Organizers of the Summerfest Rock ‘n Sole set June 15 as the date for the 2013 races, further separating the event from the Big Gig, at least on the calendar.
The inaugural run over the Hoan Memorial Bridge, in 2011, was held on the last day of Summerfest, closely aligning the physical effort with the all-out party of the world’s largest music festival. In 2012, the Rock ‘n Sole served as an informal Summerfest kickoff on the Saturday before the festival opening in Henry Maier Festival Park.
Out of the fog, nearly 7,000 runners start their way to the Hoan Memorial Bridge. Photo by Tom Held
The new date lands 11 days ahead of Summerfest’s June 26 start next year, giving organizers more time and space to accomodate upwards of 7,400 runners.
“We evaluated the events and activities scheduled in Milwaukee for spring of 2013 with particular attention to how those events would engage the running community and if and how they may impact areas around Lincoln Memorial Drive, the lakefront, the Hoan Bridge and Henry Maier Festival Park during set up, operating and clean up hours on a variety of possible dates,” said John Boler, Summerfest’s vice president of sales and marketing. “Considering all factors, we identified Saturday, June 15, 2013 as the optimal date for the run this year.”
To paraphrase (my version), the date avoid conflicts with other large events on the Lakefront the weekend before the Big Gig.
Registration for the Rock ‘n Sole, sponsored by BMO Harris Bank, opens Sept. 12. Vision Events Management, which received rave reviews for making improvements over the first Rock ‘n Sole, continues as the race operations firm.
The courses will be tweaked slightly, but still include the popular run over the Hoan Bridge and the half marathon, quarter marathon and 5K distances.
