA America’s Best Health Insurance Plans 2005-2009 (annual)
About Harvard Pilgrim

About Patriot Place
Adjacent to Gillette Stadium, Patriot Place features more than 1.3 million square feet of shopping, dining, and entertainment. Visitors have access to major fashion retailers, live and interactive entertainment, eateries, a four-star hotel, state-of-the-art theatre and much more. For more information, visit www.patriot-place.com.

About DMSE Sports, Inc.
Founded by McGillivray in 1981, DMSE Sports, Inc. is a leader in sports event management, specializing in creating, marketing and producing mass-participatory athletic events throughout the U.S. and abroad. McGillivray has produced or consulted on more than 900 athletic events, including 24 Boston Marathons; the 2004 and 2008 USA Women’s Olympic Marathon Trials, the 1990 Triathlon World Championship, the 1998 Goodwill Games Triathlon, and the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games. For more info, visit www.dmsesports.com.

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Additional Media Contact: Sharon Torgerson, Harvard Pilgrim (617) 509 7458 Sharon_Torgerson@harvardpilgrim.org

Here is more information about DMSE Sports