September 27, 2007

Dear Members of the Lawrence City Commission,

We are currently preparing for the April 20, 2008, TherapyWorks Lawrence Half Marathon & 5k, a benefit for Health Care Access Clinic.  In 2007 there were 1891 registered runners from 19 states, Washington DC, and Canada.  We raised over $42,000 for Health Care Access Clinic and $1500 for the Gibson Huston Love Fund.  The 2007 event was one of the five largest running events in Kansas.  Judging from the feedback from the runners and the community, we estimate that the 2008 race will be even larger.

We have met with the Lawrence Police Department and have agreed on a few changes to the half marathon course, which will make it better for the runners, and easier to maintain safety and traffic control.

As you may remember, the City of Lawrence supported the event by paying for the extra police, fire & medical, and public works employees, and other services needed for the event.  We are respectfully requesting that you consider doing the same for the 2008 event.  Please let us know what steps we need to take to accomplish this.

We are hosting an event “kick-off” on October 25^th, 2007 at Maceli’s from 5:00 pm until 7:00 pm.  We will be inviting current and potential sponsors, volunteers, runners, and anyone else who could be involved with the event.  We hope that you will all be able to attend.

Sincerely,

Steve & Marcia Riley, Race Directors