New Year's Day 2.62K set around mall

LAVALE - The Mountain Maryland Marathon Club is hosting a low-key 2.62-kilometer run/walk on New Year's Day at Country Club Mall in LaVale.

The no-frills event is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. near AMC Theatres. Registration begins at 9:15 a.m. inside the mall entrance at AMC Theatres.

The 2.62K course - about 1.63 miles - is a paved, one-loop course around the mall with a couple of hills. Participants must be able to maintain a minimum pace of approximately 18 minutes and 25 seconds per mile and cross the finish line in 30 minutes or less to be considered an official finisher.

There also will be a half-mile kids' run while the longer event is in progress. Either event is the first organized opportunity for children ages 13 and under who are participating in the kids' marathon event, part of the inaugural Mountain Maryland Marathon festivities in April, to begin logging miles.

Country Club Mall has donated a handful of $20 mall gift certificates which will be awarded through random drawing at the conclusion of both events. A low-key event, registration is only $3 for the general public and free for Mountain Maryland Marathon Club members.

This is the first of three low-key events for 2009 established by M3C, an Allegany County-based nonprofit organization. The other event dates are Feb. 14 in southern Bedford County, Pa., and April 4 along Mason Road in Cumberland.

The club's premier event, the Mountain Maryland Marathon presented by Life Fitness Management, is scheduled for April 19. The day's events include a marathon, half marathon, 5K, kids marathon and a free, 400-meter tot trot.

For more information on these or other club events and training programs contact Kevin Spradlin at (240) 522-0276, e-mail run@mountainMDmarathon.org or visit www.mountainMDmarathon.org..