Columbus Running Company Nike Human Race

Where: Columbus Running Company Westerville location
When: Sunday, August 31, 2008
8:00am Run
9:00am Breakfast buffet, raffle, sweaty mingling and hobnobbing

What is the Nike+ Human Race?
On 08.31.08, Nike is making a statement like no other before. Nike is putting on the World’s Largest Running Event. The 10k event will be the ultimate runner experience. By combining our digital running world with the physical, the Nike+ Human Race is open to anyone, anywhere. Nike is hosting race events in 25 cities around the world, but by logging into nikeplus.com, every city and every road can become a race-day course. Nike has designated the Columbus Running Company as Columbus' meeting point for The Human Race 10k.

Want some help training for this event?
Join us at our Westerville location on Sunday mornings at 8am for our open group run. You can also join the Columbus Running Club social run which also starts from our Westerville location. The club meets at 6pm and usually hits up a restaurant if interested. Both runs are a great way to meet other runners in the community. We'll have a free, basic schedule for you to follow if you need it. We'll occasionally be giving away Nike prizes for people training for the Human Race at these runs. For other runs the CRC has check out our group run page here.

Why did Nike decide to organize this event?
Simply put, Nike is celebrating runners and their sport. This is going to be the World’s Largest Running Event and provide a global connection point for every athlete. By using tools that we’ve created like Nike+ and the Nike+ SportBand, now people can participate from anywhere: a country road, an urban sidewalk or at one of our 25 designated Nike+ Human Race cities. We wanted to connect with our consumers and connect our consumers with each other.

What is the main goal of the event?
To celebrate runners and their sport while uniting athletes world-wide through the world’s largest running event.

What makes the Nike+ Human Race different from any other 10k run?
This is the first global race to reach such a large participant base and geographic scope. We are creating access points in 25 cities as well as bringing the race to every runner through a digital world with nikeplus.com. It will be an event like no other because of its size, but also because of the experience we are creating: live concerts on race day with top musical artists and Nike athlete participation.

Where will it be held?
The Nike+ Human Race is the world’s largest running event. It will be held anywhere a registered runner chooses to hit the pavement. Nike has organized 25 physical race cities, but the Nike+ Human Race is truly open to everyone, everywhere. If you don’t live in a race city, just sign up at nikeplus.com to participate and run in your city. Simply use Nike + iPod or Nike+ SportBand to track your miles on race day and then download miles on nikeplus.com to have your results officially counted as part of the race. The 25 race cities include:

Austin/Bogotá/Buenos Aires/Caracas/Chicago/Istanbul/London/Los Angeles/Lima/Madrid/Melbourne/Mexico City/Munich/New York/Paris/Quito/Rome/São Paulo/Seoul/Shanghai/Singapore/Taipei/Tokyo/Warsaw/Vancouver

How were the cities selected?
We have planned the cities based on the best geographical locations to showcase some of the most famous landmarks and unique race courses in the world. Runners in Istanbul will cross the bridge connecting Europe to Asia. Runners in the UK will race through central London. Taipei’s course will wind past the Taipei 101- one of the world’s tallest buildings. NY takes the race out of Manhattan and onto Randall’s Island – where there is a completely renovated park that’s said to be one of the city’s best park and recreation areas outside of Central Park.
Race sites were also selected to accommodate the largest number of runners. Strategic cities from all over the world have been selected with these considerations in mind. We wanted our runners to have the best event experience possible.
Although not on the list of large cities above, Nike designated Columbus Running Company as a meeting point due to our unmatched commitment to the local running community.

How do I sign up?
Visit www.nikeplus.com to access the Nike+ Human Race Web site and registration form where you can sign up online or download a PDF version for mail in registration. Sign up to run in one of the 25 physical race cities or in your neighborhood. You do not have to be a nikeplus.com member to sign up.

When do I sign up?
You can visit nikeplus.com and save your spot now. On June 2nd anyone can officially sign up for the Nike+ Human Race.

Is there a registration deadline?
Countries may cap registration based on race course capacity for the physical race, but there is no registration deadline. You can reserve your spot online now before the global registration begins on June 2nd. Columbus will have no registration deadline.

How much does the race cost?
Visit nikeplus.com for more information on the registration fee. It may vary by city and type of participation (running in your city versus a Nike+ Human Race city). The registration is free for runners not participating in the physical races. The Columbus Running Company run is free.

Do I have to be a nikeplus.com member to participate?
No. The Nike+ Human Race is open to everyone. Visit nikeplus.com to sign up for the race. However, to take advantage of special training programs for the event, to access training tools like Nike+ Coach and to experience the full depth of the global Nike+ community, membership is recommended.

How do I sign up if I don’t live in a host city?
The Nike+ Human Race is open to everyone. Visit nikeplus.com to sign up for the race. You do not have to be a nikeplus.com member to register or run in the Nike+ Human Race. However, to take advantage of our training tools and experience the full depth of the Nike+ community, membership is recommended.

What Athletes will be participating?
Our goal with the Nike+ Human Race is to unite a global community through running and our focus is on welcoming every athlete of every ability. A number of elite Nike athletes will support the Nike+ Human Race through both the training process and on race day. The following top athletes will be joining the sea of runners on race day:

Lance Armstrong in the US
Yuna Kim in Korea
Dirk Nowitzki in Munich
In Columbus you are stuck with the smiling faces of CRC staff. You wouldn't have it any other way, would you? Lance who?

How many people will be participating?
The Nike+ Human Race stands to be the largest running event to date. We’re anticipating hundreds of thousands of people will take to the streets to run on 08.31.08 – either in one of the 25 physical race cities or in runners’ home cities around the world.

What will race day be like?
Whether you are participating in one of the 25 race cities, with a group in a non-race city, or on your own, 08.31.08 will be the world’s largest running event. The 10k course in each of the 25 race cities takes runners past iconic structures and sites. In the 25 physical race cities, the Nike+ Human Race will have pre-race day events, gifts for participants and an exclusive post-race concert by some of today’s top artists. With thousands of runners participating at every location the Nike+ Human Race will be an amazing connection point for a global community of athletes. We'll be attempting to create a 'I feel good inside' type atmosphere by providing multiple Nike giveaways- from shirts to Nike+ sportbands. We'll have a free breakfast buffet, complete with real eggs and Mamamosa's for you real happy people.

Will there be a charity component for the Nike+ Human Race?
Yes. As participants in the Nike+ Human Race, runners will be able to run for a cause. We will be providing more information about charitable giving on July 2nd on the website listed below.