A MESSAGE FROM THE CITY OF OAKLAND

Dear Friends & Runners:

Welcome to the inaugural Oakland Running Festival. This new event promises to be exciting and memorable for not only the runners but the entire city.

This event is a major undertaking. It is one that requires the cooperation of city agencies and the community to be successful. Our police department, public works, parks and recreation, transit and traffic, and fire department work tirelessly throughout the year with Corrigan Sports, our event coordinator to make this one of the best marathons in the country.

The Oakland Running Festival is unique in that it offers a Marathon, Half-Marathon, 4-Person Team Relay, 5K and Kid's Fun Run - the festival accommodates the running abilities of any participant from 26.2 miles, to seven mile legs in the relay to the 5K.

The atmosphere will no doubt be a festive one for this inaugural event. We are grateful to Lee Corrigan and his team and look forward to many more years of working with them to ensure the success of this event.

I wanted to thank all the sponsors, including Geico, Kaiser Permanente, the local professional sports franchises and the official medical provider, Alameda County Medical Center. The ultimate winners of this event are the local charities who benefit from the revenue generated from the Oakland Running Festival. I am proud of the commitment of all who help to make this day special for our great city, especially the hundreds of volunteers.

To all the runners, enjoy our city. We enjoy having you and we look forward to your return next year.

Sincerely,

Nancy Nadel
Oakland City Councilwoman