Registration Still Open for Harvard Pilgrim Finish at the 50 - 5K & 10K at Patriot Place, Set for 6 p.m. July 3 with Free Fireworks Display after the Race

Online registration until Sunday, July 1, midnight at www.harvardpilgrimfinishatthe50.com; late registration in person at Patriot Place

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (June 27, 2012) – Online registration for the July 3 Harvard Pilgrim Finish at the 50 - 5K & 10K at Patriot Place will remain open until midnight on Sunday, July 1 at www.harvardpilgrim.org.

After online registration closes, runners may still register in person at Patriot Place on July 2 from 2 to 7 p.m. and on race day from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the registration tent, located behind the Renaissance Hotel and next to the Red Robin Restaurant.

“We would like to see runners – and walkers - register online, it’s easier and costs less too,” said Mike St. Laurent of Loco Running, who is organizing the race with Boston Marathon race director Dave McGillivray of DMSE Sports.

New this year, runners can choose either the traditional 10K, which winds through historic Foxborough, or the new 5K, which goes around Patriot Place and through Gillette Stadium, including the stadium ramps. Both races end with runners passing through the inflatable Patriots helmet and racing to the 50-yard-line finish as their image is flashed on the two giant HD video screens and friends and family cheer from the stands.

Two days of activities are planned including the Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Fitness Expo, sand sculpting, temporary tattoos and special appearances by running legend Bill Rodgers, the inspirational father-son Team Hoyt, plus Pat Patriot and Patriots cheerleaders.

A full schedule of activities can be found here or on the race website at www.harvardpilgrim.org. Race updates and information also will be available on Facebook.

The Kids Fun Run, for runners 12 and under, gets underway July 3 at 3:30 p.m. inside Gillette Stadium.

The 5K and 10K races start at 6 p.m. at Patriot Place and end at the 50-yard line inside Gillette Stadium. A free fireworks show will start at approximately 9 p.m.

Parking is plentiful at Patriot Place and is free of charge. For additional information, see the Race Map on the website - www.harvardpilgrimfinishatthe50.com/HP_finish_at_the_50.pdf.

“And this year we’ve added a free fireworks display,” added St. Laurent. “So after taking part in either the 5k or 10k, or the Kids Fun Run, participants and their families can stay at Gillette Stadium, relax and enjoy the fireworks.”

The following roads in Foxborough will be closed from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on July 3 for the running of the 10K race:

• Putnam Way
• North Street
• Payson Street
• Dexter Road
• Chestnut Street
• Mechanic Street
• Railroad Street
• Glenwood
• Baker Street
• Chestnut to North Circle

Note that all roads abutting these roads will also be closed to traffic.

So that everyone has room to run and walk, there will be a "start mat" that automatically picks up a signal from a sensor in each entrant’s race bib. “This sensor in the bib is called the B-tag,” explained St. Laurent. “Once you walk or run over the automated timing mat your exact start and finish times are recorded by the timer. Official results include your net time by the signal received from this sensor.”

The Harvard Pilgrim Finish at the 50 – 5K & 10K at Patriot Place is owned and managed by Professional Race Events, LLC (PRE), 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 Beach to Beacon 10K in Maine and the New Balance Falmouth Road Race on Cape Cod.

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 eighth 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 2011-12 – Private ** U.S. News/NCQA America’s Best Health Insurance Plans 2005-2009 (annual). America’s Best Health Insurance Plans is a trademark of U.S. News & World Report. NCQA The State of Health Care Quality 2004.

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 theater and much more. For more information, visit www.patriot-place.com.

About DMSE Sports
Founded by McGillivray in 1981, DMSE, 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 and his team at DMSE Sports have produced or consulted on more than 900 mass-participatory athletic events, including the Boston Marathon, the TD Beach to Beacon10K in Maine, Run for the Dream in Williamsburg, Va., the Women’s Half Marathon and was recently named race director of the famed New Balance Falmouth Road Race in Cape Cod. For more information, visit www.dmsesports.com.

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Here is more information about DMSE Sports