New Running Festival Debuts This Weekend With 2,500 Participants In Anne Arundel County

ANNAPOLIS, MD — The inaugural Annapolis Running Festival will debut this Saturday in Anne Arundel County.

The event will bring 2,500 runners from 25 states to the Annapolis area.

The festival will feature a half-marathon, a 10K and a 5K.

Each race starts and finishes at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. All three courses go through downtown Annapolis.

The 10K also crosses the Maryland Route 450 Bridge and turns around. The half-marathon follows the same route and continues into Arnold before turning around.

The courses all overlap to minimize road closures. The times of these rolling closures vary by region. The first closure begins at 6:45 a.m. The last closure is expected to reopen around 10:30 a.m.

The full list of street closures, race routes and detours is posted here.

Corrigan Sports Enterprises is the company planning the festival.

"CSE is thrilled to bring our endurance event formula to Annapolis and Anne Arundel County," President Lee Corrigan said in a Jan. 12 press release announcing the races. "Past attempts have proven that Maryland’s capital city can be a great host for a long distance running event. This is a brand new event and we intend to create a stable and quality race that everyone involved can be proud of and count on for years to come."

The festival will fundraise for the Annapolis Police Foundation, which supports city officers in need and law enforcement community outreach.

An officer from the Annapolis Police Department will run in the half-marathon as the charity chaser. The officer will start in last place. Corrigan Sports Enterprises will donate $1 to the Annapolis Police Foundation for every runner that the chaser passes.

"We are excited to be involved with the event and look forward to having the 'charity chaser' promotion raise some funds for the foundation and shine a light on the good works that our officers and foundation do in the community," Annapolis Police Foundation Chairman Brian Finan said in the release.

Other charities involved include Ainsley's Angels, Athletes Serving Athletes and The Friends of Anne Arundel County Trails.

Sid Busch is another notable runner.

The retired Navy veteran runs in races around the country and dedicates them to a fallen soldier while carrying the American flag. Busch will run the 10K in honor of Herman Schmidt, who was killed on Dec. 7, 1941 in Pearl Harbor aboard the USS Oklahoma (BB-37).

Festival registration is still open at annapolisrunfest.com.

Corrigan Sports Enterprises was founded in 2001. The Elkridge company now has 15 full-time sports marketers and event managers.

The business also organizes the:

• All-America Lacrosse Classic
• Baltimore Running Festival
• Baltimore 10-Miler
• Bay Bridge Run
• Frederick Running Festival
• St. Charles RunningFestival

Participants can visit corrigansports.com, email amanda@corrigansports.com or call (410) 605-9381 to learn more.