DMSE SPORTS UNVEILS NEW CROSS-COUNTRY VIRTUAL EVENT AIMED AT FITNESS AND PHILANTHROPY
ENDURANCE SPORTSWIRE | RUNNING USA
The Medford2Medford: Run Across America is inspired by Dave McGillivray’s epic 1978 run from Medford, OR, to Medford, MA.
Boston – Registration is open for Medford2Medford, a virtual team running event powered by DMSE Sports, that strives to bring fellow runners together while they’re apart and to help raise some much-needed funds for charities. The M2M is modeled after Dave McGillivray’s 1978 run from Medford, OR, to Medford, MA. Over the course of 80 days, McGillivray ran 3,452 miles and raised more than $100,000 for the Jimmy Fund, a Boston-based charity that supports the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
The event kicks off June 11—42 years to the day when McGillivray departed Medford, OR—and ceremonially ends 80 days later on August 29. Participants may register at medford2medford.com between now and August 29, 11:59 p.m.
“These last few months have been challenging as we saw each event we manage be canceled because of the coronavirus,” said Dave McGillivray, president of DMSE Sports and the inspiration for the M2M. “But we got to thinking—if we can’t help people cross a physical finish line this summer, perhaps we can encourage them to cross a virtual one. It’s more important than ever to exercise and keep our minds and bodies fit, and to continue to help those who need our help. A lot of us need an external reason to lace up those shoes, and we’re hoping the Medford2Medford will be that reason.”
The M2M welcomes walkers, runners, and cyclists to team up—or, for the more ambitious, go solo—to complete one of three distances: The Medford2Medford (3,452 miles), The Mississippi2Medford (1,258 miles), or the Massachusetts2Medford (142 miles). DMSE Sports has partnered with ReSport—a platform for advanced mapping, results, and race tracking—to provide M2M participants with real-time updates on their progress along the virtual course. As team members input their miles into the event’s tracking platform, they’ll instantly see their team’s progress along the course line.
Each participant will have the opportunity to fundraise for any of the charities already partnered with the event, or for a nonprofit organization of the participant’s choosing.
“If we were going to put on a virtual event, it was really important to us to try to help the charitable organizations that have been hard hit by pandemic/recession,” said DMSE Sports CEO Matt West. “We’ve seen the effects with our non-profit clients—their events had to be canceled or turned into virtual events, and their fundraising hasn’t been able to reach the levels they’ve previously seen and were expecting. So if there was any way we can help, we thought we should at least try.”
Fundraising is 100% voluntary and not a requirement to register. All money fundraised (less processing fees) will be directed toward the participant’s chosen nonprofit.
“Virtual road races of all distances are giving self-isolated people a reason to get out the door and be active,” said West. “So why register for the M2M? Because DMSE Sports knows road racing. We know what motivates athletes, we know the technology needed to create a robust experience, and we know how athletes deserve to be rewarded. For nearly 40 years, DMSE Sports has been a leader in sports event management, specializing in creating and producing mass participatory athletic events throughout the U.S. and abroad. Simply put, this is what we do.”
About DMSE Sports
Founded by Dave McGillivray in 1981, DMSE Sports is a leader in sports event management, specializing in creating and producing mass participatory athletic events throughout the U.S. and abroad. DMSE works with the B.A.A. operations team in overseeing all the logistics and technical operations of the B.A.A. Boston Marathon and manages the TD Beach to Beacon 10K in Maine, the New Balance Falmouth Road Race on Cape Cod, the lululemon San Diego 10K, and the Bellin Run in Green Bay, Wisconsin, among others. For additional information about DMSE Sports, visit www.dmsesports.com or find DMSE on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.