Running News Daily

Mike Seekings is the Cooper River Bridge Run new interim race director

Mike Seekings, a board member for nine years, is a very active runner in the community. He said he's taking on this role to pay tribute to Julian Smith, the former Cooper River Bridge Run director who died recently to his battle to cancer.

"Over the last 20 years has been Julian Smith's race," Seekings said. "This has been his vision, it's been his passion. He has built something in the community that is second to none, anywhere."

He said his part in this race is carrying on what Julian grew for decades.

"This is his run. This is his race," Seekings said. "It's for the community, and for those reasons, I am honored and really proud and honored, and happy, and a little bit humbled to be here for the last couple months getting this race ready to go."

So, during the next couple of days, there will be lots of final touches and sleepless nights, to make sure this event runs smoothly.

"We're going to make sure that logistically we're ready to go, the course is clear, that we've got everybody registered, everyone understands where they are, and what they're going to do," said Seekings.

Following the race, there's not much downtime before planning for the next year begins. 

"This run is at eight o'clock, Saturday, April 6th," Seekings said. "People will be across that bridge within two to three hours. The festivities will go on for that day. We'll take a deep breath on Sunday, April 7th and then planning for next year will begin Monday, April 8th."

Seekings said the board is moving forward with heavy hearts, but with lots of enthusiasm that this year will be good as any, running in Julian's honor.

(04/02/2019) Views: 2,236 ⚡AMP

Former Bridge Run director Julian Smith dies on Friday after fighting a rare brain cancer

The man who led and organized the annual Cooper River Bridge Run for more than two decades has lost his battle with cancer.

Julian Smith died Friday after fighting a rare brain cancer, Bridge Run officials confirmed.

“The Bridge run staff and board is deeply saddened by Julian’s passing," Cooper River Bridge Run Deputy Director Irv Batten said. “He has been such a tremendous leader, a beacon for the Charleston Community. He’s going to be deeply missed.”

This year’s Bridge Run will be held in Smith’s honor and that Smith will have the “best seat in the house” watching from above, Batten said.

This race this year is to honor him. So we’re going to do a good job. He’s going to be watching.”

“For more than 20 years, Julian was a leader, mentor and friend.”

 “Julian is a force of nature and his leadership will be missed by the entire Bridge Run family and community as he moves on to the next phase of his life and the inevitable challenges it will bring. It was unanimously agreed upon by the CRBR Board that Julian would be given the title of Race Director Emeritus. We wish Julian all the best and offer our eternal thanks for a career of unparalleled success pursued with uncommon wit, wisdom and grace.”

(03/23/2019) Views: 2,344 ⚡AMP

Cooper River Bridge Run was named the top South Carolina tourism event of the year

Charleston’s Cooper River Bridge Run, which will hold its 42nd race this April, took home the top prize at this week’s statewide tourism conference. 

The 10K race brings tens of thousands of runners across the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge every spring.  It is the third-largest 10K in the U.S., only Atlanta and Boulder are bigger. An estimated 60 percent of those participants are from out-of-town. 

Charleston native Julian Smith has served as the event’s director since 1994 with 7,400 finishers his first year. By 2006 33,700 people participated.

Last year, 27,414 people ran the route from Mount Pleasant through downtown Charleston for the 41st annual race. It is estimated that the race brings in more than $30 million dollars annually to the community.

 

(02/21/2019) Views: 2,480 ⚡AMP

Julian Smith, the director of the Cooper River Bridge Run since 1994, has to resign due to brain cancer

Julian Smith, the director of the Cooper River Bridge Run since 1994 and driving force behind making it one of the largest 10K races in the country, has resigned less than three months before the 2019 event.

Smith, 67, announced last year he is battling brain cancer.

Mike Seekings, a Charleston city councilman and vice chairman of the Cooper River Bridge Run Board of Directors, will serve as interim director for this year’s race, which is slated for April 6.

“Julian is a force of nature and his leadership will be missed by the entire Bridge Run family and community as he moves on to the next phase of his life and the inevitable challenges it will bring,” the board wrote in a release.

Seekings said Wednesday that preparations for the 2019 run are well under way. It will run smoothly, he said, thanks to Smith’s 24 years of leadership.

“He’s always made sure his staff was ready to step up,”  Seekings said of Smith, his friend for almost 30 years. “We still have some work to do, but we have a very capable team so it should be pretty seamless.”

But the board will be working with heavy hearts and fond memories of how Smith has influenced the storied Charleston event for nearly a quarter century.

(02/05/2019) Views: 2,515 ⚡AMP

47-year-old Portland Marathon cancels 2018 race, will dissolve organization

The Portland Marathon board of directors has canceled the 2018 race and plans to dissolve the 47-year-old Portland Marathon organization, according to an open letter the board sent Friday to The Oregonian/OregonLive.  “There will be no Portland Marathon in 2018," began the letter, attributed to board members Richard Busby, Julian Smith, Andy Ritchie, Jim Schaeffer and Gina McVicker.  The same letter was sent to the City of Portland at 11:30 a.m. Friday.  The move comes more than a week after former Portland Marathon event director Les Smith reached a settlement with the Oregon Department of Justice. Smith was found to have illegally borrowed money from the Portland Marathon and was required to repay $865,000, of which $50,000 would go to the Oregon Department of Justice to cover the cost of the investigation. In Friday's letter to The Oregonian/OregonLive, members of the new Portland Marathon board, assured the 2,500 people already signed up for the run that they would get a full refund, through the race registration platform, Active.com. "Our decision was based on a number of factors, including a decline in race registrants for 2018 and the Board's understanding of the City of Portland's desire to move in a different direction," wrote the board. (04/28/2018) Views: 2,099 ⚡AMP