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Health & Fitness

NAPA-TO-SONOMA WINE COUNTRY HALF MARATHON CELEBRATING 10-YEAR ANNIVERSARY SUNDAY, JULY 21

The Napa-to-Sonoma Wine Country Half Marathon presented by Subaru, is celebrating its 10th annual anniversary on Sunday, July 21. Produced by Destination Races of Sonoma, the Napa-to-Sonoma half marathon is the flagship event in the Wine Country Half Marathon Series, (http://destinationraces.com/runn2s). This popular 13.1 mile race features a fast and scenic course starting at Cuvaison Carneros Winery and finishing at the historic Sonoma Plaza in front of City Hall.
 
This year’s race sold out in a few hours, attracting 3,400 runners and wine enthusiasts from fifty US states and ten foreign countries.  Another 400 runners participate in the GunBunFunRun 5K starting at Gundlach Bundschu Winery and also finishing in Sonoma Plaza simultaneously with the half marathon.
 
The race starts at 7am and is followed by the United Healthcare Wine & Music Festival in the plaza from 9:30am to noon. Each finisher receives a performance running shirt, unique finisher’s medal, and Riedel wine glass.  Two-dozen wineries and Lagunitas Brewing Company will pour tastings at the festival, while exhibitors offer product samples and demonstrations.  The awards ceremony is held at 10:30am in Grinstead Amphitheater, and the band Noma Rocksteady performs before and after the awards. A prize purse of $2,500 is offered by Rabobank to the top three overall winners, and the top three finishers in each age group receive a bottle of wine. Nearly 10,000 people are expected to attend the race and post-race festivities in Sonoma.
 
Sixteen elite athletes will perform in this years race led by 3-time champion Tesfaye Alemayuhu in the men’s field, who will be returning to defend his title and course record set last year at 1:02:38.  “We’re excited to have such a strong field of runners here at Napa-to-Sonoma”, enthused Matt Dockstader, President of Destination Races. “It’s truly become one of the most popular half marathons in the world and we are very proud of our accomplishments, particularly the positive economic impact we’ve generated for the area and our non-profit partners.”
 
Destination Races partners with national and local charities and non-profit organizations. Napa and Sonoma charities include Hanna Boys Center, Community Action of Napa Valley (CAN-V), Native Sons of the Golden West, and Save Our Sports-Sonoma. Team Challenge is the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation of America’s endurance training and fundraising program. Team Challenge is expected to bring 700 runners and raise over 2.5 million at the event.
 
The Health & Fitness Expo will be held at Hanna Boys Center in Sonoma on Saturday, July 20 from 10am to 6pm, and is open to the public. The expo features packet pickup, product sampling and demonstrations, food, music, beer and wine tasting, and tours of the new Hanna Boys Center facility.
 
Sponsors for the 2013 Napa-to-Sonoma Wine Country Half Marathon include Subaru, Rabobank, Cliff Bar, ACCELERADE, SPIbelt, FRS, KINeSYS, Riedel, UnitedHealthcare, TheWineBuzz, Touring & Tasting, Gundlach Bundschu, Parkpoint Health Clubs, and Sonoma Valley Hospital.
 
About Destination Races
Destination Races, of Sonoma, CA, produces the Wine Country Half Marathon Series and the Vintage Festival 12K and 5K. The Wine Country Half Marathon series consists of six races including Santa Barbara wine country, Northern Virginia, Napa-to-Sonoma, Oregon (Willamette Valley), Kelowna, B.C. and Healdsburg, CA. For more Information on the event series and Destination Races, go to http://www.destinationraces.com.

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